Memphis280zxt Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I was driving home yesterday and as i was turning on the street my house is on, sparks started shooting out of the hood vent near the battery. As it turns out the previous owner of my 280zx used an old bungee cord like you would use in the back of a truck to hold the battery in place. Well this cord snapped and my battery grounded out on the hood, thus the sparks and then fire. Luckily i carry a fire extinguisher in my cars somewhere and was able to put it out before it really messed anything but the battery up (and a little spot on the underside of the hood). This incident really opened my eyes to the possibilities of how my car had been "rigged" in the past. This time it was just $100 for a new battery and a battery mount, but next time it could be worse. So learn from my mistake and don't trust the previous owners! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 With cars like this, I think it's your responsibility to make sure everything is in order. Also, I'd have to imagine you had the hood open at some point, I don't see how you have possibly missed something like that. Sorry, but I think this one is your fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dexter72 Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 A battery holdown is a must have, I agree with Rturbo. Unless you just bought it and never openned the hood is the only way, you would not see that bungee chord over top of the battery. Strike it up to lesson learned. Be happy you got the fire out quickly to lesson the damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Lesson is, don't trust anybody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 A battery holdown is a must have, I agree with Rturbo. Unless you just bought it and never openned the hood is the only way, you would not see that bungee chord over top of the battery. Strike it up to lesson learned. Be happy you got the fire out quickly to lesson the damage. I don't know if it's a problem on the S130, but I expect he'd open the hood and check the battery tray for rust before he bought it... no excuse here, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morbias Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I'm in the process of completely dismantling my 260 to check for potentially dangerous stuff. I've already found the rear brake linings were detached from the shoes, countless splices in the looms that are just twisted together loosely, ignition wiring was all completely wrong, fuel lines not clamped and float bowl gaskets missing resulting in fuel spraying everywhere, and the driveshafts on each side of the car were only attached with 2 nuts instead of four -- and they weren't even torqued up, I unscrewed them by hand! I also need to buy a battery tray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 don't trust the previous owners! Most people learn this lesson pretty quick. When I see those car ads with a million parts listed all I read is blablabla blala balala bla bla. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neotech84 Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Most people learn this lesson pretty quick. When I see those car ads with a million parts listed all I read is blablabla blala balala bla bla. I just see some idiot trying to ADD value to a car that doesn't run! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueStag Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 With cars like this, I think it's your responsibility to make sure everything is in order. Also, I'd have to imagine you had the hood open at some point, I don't see how you have possibly missed something like that. Sorry, but I think this one is your fault. Amen. You buy a 30 year old car and just start driving it? Thank your lucky stars is all I have to say to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZmattZ Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 i bought my car with 2 bolts holding the driveshaft in, finger tight. 1 bolt per Cv boot, no rear trans strap, kinked brake lines, all my wires were spliced a ridiculous amount of times. ive had to go over my entire car many times with a fine comb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 I kept wondering why my newly acquired 280Z started to lose power & sputter. After dropping the tank & having it boiled out & resealed, and seafoaming the car, things didn't improve. It had new injectors & mafs...weird, what's going on? The other day, I decided to clean all my engine connectors & found EVERY single one was missing the metal clips which hold them in place! Injectors, mafs, tps, coolant temp sensor, etc...all were just placed on & not secure. A trip to the junkyard later, some electric cleaner & dielectric tuneup grease, and it runs great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeaJimi Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I've experienced something similar. My battery hold down came loose one day while driving. I know this bc while driving I lost all power and rolled to a stop on the side of the highway. The power came back upon popping my hood. Not only did my battery move, but it slid to a point where the terminal made contact with the hood. The two started to weld together, and I still have holes to prove it, lol. TL:DR - Hold downs are extremely important and rubber terminal boots are worth the investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArchetypeDatsun Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Coming home from work as I turned a wide corner I noticed my oil meter went all the way down and it even marked a red light then the oil meter came back to normal as I got off the corner. After I put Z in reverse to park it, it started smoking a crap load of white smoke and it even sounded different as I press on the acclerater. I thought my turbo went out but I was still making boost and the white smelled sweet so coolant went in somewhere. I'm fricken lost but one of the members (Skib) will be checking it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 (edited) I'm continually amazed by people who buy a car, then on the way home drop the battery due to bungee cord failure. It's not that it happens so often, but that these guys actually blame the previous owner. Sorry guys, look in the mirror. If it failed, it failed because of your inaction, not their prior attempts to secure it. Who doesn't look under the hood when buying a car? <EDIT>And for the record, I don't use ANY bungee cords in the back of ANY truck I own!<EDIT> Edited September 30, 2011 by Tony D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zack_280 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Luckily when I bought mine it had two bungees. I called them the redundant battery securing system. I was very comforted to know that the owner had gone the extra mile in something so simple. It definitely reassured me that the rest of the car was properly sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 <EDIT>And for the record, I don't use ANY bungee cords in the back of ANY truck I own!<EDIT> You just gave me an idea! Ratchet strap battery tie downs!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZR8ED Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 You just gave me an idea! Ratchet strap battery tie downs!!!! You just gave me an idea! Superglue the battery down...er wait a minute I think someone else did that already..Oh wait yes it happened to ME! Years and years ago buying junker winter beater. Darn thing was sealed to the battery tray!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neotech84 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 You just gave me an idea! Ratchet strap battery tie downs!!!! I second that motion! Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 You just gave me an idea! Superglue the battery down...er wait a minute I think someone else did that already..Oh wait yes it happened to ME! Years and years ago buying junker winter beater. Darn thing was sealed to the battery tray!! That's some epic win material right there. That's got to be the most creative harmful solution ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 You just gave me an idea! Ratchet strap battery tie downs!!!! Coming from Aircargo, we all know ratchet tie-downs are the only proper way to secure anything. They work as tow straps on cars. And the little ones you get at Home Depot...yes, they will work as great battery holder-inners: GUILTY! But bungees? My dirty confession is now out there for everyone, I feel so much better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.