HybridZ Misadventures pt 3: Stuck clutch, loose starter

[CR260z]

It is literally one thing after the next, new problems found before the old problems have been fixed.

 

Tried to start the car yesterday and lots of smoke. Figured it was because of the open headers but then I saw it was coming from the battery. The negative terminal MELTED. It was a new terminal and new battery.

 

So got a new terminal and the car was still hesitating. Checked where the negative cable went to and it goes to the starter and that nut was loose. Managed to tighten it up, but there was almost no clearance to get a wrench in there.

 

I finally got it running and going under the assumption it was the flywheel and clutch stuck together because the car sat so long, I got it into first then drove forward and it finally seemed to break loose. Drove it up and down the street and it shifted in all gears, but reverse grinded quite a bit.

 

Also it has virtually no brakes. We noticed that yesterday that the master cylinder had no fluid so I added some and bled the front brakes as best I could by myself so I could limp it up and down the block and it was ok if I pumped it, but there's got to be a leak somewhere.

 

Don't think the alternator is charging. My dad said it needed a connection to a light to show it's charging, so maybe that's tomorrow and that will be part 4, figure I'll lable these as I check off one fix. Battery terminals seemed pretty hot once the engine shut off and while the battery is in the stock location and that's next to the headers....I don't know if the terminals should get hot. Do they?