Help!!!!!

Ed Carpenter · 04-14-2012, 01:31 AM

I went testing tonight didn't go well. Here is what it's doing now. I say now because this season has been a disaster. Car started fine when I loaded it yesterday in trailer. Get to track starts ok. Tech go straight to staging lanes. Car would barely start. Made the run anyway(should have just went back to trailer) car was a dog no power so I shut it off. I'm assuming it had no power because there wasn't enough juice to power the MSD box properly.Car would not not re start battery dead. Get it back to trailer and this is what I tried to no avail.

1. Tried my spare 16v battery
2. Disconnected cables from master cutoff to rule that out
3. Disconnected cables from remote starter solenoid to rule that out.

None of that worked so I put the charger on it and it started right up. I loaded it in trailer and shut it off. Tried to restart it and it would barely turn the motor over and would not start. I will try a third battery in the morning but 2 16v battery taking a crap at the same time seems unlikely to me. Any suggestions on something else to look for?

Kenny Wigington · 04-14-2012, 05:15 AM

Try another starter, Ed. They will kill any battery sometimes.

David Lee · 04-14-2012, 06:09 AM

Bad Ground?

Jim B · 04-14-2012, 06:15 AM

I would do a conventional cranking voltage amperage draw test as well as a battery load test (disconnect the battery from the vehicle cables when performing the load test and be sure to get the normal specs from the specific starter and battery manufacturer !!!) Also do a static draw test to make sure you don't have a static drain. Those two should identify the problem area if it is in the battery/cable/starter chain. Also don't overlook an internal broken battery post connection though with two batteries that's probably not the problem. There's gotta be easy access to a VAT 40 type tester.

Ed Wright · 04-14-2012, 08:31 AM

Ed, I would be looking for a drain on the battery. If it's this bad you should be able to pull the ground cable, charge the battery, then touch the ground cable to the negative post on the battery (with the cut-off switch=on) and see sparks. Then all you can do is disconnect things until the sparks stop. That will, of course, be the culprit. Is everything on the car powered by the long positive cable?

nolongerracing · 04-14-2012, 08:53 AM

Make sure you check you battery charger.

04-14-2012, 01:31 AM	#1
Ed Carpenter Live Reporter Join Date: May 2006 Location: Dripping Springs, Tx Posts: 2,709 Likes: 186 Liked 520 Times in 132 Posts	Help!!!!! I went testing tonight didn't go well. Here is what it's doing now. I say now because this season has been a disaster. Car started fine when I loaded it yesterday in trailer. Get to track starts ok. Tech go straight to staging lanes. Car would barely start. Made the run anyway(should have just went back to trailer) car was a dog no power so I shut it off. I'm assuming it had no power because there wasn't enough juice to power the MSD box properly.Car would not not re start battery dead. Get it back to trailer and this is what I tried to no avail. 1. Tried my spare 16v battery 2. Disconnected cables from master cutoff to rule that out 3. Disconnected cables from remote starter solenoid to rule that out. None of that worked so I put the charger on it and it started right up. I loaded it in trailer and shut it off. Tried to restart it and it would barely turn the motor over and would not start. I will try a third battery in the morning but 2 16v battery taking a crap at the same time seems unlikely to me. Any suggestions on something else to look for? __________________ Ed Carpenter 2005 Chevy Cobalt A/SM Race Engine Development

04-14-2012, 05:15 AM	#2
Kenny Wigington Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Cumming,Ga. USA Posts: 967 Likes: 36 Liked 60 Times in 12 Posts	Re: Help!!!!! Try another starter, Ed. They will kill any battery sometimes. __________________ 2894 STK

04-14-2012, 06:09 AM	#3
David Lee VIP Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,168 Likes: 487 Liked 346 Times in 126 Posts	Re: Help!!!!! Bad Ground?

04-14-2012, 06:15 AM	#4
Jim B Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 100 Likes: 0 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Help!!!!! I would do a conventional cranking voltage amperage draw test as well as a battery load test (disconnect the battery from the vehicle cables when performing the load test and be sure to get the normal specs from the specific starter and battery manufacturer !!!) Also do a static draw test to make sure you don't have a static drain. Those two should identify the problem area if it is in the battery/cable/starter chain. Also don't overlook an internal broken battery post connection though with two batteries that's probably not the problem. There's gotta be easy access to a VAT 40 type tester. Last edited by Jim B; 04-14-2012 at 06:31 AM.

04-14-2012, 08:31 AM	#5
Ed Wright Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Sand Springs, OK Posts: 8,132 Likes: 896 Liked 390 Times in 170 Posts	Re: Help!!!!! Ed, I would be looking for a drain on the battery. If it's this bad you should be able to pull the ground cable, charge the battery, then touch the ground cable to the negative post on the battery (with the cut-off switch=on) and see sparks. Then all you can do is disconnect things until the sparks stop. That will, of course, be the culprit. Is everything on the car powered by the long positive cable? __________________ Ed Wright 4156 SS/JA

04-14-2012, 08:53 AM	#6
nolongerracing Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 173 Likes: 2 Liked 72 Times in 27 Posts	Re: Help!!!!! Make sure you check you battery charger.