Car Completely Dead after BIG 3..help

[Imtjnotu 5,000+ posts]

so i finally ran the big 3 today and everything went fine but when we go to put my old batt in the car the terminals spark like crazy when connecting the positive rings....check the voltage on the batt and it went from 12.3 to 7v.....the car wont come on at all even when turning the key no lights in the dash or anything.

we try to jump the car with my friends and the kicker is that the jumper cables melted....the wires werent crossed at all they were hooked up right....

any help on why this could be?

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[ktraughb 10+ year member]

whoa, melted cables spells big mistake. it sounds like something is crossed. like there may be a ground that is connected to a positive or perhaps a lack of a ground completely. usually when a battery drops that quickly, considering it doesnt have any bad cells, it is due to a lack of a ground. sort it out and do not try to start the car again without finding the issue, otherwise you could quickly destroy your alternator. i would back track, remove all wiring that you installed, and then see how it goes. and of course charge the bat in the meantime.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

sounds bad bro, you might want to call a expert before something worse happens. It could be a fuse but it could be something that would flame up

 

[sacsking916 5,000+ posts]

check the main fuse in the fuse box under the hood. and triple check every ground

 

[Sub Woofin 10+ year member]

thats a huge health hazard.

 

[Imtjnotu 5,000+ posts]

im gonna check the ground but i didnt really touch it at all since i did it 5 weeks ago with 0 gauge....ive been running it fine and when i did the big 3 today didnt even touch the ground or move it mucha t all i only took the ring term off the post and taped it up...

im gonna re check everything i can.....battery now reads 0 volts

 

[MisterDeadeye 10+ year member]

That really sounds horrible. I have no idea what's wrong, but it sounds like you really messed something up. I'll stick around to see when you figure out what happened.

And it also sounds really dangerous. You should get this fixed ASAP.

 

[Chevy88Caprice 10+ year member]

also check the cable running to the back of ur alt. it could be touching something

 

[Imtjnotu 5,000+ posts]

Cable running to the alt isn't on anything I ca see we even disconnected it and nothing...I'm having the batt charged now but I'm pretty sure its the main fuselink for the car ill check it tomorrow when I go out to look..only thing I'm scared of is the audio being stolen because its in an apartment complex with the windows half down...

Having my mechanic meet me at the car

 

[sleazebagger 10+ year member]

Trouble shoot down the line. fuses, batt, alt, starter, relays, computer. hopefully the problem stops at no more then starter, otherwise call your insurance agent and tell them a lighting bolt came down out of the clear blue skys of so cal.

I hope it works out man

 

[Imtjnotu 5,000+ posts]

hahahaha im gonna go with the fuse....none of the lights even come on when u turn the key so im thinking the fuse is broken.....

BMW E34 Website look at the 535 ****

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

similar thing happened. Basically I didn't secure the cable from batt pos to alt pos and it got shredded and was touching metal. Took out that wire and replaced the fuse and I was good to go.

Btw, I didn't really read the whole thread

 

[Imtjnotu 5,000+ posts]

Well I may found the problem guys

Alternator case was touching the positive wire leading to the battery while at the same time I had grounded the alternator bracket to the suspension so I had an open system....I hope that's the problem

I hooked up a cheap old batt today and the negative terminal started smoking bad so I'm gonna replace the ground for the batt again and let u guys know

 

[ahole-ic]

I could tell from your first couple of posts you had shorted + to -. Trying to jump it was the dumbest thing you could do. Put your dmm on the resistance setting and make sure you don't still have a short.

 

[Imtjnotu 5,000+ posts]

I could tell from your first couple of posts you had shorted + to -. Trying to jump it was the dumbest thing you could do. Put your dmm on the resistance setting and make sure you don't still have a short.

What would it need to be set too and what exactly am I looking for