zg2g0 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I'm having a little electrical problem and kind of need some help. yesterday i was driving the car and everything was fine until everything just shut off. engine died, lights went out, no voltage, nothing. i check the battery, terminal connections, and everything was fine. i have some voltage now but its weird. sometimes it would read 12v and when i turn the key to the on position it does the normal buzzing sound. when i try to crank it, it just makes a clickicg noise and everything shuts off. voltage down to 0. and after that the voltage would slowly go up and reads about 8v sometimes 6v and sometimes 12v. when i try to use any electrical component the voltage drops dramaticly. like the head lights or hazzard or even stepping on the brakes. i tried messing with the relay's ground and stuff but still no luck. any help would be great. thanks. o yea i have a 78 280z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
76s30 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 ok start by replacing the battery they are cheap and it will help to know its for sure good, isn't time for an optima anyway? then replace battery terminals. check condition of all major lines, i.e. battery to starter, battery to body , body to engine, etc. make sure nothing is shorting out, leave the key on for a little while and touch wire with you hand to see if they are warm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom'sZ Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I agree the 76s30 about the battery and cables being important. But this sounds like a bad key switch if I ever heard one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 This sounds like a dead battery. One or more cells in it have gone kaput. Might as well replace the battery cables while you're in there though. It's always good to have nice set in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj paul Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 like they said replace the battery. if its not that then it might be the ignition switch. ive heard the same problem from them too. one way to see if its the battery though is to jump it and if it starts right up then it is the battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 That would probably work in this case, however I've seen some batteries so dead they will pull any charge coming from the other vehicle and still won't start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-8 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I don't know about your car specifically, but when that happened to mine, the fusible link melted. It's on the passenger side engine bay, in a plastic box. That's exactly it's purpose. You can buy a roll of fusible link wire from Kragen, or whatever auto parts store is close to you. I would also check the ground for the battery, clean it up real nice. Hope this helps out. Did you mean you have a 79 280zx? Thats what I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I have had that exact problem occur from dirty battery posts. "Looks clean" don't count. Take a wire brush to them. What do you have to lose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zg2g0 Posted April 9, 2007 Author Share Posted April 9, 2007 i have a pretty new optima battery and new wires but i'll check agian to see if they are clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Don't just look. Wire brush them. Check the other end of the battery cables also. Either connector can do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom'sZ Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I agree with Pop that you need to clean not just look at the cables. They can look fine and still not work. Jumping from another car does not prove it's the battery. There are only two true ways to check a battery - load test it (your auto parts store will do this for you) or specific gravity test (a cheap one is three bucks!!!). The first step in diagnoising any electrical problem is getting a KNOWN TO BE GOOD battery. This issue might not be the battery. But you are not going to find the issue until you eliminate the battery. (I still think this one is a bad key switch) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-8 Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 I'm not trying to be smart or anything, but can you gravity test an optima battery? I have one myself. Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zwitha383 Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 If you jump it off will it run? If it will run and then die (either after a while or after you disconnect it) it is your alternator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom'sZ Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 I'm not trying to be smart or anything, but can you gravity test an optima battery? I have one myself. Just curious. Z-8 No you can't. A specific gravity tester will only work on a liquid acid battery. you have to be able to draw some of the acid from each cell up into the tester. You dip the hose down into the acid and use the bulb to draw acid up into the tester. The float rises inside and there is a scale to read the strength of the battery. You perform this test on each cell of the battery. They are also called a hydrometer, here's another type Both around 6 or 8 bucks. And here is a a load tester. They are a little more expensive to buy, around 30 to 50 bucks There are some wires inside the case, sort of like a toaster, and when the battery is hooked up to it (with those short cables) it causes the wires inside to glow. This uses current, and simulates the battery being used. As you do this you can watch the voltage. A good battery will hold up around 10-12 volts, a bad one will drop off like a pig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-8 Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 Thats what I thought about the gravity tester. I've never had the need to see if my optima was working properly or not. I guess a little common sense could have answered that question. Oh well. Thanks for the response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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