slow crank, boost then no crank/start

[smak]

Got an interesting one..

94mtx, returned from a bit of a vacation and battery was all but dead on the sho.

boosted with a powerpack (remote, wireless battery pack i keep in the trunk) and it allowed me to barely crank but not consistant and no start.

if i held the koeo then it would turn the engine a 1/2 turn at a time every few seconds so i held it 10 secs or so hoping it would fire can catch on.. no luck.

hooked up my "plug into the wall" high amp boost/charger and the car wouldent turn over at all? just a rapid clicking sound. car door chime sounds different also?

its a 12v 10amp unit with a boost setting of 50 cold cranking amps... maybe too much for the sho? could i have blown a fuse? which one likely, in engine bay or cabin?

i let it charge 12v2amp for a few hours and left it be for the night.

i am hoping i just left the engine in a tough compression position with the origional attempt to start car and the problems compounded with the cold cold weather here in canada.

when i go at it tomorrow assuming no change and it still wont start, and wiring has continuity and fuses check out anything i else i might want to look into?

 

[93rev2sev]

Not enough power in the charger. 50 amps is nothing. A new battey has like 700 amps.

Leave the charger plugged in for about 10 minutes, then you should be able to crank if the battery will hold that juice. If not, your battery is now a doorstop.

I had the same deal on a battery that was dead. Put it on the charger for a week and then tried it. It would crank but it would crank so slowly that there was no hope of it starting.

 

[92inPA]

I just sounds like your battery is completely dead. Whether the cause is a worn out battery or a failing alternator remains to be determined. Take the car to a shop and have them test both the battery and alt.

 

[smak]

yeah but even with a completely dead battery, the engine should crank if a boosting pack is hooked up.

you can have no battery connected at all and the clamps onto the terminals and until you remove the booster the car should run right? maybe i have never just had a battery this far gone before.

alternator is a possability too i guess.. i would think it would start and die if its alternator though.

i'll check 12v and continuity when conditions improve a bit later today.

 

[jimtash]

Interesting because my battery went dead last Sunday and I even tried jumping it off from another car and the thing wouldn't even crank. Funny thing is though the lights would work but as soon as I turned the key, everything would suddenly just turn off even with the jumper cables attached.

The problem that you describe with the funky chime though has plagued me too and I've found the cause to be in the battery terminals themselves. Either they became loose or corroded and the car is just so damn finicky that it won't start unless the terminals are in a certain position and tight on the battery posts. Moving them around and making sure they were tight usually would fix this problem for me.

 

[93rev2sev]

Jim, you need a new starter and/or you have a loose connection I think

 

[jimtash]

No I don't. I replaced the battery and I haven't had a problem since but I am thinking that the alternator is on it's last legs though because the car ran too good for a few days with the new battery in it but now I'm slowly starting to feel that smoothness go away. I'm thinking the alternator is struggling to keep up with everything and it being the original one with 240,000 miles on it, maybe it's showing its age.

 

[Mr95Gl]

yeah but even with a completely dead battery, the engine should crank if a boosting pack is hooked up.

you can have no battery connected at all and the clamps onto the terminals and until you remove the booster the car should run right? maybe i have never just had a battery this far gone before.

alternator is a possability too i guess.. i would think it would start and die if its alternator though.

i'll check 12v and continuity when conditions improve a bit later today.

More then likely your battery is dead. I've had batteries so far gone that, neither charging nor cables helped, until I got a new battery.

 

[projectSHO89]

Don't forget the likelihood of bad cables and connectors causing these problems.

A starter motor typically takes about 150A to crank the engine. Any corrosion in the cable or connection will cause a high resistance and will cause the voltage available to the starter to drop causing a slow/no crank. Use a voltmeter to measure across what is supposed to be a direct connection to isolate. When you see a significant voltage when under load where there should be none, you've found your fault.

Steve

 

[Off Road SHO]

Don't forget the likelihood of bad cables and connectors causing these problems.

A starter motor typically takes about 150A to crank the engine. Any corrosion in the cable or connection will cause a high resistance and will cause the voltage available to the starter to drop causing a slow/no crank. Use a voltmeter to measure across what is supposed to be a direct connection to isolate. When you see a significant voltage when under load where there should be none, you've found your fault.

Steve

My guess also. When you hook up your jumpers to the battery cables, you're not necessarily getting all the volts and amps to the starter.

Tom

 

[smak]

was a bad charger!

got a boost from another car and no probs.

i do need new cables though, or at least crimp a new connection onto the neg side.

thnx much all, voltmeter is so invaluable in these situations it sorted things right out.