cockerstar Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 So, after not having my '79 280ZX up and running for awhile, I finally repaired my alternator (fixed the ground and the batt terminals on it) and installed it in my car. When I put the battery in it there was an abnormally large spark when connecting the ground and a little bit of a funny smell. I assumed that the battery just had a good charge and that it was some of the crud sizzling on my terminal. I stuck the key in the ignition and got no radio. Well, that's weird, whatever. Then I turned the key to start it and got nothing. Not even a crank. I pulled the battery out and stuck it in my accord, but I still got nothing at all from it. I took it down and had it tested at autozone. It is rated for 630 cold crank amps and it had 8 What would cause this to happen to my battery? I don't want to just buy a new battery, stick it in, and have the same thing happen over again. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 I know they are pricey but I always buy optima batteries, they SO ROCK! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Batteries, any battery, do not like being taken to total discharge. If you allowed that to happen it is totally dead and can not be recharged. Battery tenders will keep that from happening on a batttery that is sitting unattended for a long time. So, after not having my '79 280ZX up and running for awhile, I finally repaired my alternator (fixed the ground and the batt terminals on it) and installed it in my car. When I put the battery in it there was an abnormally large spark when connecting the ground and a little bit of a funny smell. I assumed that the battery just had a good charge and that it was some of the crud sizzling on my terminal. I stuck the key in the ignition and got no radio. Well, that's weird, whatever. Then I turned the key to start it and got nothing. Not even a crank. I pulled the battery out and stuck it in my accord, but I still got nothing at all from it. I took it down and had it tested at autozone. It is rated for 630 cold crank amps and it had 8 What would cause this to happen to my battery? I don't want to just buy a new battery, stick it in, and have the same thing happen over again. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Are you sure you connected everything on the alt properly? Sounds like you either crossed the ground and batt connections or crossed the cables or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockerstar Posted April 13, 2008 Author Share Posted April 13, 2008 I figured out what it was today guys! I had everything hooked up correctly, but the batt(sends the charge to the battery) cable was grounding out on the body of the terminal. I cleaned up my ground wires and just added a piece of insulation between the ring terminal and the rest of the alternator to keep it from grounding out. I had some electrical tape on there, but I guess it wasn't enough. It feels good to be able to drive the car again! So, does this mean that my battery is completely toasted? I think I'll put it on a trickle charge overnight and see how it is in the morning. There isn't really much else I can do to save it. Thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger.svoboda Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 If you got a real battery (ie lead acid) and not one of those crappy gel cells it should recharge with not problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockerstar Posted April 15, 2008 Author Share Posted April 15, 2008 Awesome! It is a lead acid one. I couldn't find my charger in the garage so I'll have to borrow a friends for a night This battery came out of my accord, but it isn't like I'm DDing it right now. Some kids decided that it would be amusing to shoot out my windows with a bb gun. After getting some estimates it's looking like it will be nearly $800 in glass damages alone. I'm not even going to bother with where they hit the metal itself. Damn liability... You can see the sad Z project sitting in the back. I really need to get it licensed and just drive it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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