SERIOUS problem with car

[djman37 5,000+ posts]

That might explain why he dosent respond to my emails anymore...
Jokes aside, I was thinking that I could have possibly grounded a wire. If this happens i'm guessing a normal fuse would blow. But since its a penny, what should I expect?

Im kinda scared to try starting the car w/o the penny because there is no fuse whatsoever.. Also when I touch the fuse thing it goes back it place and my electrical comes alive again...

but never enough to start it.

car fire

 

[danz24 10+ year member]

ya guys I know its ghetto and all, but can we answer the other questions too.

My main concern right now is getting my electrical back to life and starting my car.

 

[wesl56 10+ year member]

dissconnect the - bat terminal... then remove or disconnect any power wires to the battery that arent stock... there should be one wire going from + to a fusebox and one wire from + to the starter or a starter solenoid...

 

[danz24 10+ year member]

dissconnect the - bat terminal... then remove or disconnect any power wires to the battery that arent stock... there should be one wire going from + to a fusebox and one wire from + to the starter or a starter solenoid...

Yup done that already^

I even tried to use another car's battery to jump start it. And still no power.

 

[wesl56 10+ year member]

if its an older car, check for fusible links... got a voltmeter? time to start pokin around and see if there is +12 to the starter solenoid and the distro box

 

[danz24 10+ year member]

its a 98. I dont have a voltmeter..yet

I still suspect it may have something to do with that connection though. When I try to start the car, sparks show in that penny.

 

[wesl56 10+ year member]

wait waht exactly does the wire with the penny fuse lead to? that should probably not even be connected to the battery at all

 

[danz24 10+ year member]

Its the only wire on the positive terminal of the battery. Its been like that for at least 4 yrs and its been fine since

What would happen tho to the penny since its the fuse. Regular fuses blow up, what would happen to the penny? I know it sparks when I try to start so would that be equivalent to a fuse blowing up? And if it is, why is it blowing up in the first place?

thanks wesl56, for being very helpful

 

[wesl56 10+ year member]

wow then i guess that wire with the penny is carrying the power for the entire car... and that penny is probably not getting a good enough connection to carry a load so that could be why there is no power to anything..

if thats the case, just cut out that entire fuseholder assembly and replace it with a decent fuseholder such as this http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=FH-44

 

[delvryboy 5,000+ posts]

if thats the only wire, it probably goes to the starter and from the starter solenoid to the fuse block. it is usually a fusible link in the amount of 300A plus. the guy probably burnt the originals and just tried using a fuse holder in it's place. i would say he was blowing fuses so he put the penny in.

in a pinch you can try a 300A anl fuse, but i would suggest getting the oem power wire from a parts store and replacing it.

it's really not a huge problem and i doubt there is any other issues besides a bad connection from the battery to the cars starter.

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

Its the only wire on the positive terminal of the battery. Its been like that for at least 4 yrs and its been fine since
What would happen tho to the penny since its the fuse. Regular fuses blow up, what would happen to the penny? I know it sparks when I try to start so would that be equivalent to a fuse blowing up? And if it is, why is it blowing up in the first place?

thanks wesl56, for being very helpful

The wiring is going to melt and everything will fry, get a picture of this, and your probably going to need to replace that with a fuse. But definately get a picture posted.

 

[danz24 10+ year member]

The wiring is going to melt and everything will fry, get a picture of this, and your probably going to need to replace that with a fuse. But definately get a picture posted.

Picture of what? Its not melted or fried, yet. The penny just sparks... Also OEM wires have been replaced already with 4ga.

So from the recommendations I guess the best bet would be replace the fuse with a 300amp ANL. Seems a bit high IMO to actually protect the wiring. And i'll give an update tomorrow.

Phew, that means I can actually sleep well tonight...

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

Picture of what? Its not melted or fried, yet. The penny just sparks... Also OEM wires have been replaced already with 4ga.

So from the recommendations I guess the best bet would be replace the fuse with a 300amp ANL. Seems a bit high IMO to actually protect the wiring. And i'll give an update tomorrow.

Phew, that means I can actually sleep well tonight...

The fucked up penny bullshit

 

[danz24 10+ year member]

its not letting me post the pic again but you can view it in the first post, wonder how much current those pennies can carry and what happens if the current goes over it...

Also what size fuse would you guys recommend. All my amps are drawing 190amp in total, with 4 ga and 0 ga wiring for the big 3. The wiring for the mentioned fuse is 4ga. If nobody replies I'll stick to the 300 amp fuse recommended before. IMHO it seems too high and defeat the purpose of a fuse.

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

4ga? Use a 150amp