Taxi Driver Online

I've been messing about with cars and vans more years than I care to remember but I dropped such an elementary clanger the other day I wonder if I'm going a bit gaga.
As the cold weather got worse my fairway proved harder to start,if it fired first time it would be OK but if not the starter would soon slow down and the engine turned too slowly.I took off all the leads and cleaned the connections but it made no difference.Charging the battery helped so I went out and bought a new one even though a voltage drop test showed the old one was low but still had a fair bit of life left in it.
Still I had problems.Jumping the battery (the new one) improved things sometimes and I even resorted to easy start (didn't help).
One day,connecting the jump eads I put the negative one to the engine block and not the fitted batteries post and the thing flew round.
Even though I'd cleaned and scraped it the connection to the block must be no good (or maybe the connections corroded out of sight inside).Either way it's too cold to grovel about underneath today,so a jump lead between clamp and block will do temporarily.I'm so annoyed I didn't try this before,never assume my old dad used to say.He was right.

_________________
Selling Imperial tools for old cars.

I wonder how many batteries, starter motors and alternators have been sold thanks to bad earthing between battery/chassis and chassis/engine block...

yeah, dads CAN know things sometimes....

Vauxhalls are bad for it

I can vouch for that, I've got a Vauxhall Signum (Private Car) which has been a pain for the last year with the battery going flat when it's cold. Tested the alternator all is OK battery was not upto the mark so I changed it. Enter more cold weather and the battery is dead again. Battery is OK as is the Alternator.

_________________
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

Believe me, don't get Mercury X2

Run a good earth strap from the neg on the batery to a bolt on the block, Vauxhall used to use a braided earth strap that was earthed to the body this disintegrated over time, they may still do???

Good thinking Skip I'll give it a whirl, batteries flat so can't start it yet.

_________________
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

Believe me, don't get Mercury X2

at a point when its running/has run, uncouple the battery overnight

if its fine next day then the battery is ok and you have a drain on it

boot light stuck on?

get a meter on it or a diagnostic

I've had the meter on mate it shows everything is OK.

_________________
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

Believe me, don't get Mercury X2

my guys have a full electical test rig, shows all functions, a meters ok as far as it goes but isnt too intricate, shows cranking draw, drain, charging, etc, etc

I've just been outside making a new earth connection from an old ford one.Fitted from battery negative terminal to the engine block.
The engine spins round faster than it ever did.
As another poswter said I bet there's a hell of a lot of batteries changed for the same reason.
I took off the old lead and a multimeter shows no fault but I'm sure the connectors corroded inside where its crimped to the wire and simply wont pass the starter current.

_________________
Selling Imperial tools for old cars.