great, now the car won't start

[greg@berkeley]

my alternator power wire burnt up a week ago right where it meets the alternator. from what i learned on the forum and otherwise, i'm guessing it just loosened up. i put on a new wire and it worked fine. i broke off 3/8ths of an inch of the end of the stud on the alternator, but it should be fine.

now, the car won't start. the battery is fully charged (radio etc. work fine), but when i try to start the car, the starter doesn't kick on. i don't think that the alternator problem is at all related. i disconnected the alternator power wire (in case it was shorting out or something), but the starter still didn't kick on.

this sucks.:damnit: anyone have any ideas or common problems to check for?

 

[greg@berkeley]

in case this helps, the same thing happened yesterday. i opened the hood, jiggled my alternator power wire thinking it shorted against the casing, and then the car started normally. i know now that that was a fluke...

 

[greg@berkeley]

wtf.

the car just started. i had the key turned all the way as you do to start the car, and nothing happened. i held the key there for 5 seconds, and suddenly the starter kicked on for a split second, then kicked off. i tried the process again, and nothing happened. on the third try, i held the key to the starting position for like 10 seconds, and then the starter kicked on long enough for the car to actually start. i'm taking it to the shed right now to take a look. i'm guessing this means there is simply a loose connection somewhere. anything else it could be?

 

[greg@berkeley]

well, i got it fixed, at least for now. i played with some wires, and now the starter kicks on immediately, like it should. i think a wire or harness was just loose. anyway, it starts again

 

[AznStanger3v]

its good to know you got lots of help on this one man!

 

[greg@berkeley]

yeah, i thought about being the smartass, but thanks for doing it for me

 

[mo_dingo]

Man, I wish I had another personality to help me with car problems like you. Oh well.
Scott

 

[Imyourzero]

I had a similar problem with my car. Turns out it was a loose connection at the battery...I cleaned up the post to get rid of any corrosion and made sure the terminal had a nice tight connection and I haven't had any issues starting the car since.

 

[greg@berkeley]

yeah, that was one of my first steps. didn't solve the problem. thanks though.