Something is funky with my battery.

Dbeck002 · Jul 3, 2005

I have a brand new battery in my trunk, it's been performing fine for the past 3 months. But the other day I go to turn the car on and the battery is completely dead. I had my friend charge it up with his car, it took a good 20 minutes of his car running to charge the battery enough to start my car. Then while the car was running the voltage was showing sooooooo LOW. Mind you the alternator is a brand new Load Boss 150 amp that I got 3 months ago too. I don't know why my battery gets drained so quickly. I need some help with this I'm stumped!!!

Also, there is this white powdery residue all over my trunk where the battery is, how did this crap get here and what's causing it?

rd · Jul 3, 2005

Suggestions: Check the voltage at the battery with the engine off, and then with the engine running. If you have 12 plus off, and 13 to 14 running your wiring and alt should be ok and you have a battery drain.

If that does not check, also check the voltage at the alt, to see if you have wiring or connection problems.

On a Ford, I always suggest cleaning all of the batt connections. At the posts, and especially at the ground connections.

If the alt and regulator are working, and there are no drains, its time for a new bat.

Dbeck002 · Jul 3, 2005

rd said:
Suggestions: Check the voltage at the battery with the engine off, and then with the engine running. If you have 12 plus off, and 13 to 14 running your wiring and alt should be ok and you have a battery drain.

If that does not check, also check the voltage at the alt, to see if you have wiring or connection problems.

On a Ford, I always suggest cleaning all of the batt connections. At the posts, and especially at the ground connections.

If the alt and regulator are working, and there are no drains, its time for a new bat.

Well just to get the engine started is a big deal, the battery is showing 4 volts with engine off. When its on its showing around 11 at idle with fan running, this should not be the case with a big 3G that i have.

I suspect a short somewhere in the cars circuit, I dont know where to look.

Thats just f--king great!!

JRPony · Jul 3, 2005

Dbeck002 said:
Well just to get the engine started is a big deal, the battery is showing 4 volts with engine off. When its on its showing around 11 at idle with fan running, this should not be the case with a big 3G that i have.

If you have 4 volts at the battery with the car off, then your battery is junk. Replace it. You probably have mutiple bad cells. Your alternator is probably working at full capacity just to get it up to 11 volts.

The white residue is from your sulfated battery.

Dbeck002 · Jul 3, 2005

JRPony said:
If you have 4 volts at the battery with the car off, then your battery is junk. Replace it. You probably have mutiple bad cells. Your alternator is probably working at full capacity just to get it up to 11 volts.

The white residue is from your sulfated battery.

Ok thanks for the reply but i worked some deduction with my voltmeter and came to this conclusion.

I traced every wire from the battery to the starter solenoid, even the long cables. and made sure that none of them showed continuity with the chassis (to try and deduce which wire was grounded). turns out i worked my way up to the starter solenoid and thats where the problem was. There is a YELLOW wire going to the starter solenoid, some accessory I believe. its yellow and has an EYE lug on it, when this wire is on the terminal, the leads show 5 volts. when i remove it, the voltage spikes back up. THIS is indeed the wire causing the drain. does anyone know what wire im talking about? its yellow and is bolted down with all ther other accessory wires, this specific yellow wire though has 4 wires splitting from it, they are all black. anyway, please someone tell me what this wire does and if i can drive without it. i need to go somewhere tonite lol

Dbeck002 · Jul 3, 2005

Alright, update.

that yellow wire from the starter solenoid that splits into 4 other wires. well i took a razor and cut into the 4 others to test their continuity and they are all showing continuity!!! wtf!! could all 4 of these wires be grounded somewhere? this isnt a coincedence, something is fishy. what do you guys think?

Saleen0679 · Jul 3, 2005

Sounds like you're talking about the yellow wire that splits into the four fusible links, three black and one brown. The links are something like nine inches long. Those wires start branching out further and go the the ignition switch, fuel pump, defroster, and fuse box.

Check out this schematic to see what's involved. Top right corner of the diagram. http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/fuel-alt-links-ign-ac.gif

Dbeck002 · Jul 3, 2005

Saleen0679 said:
Sounds like you're talking about the yellow wire that splits into the four fusible links, three black and one brown. The links are something like nine inches long. Those wires start branching out further and go the the ignition switch, fuel pump, defroster, and fuse box.

Check out this schematic to see what's involved. Top right corner of the diagram. http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/fuel-alt-links-ign-ac.gif

yes that is it, the yellow wire splitting into 3 black and one brown. but im not sure if they are supposed to show zero resistance with the chassis or not. all i know is that when i unplugged that yellow wire, the voltage on the battery went back to normal. one of those wires coming from the yellow wire is grounded somewhere. i dont know how to solve this.

hllon4whls · Jul 3, 2005

Those wires feed the interior of your car through your fuse box. Remove fuses one by one until you eliminate the drain.

Dbeck002 · Jul 3, 2005

hllon4whls said:
Those wires feed the interior of your car through your fuse box. Remove fuses one by one until you eliminate the drain.

why would the fuse cause the drain? when a fuse blows, doesnt it render the circuit inoperable? I dont understand.

HISSIN50 · Jul 3, 2005

I think the idea Hllon is going for is that you should disconnect items on that/those circuits (downstream from your shorted wire off the solenoid) till you remove one, and the short goes away - that is your bad circuit and drain.

Not all the items on that circuit (the yellow link) probably have fuses (I have not looked at a schematic for it) so you might have to physically undo electrical connections in that circuit to try and test the wiring in the circuit.

Good luck.

Dbeck002 · Jul 3, 2005

HISSIN50 said:
I think the idea Hllon is going for is that you should disconnect items on that/those circuits (downstream from your shorted wire off the solenoid) till you remove one, and the short goes away - that is your bad circuit and drain.

Not all the items on that circuit (the yellow link) probably have fuses (I have not looked at a schematic for it) so you might have to physically undo electrical connections in that circuit to try and test the wiring in the circuit.

Good luck.

i would just like to refresh, the yellow wire is NOT supposed to show continuity with the chassis ground? All i know is that when i disconnect it, the voltage goes up a bit. with key out engine off.

I just wanna make sure that the yellow wire is not supposed to show continuity.

because i cut into a couple of the black wires (splitting from the yellow, in the diagram) and tested for continuity, and they too show continuity with the chassis!!! maybe thats normal??? i dunno, help!

hllon4whls · Jul 4, 2005

You are going to show a certain ohm reading depending on the load on the other side. You need to set your meter to a higher ohm scale until you can read the ohms. It doesnt sound like you have a direct short. You may have some sort of load that is staying on (headlight, foglight, fan motor, or a wire that has rubbed through to the ground, but not making good contact.

Dbeck002 · Jul 4, 2005

Question, is it normal for the starter solenoid to make a fast clicking noise when i try to start the car, sounds like click click click 50 times a second.

or maybe thats normal because the voltage is really low that its just clicking and not starting. anyone have any experience with that?

HISSIN50 · Jul 4, 2005

Dbeck002 said:
Question, is it normal for the starter solenoid to make a fast clicking noise when i try to start the car, sounds like click click click 50 times a second.

or maybe thats normal because the voltage is really low that its just clicking and not starting. anyone have any experience with that?

Yes, when a battery is too drained/discharged, it is normal for the solenoid to make a rapid fire clicking/ratcheting noise. Charge it up or use a donor battery.

Good luck.

Dbeck002 · Jul 5, 2005

LOL I went to loosen the starter cable from the starter solenoid and the plastic casing on the solenoid cracked. The terminals in the solenoid looked like they were spot welded. I didnt even apply any torque to the wrench and the thing practically feel apart, I think i discovered the problem. Arent ford starter solenoids notorious for short lifespans? has to be this because my battery and alternator are brand new.

Dbeck002 · Jul 5, 2005

Also, since im buying a new solenoid does it HAVE to be a ford replacement for the 91 LX? I can order one online for 25 bucks and it can handle twice the current. What are the suggestions?

Dbeck002 · Jul 5, 2005

Ok i just installed the new starter solenoid, its a factory replacement from NAPA. the car will not start, even when its jumped to a running car it will barely want to crank over... i dont know what to do anymore, i really dont want to take it to a mechanic.

so far,

alternator new
battery new
starter solenoid new
unplugged alarm system

car will not crank over, or barely.

is it the starter motor dying maybe?

I really need help guys, this is my daily driver and it has to run.

:damnit:

NakedRaygun · Jul 5, 2005

Bad fuses can cause battery drains...just pull them and see if they are burnt. More than likely it will be your "Green 30's."

NakedRaygun · Jul 5, 2005

Dbeck002 said:
Ok i just installed the new starter solenoid, its a factory replacement from NAPA. the car will not start, even when its jumped to a running car it will barely want to crank over... i dont know what to do anymore, i really dont want to take it to a mechanic.

so far,

alternator new
battery new
starter solenoid new
unplugged alarm system

car will not crank over, or barely.

is it the starter motor dying maybe?

I really need help guys, this is my daily driver and it has to run.

:damnit:

Check the starter ground first. Usually it's covered in oil and grease/squirrels. Unscrew it and get some sand paper and sand the connector until it's silver again and sand the starter connection and clean up the bolt if you have to..make sure it's really bolted down.

Test the solenoid to see if it's getting spark, take a screwdriver to the two bolts to try and get a jump when the key is "on" in the ignition

Something is funky with my battery.

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