jaime240z Posted November 9, 2002 Share Posted November 9, 2002 Please help me. After work today my battery was dead. I replaced the alt. about 4-5 months ago. On the wat to work, I had the heater/def., stereo, and wipers on full blast as well as the headlights and fog lights so I figured that's probably what caused it. I got a jump start and drove home (approx. 30 miles). By the time I got home my battery should've been fully charged, right? WRONG! It was dead once I turned the engine off. I opened the hood to inspect the charging system. The battery was starting to seperate where one of the posts met the plastic. Acid was starting to spill out at this point so I disconnected the terminals and let everything cool down. I figured the battery was the problem so I went down and bought an optima battery to replace my damaged one.I get it installed and turn the key. IT STILL WON'T START! WTF! The battery has a full charge but my car won't even crank at all. Does anyone know what this might be? My guess is either the starter or starter soleniod. Is there any way to verify this before I start pulling them off the car? Please help! Thanks! Jaime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Shasteen Posted November 9, 2002 Share Posted November 9, 2002 When you say it wont start, do you mean: 1) the starter solenoid wont even click when the key is turned, or 2) the engine turns over when the key is on but the engine still doesnt start? When you post about a running problem-always give the year, make/model & which engine you have. Kevin, (Yea,Still an Inliner) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaime240z Posted November 9, 2002 Author Share Posted November 9, 2002 oh yeah, sorry 'bout that. It's a '72 240Z with a L24 About it not starting: Before I bought the new battery it would barely try to turn over. But the starter did engage and the engine turned VERY S-L-O-W. After installing the new battery: I made sure it had a full charge. The guy behind the counter assured me that optima batteries all had full charges when new. With the new battery the engine doesn't turn at all. I hear a clicking noise coming from the engine bay. I think this is the starter soleniod? But. the engine doesn't turn at all. I did hook up a volt meter and the bateery and starter have a full 12.5 volts. All the lights and instruments have power but no starter..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaime240z Posted November 9, 2002 Author Share Posted November 9, 2002 Oh yeah, one more thing. I installed new battery wires. I installed the new ones exactly as the old ones had been for years. The pos. is going to the starter solenoid. The neg. is going to a bolt on the transmission housing. My questions: Where did Datsun intend for the neg. battery cable to ground to? Should there be an engine ground strap? Location? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted November 9, 2002 Share Posted November 9, 2002 ground neg to top starter bolt between starter on bellhousing, on my car i bolted it to strut tower out of laziness and car would not start, bolt it to the starter bolt-boom, go, Drive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaime240z Posted November 10, 2002 Author Share Posted November 10, 2002 OK. I think I've figured it out. I got the starter and solenoid tested and they seem to be in good condition. The guy at the auto parts store recommended checking the ignition switch. Not the lock cylinder but the actual switch behind the lock. I guess the switch got very hot when the battery opened and caused the switch to fail. I got a new switch today but ran out of time to make sure that was the exact cause. I'll keep the progress posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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