Start issue

[KeenKilo]

Back in June one day the x wouldn’t start acting like a dead battery. Threw the jump box on it and off I went. Thought maybe something got left on, battery’s pretty new.

happened a coupla time after that to the point where the jump box wouldn’t work but I removed the negativity terminal and reinstalled and fired up fine. I cleaned all grounds and no change.

went to the JY and have had the battery holder triangle before all this started but I found the old bolt was broken off in my tray. Drilled that out the weekend of July 4th, got the battery properly secure and put new terminals on it.

Thought that fixed it haven’t had an issue since but yesterday I had to break out the jump box.

The lights flash for half a second and then nothing. No dash light no radio no power at all. Fires right up normally. I could tell it was going to happen even popping my back glass and seeing the dome flash off.

any ideas what to check?

 

[Rick]

Just a guess, but I am thinking the battery has a bad internal connection.

 

[KeenKilo]

Is there a way to test that?

I could probably have it warranty swapped at FLAPS but that won’t tell me I’ve fixed it until it does it again…or deosnt

 

[Rick]

Is there a way to test that?

I could probably have it warranty swapped at FLAPS but that won’t tell me I’ve fixed it until it does it again…or deosnt

You could try to have the battery load tested at an autoparts store. However if it's an intermittent connection to one of the posts, or between the plates it may not test bad. Definitely frustrating...

 

[KeenKilo]

I was worried it was ignition related but any load would cause it with or without the key. Thought I fixed it with the thermals. Least it hasn’t left me stranded yet

 

[KeenKilo]

It no started again and I could not get it going. Tried the usual fixes and even swapped batteries to no avail.

Had 12.6 at battery 3.6 everywhere else so I went over the grounds again, eliminated all 3 double nut grounds and notice the block ground was loose (probably because it wrap around the impact at the top end)

Also noticed when reading volts I’d have 12.6 on negative terminal and positive lead but 3.6 on positive terminal negative lead. That pointed me to grounds

Hoping it’s solved this time. Intermittent problems are the worst, especially electrical ones.

 

[fast_dave]

@KeenKilo

Just sayin' since I haven't read any mention of it AND carefully looking at your pics I see a lot of crud around the two battery caps.

Have you ever popped open the battery caps and checked the water level, ensuring that all of the plates are completely covered?

The way these batteries are orientated (front to rear) I've found that the front & rear two cells tend to lose a lot due to acceleration and braking.

Add to that, in my case, I'm in the PRK (HOT environment) and I have to add some water to cover up the cells about every two years.

Hope that helps

 

[KeenKilo]

I did and while I didn’t add any and there is no full line everything was covered. One side did seem lower but, everything was covered. Figured it was unlevel in my driveway. I have notice those caps always seem wet. Good observation I’ll top it off just for the sake of it.

I did swap batteries with my buddies who pulled up. Figured that would tell me

I could have shook the battery to dead I suppose. I don’t think they like that and I drove for a year without it secured in any way. Like stated earlier, I properly secured it when this all started.

 

[XploderPhil]

You need to perform a voltage drop across the battery cables. If you've had that style of battery cable terminals on the cable for awhile, there is a good chance the negative battery cable is full of corrosion. Get a good set of solder style terminal ends and use heat shrink also if needed.

How to use a Multimeter, Part 5: Measuring voltage drop - Hagerty Media

During the past month, we’ve covered how to use a multimeter to measure the trinity of voltage, resistance, and current. I’ve explained how this covers most electrical diagnosis in a car—how most of the time, you’re either trying to verify the presence or absence of voltage to a device or the...

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[fast_dave]

If you've had that style of battery cable terminals on the cable for awhile, there is a good chance the negative battery cable is full of corrosion.

Get a good set of solder style terminal ends and use heat shrink also if needed.

@XploderPhil makes two very good & valid points - especially if we're following the K.I.S.S. Principle and not trying to overthink this.

Exposed battery cables, those where you can see the exposed copper AND it lies close to the deck of the battery, tend to take on "the capillary effect".

Meaning that when battery acid leaks past the battery caps and posts, it literally seeks out a path and bonds to & gets sucked down the entire length of the copper wire.

About 10 years ago, this was a very popular topic on the forum - thumbs up to Xploderphil for posting this and refreshing my memory!

@KeenKilo ; You've provided a pic of a Diehard, that I can clearly see is a "leaker".

It's been cleaned up, but still shows signs of being a leaker - especially around the Negative post.

Then you added to my observation that you've been driving around with it unfastened for a year or so...

All that shaking is surely bringing the battery acid to the top deck of the battery, and it's more than likely following a path conveniently provided by the exposed battery cables and going down the entire length to the bottom.

The "plastic block" fastening system on the 2nd Gen works great - if lost - obtain another plastic block and fix it properly ASAP.

I also suggest that you toss your Diehard battery and fasten down the new one.

In fact, when choosing another battery, stay far away from Diehard batteries...

Then get on to replacing your cables - aftermarket ones is readily available and reasonably priced as most of this stuff is now just sitting on suppliers shelves.

HTH -