So what did I fry?

[Silverback51]

Originally Posted by rtstrack

Thanks for all of the advice guys. I'm not offended at all. I know i'm in over my head on this thing, I just figured I would atleast attempt to rectify the situation myself. I tried..it didnt' work...now off to a professional. Thanks for the help

Sorry you are going through this. I hope it's an easy and cheap fix and you are on the road again soon.

[undy]

rtstrack,


Just a fyi.. With what you've described there's many things that could be wrong..

1) shorted MSD (if you have one).
2) bad Mallory uni-light optical sensor (I would rather have a sister in a whore
house than use a Uni-Light).
3) bad starter Bendix/starter ( we never really knew if the engine turns
over .. sorry, your terminology was lacking.)
4) bad fusible link.
5) bad ignition switch/circuit malady.
6) bad starter solenoid (if remotely mounted)
7) low battery voltage

...just to name a few.

To eliminate each one would require a certain varying amount of technical expertise that, no offense, you seem to be lacking. If any of us thought you had a pig's chance in hell at fixin' this we'd roll up our sleeves and jump right in there with ya!! Please do us the honor and let us know what the problem is when it's found.

Dave

[SKINNEDR]

Please let us know the results of the garage findings.
I did something smilar with one of my toys Mazda Miata.
It's been sitting in the garage for a while without use. For Christmas my wife gave me a portable charger. Full of vigor and the determination to use this thing for the first time, I mistakendly switch polarity. Fortunately for me the only thing that got screwed up was the portable charger (it got really hot..). I took the receipt from my wife and exchaged it for a new one at Sears.
The Mazda starts-up without any problem....

Good luck, let us know what happen...
Dex..

[MT nester]

The question no one is asking is
"why were you replacing the battery in the first place??
What were the symptoms that caused you to replace the battery?
Are the symptoms now the same as before you pulled out the old battery?

[rtstrack]

I thought a few more details might help. The gauges have juice, the lights come on, the fans can be turned on as well. I definetly hear a click when I turn the key in the ignition and when I start it, it sounds like a battery thats starting to die. After i stop trying to start it i can hear the spinning from what i believe would be the starter. I know it can't be a bad battery, because #1 its brand new, and #2 I tried to jump it with a charger (little portable jumper pack) just in case. I just got the car and it came with a dead battery. I jumped it and it would start right up. I obviously needed to replace it, so thats how this all got started. I don't think its relevant, but I'll throw it out there just in case. The car cables have small loops that went on a 5/16th screw-in top post battery. I couldn't find a replacement battery with a threaded post, so i got a standard top post battery and bought connectors (the typical ends to a battery cable) that would slide on the post and in turn i could thread the looped cables onto one of the screws on the connector. I doubt this helps much, but I thought I'd try. Thanks for all the help

[RedBarchetta]

Originally Posted by rtstrack

The car cables have small loops that went on a 5/16th screw-in top post battery. I couldn't find a replacement battery with a threaded post, so i got a standard top post battery and bought connectors (the typical ends to a battery cable) that would slide on the post and in turn i could thread the looped cables onto one of the screws on the connector. I doubt this helps much, but I thought I'd try.

This alone helps A LOT! You may not be getting enough "juice" (i.e. cold cranking amps) through that connector. Swap out your battery cables for ones that fit the battery (or exchange the battery for the right posts) and you should experience a world of difference. Even the slightest loose cable can result in a no start condition that you described (every accessory works but the starter only goes "click"). I can't recall how many times I've had this happen to me (i.e. loose ground cable). Good luck!

-Dean

[Ronbo]

If your connections at the battery are bad they will heat up after a couple seconds cranking. Carefully feel around the terminals after cranking the engine. If you've got bad connections, they will heat up, a lot!! (touch, don't grab)

Your ignition system setup is somewhat complicated, if your not sure how to bypass the MSD then you'll have a hard time finding what's popped.

If it's not the MSD you'd need to swap both the coil (least likely) and the Unilite (most likely). Do you have the instructions for the Unilite? - wire the coil directly to it.

If none of this makes sense, get a friend or a pro to find it.