Correct.
melted my jumper cables jumping my FJ.. wont jump.. wtf? (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter wantatlc
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
looks like you got it solved, but for future reference, the larger red wire you described does fit the description of where you would have a fusible link. on some, it's cast into the postive terminal with the large wire, on some it just connects to it.
- Thread starter
- #63
for free advice.. I'll take it. especially when I would have had issue solving this myself.
the original starter just failed - click, click, click is all it would do at times and finally, just only clicked and never would fire it up one dat... took it to pep's and they said it was toast. this time, no click no nothing. just dead battery that now seems to be tied to the starter. BUT what is odd is how could it drain the battery if I had a kill switch on the - side and the kill switch was set to off?? that is odd to me. should it not be on the - side. how can it drain if - is shut off?
yes, I plan to get a charger. maybe ask for one for xmas
hope they swap it though as I am in the 3 years.
It was almost certainly a shorted starter/solenoid from the beginning, because the chassis power feeds are much smaller gauge wire than the jumper cables, so they would have smoked first if they were shorted. Sorry for the delayed insight.
- Thread starter
- #65
no reason to say sorry for anything.. heck, it may have taken 24 hrs - but that is a small inconvenience to get to the issue freely with everyones help - which I appreciate..
Now, I need to get ready to deal with Pep Boys and Costco.
It was a remanufactured starter I now see. I wonder if that could be part of the issue for why it went bad.
Now, I need to get ready to deal with Pep Boys and Costco.
It was a remanufactured starter I now see. I wonder if that could be part of the issue for why it went bad.
fjwagon
SILVER Star
Interesting to say the least, my is guess is you possibly had a loose connection(more current) in your starter and over time will cause components to breakdown a cause a short or maybe you had worn out brushes.... or your battery had a short cell and made it worse when you put a load on it. It's hard to tell. hopefully you can get it all sqared away.
The short is most likely in the solenoid/magnetic switch part of the starter. This should be independent of the brushes (which are most likely fine in a 1 month old starter) and the battery. If I had to take a guess, I would guess that there was a mechanical failure causing the internals of the solenoid to touch the frame of the solenoid.
Just an educated guess from an old geezer. Part of why I bought an FJ is it is simple and simple makes sense. Last car I completely understood was a 1980 Triumph Spitfire.
Just an educated guess from an old geezer. Part of why I bought an FJ is it is simple and simple makes sense. Last car I completely understood was a 1980 Triumph Spitfire.
bsevans
Focus on the Journey
If you bought the battery at Costco they will give you your money back. I did not see how long it had been since you bought it. I've returned 4 Optimas (2 Red Top and 2 Yellow Top). Costco did not ask for a proof of purchase. They only checked the build date to see if it was a full refund or pro-rated.
- Thread starter
- #69
yep, bought at Costco 1 month shy of 3 years just under the full warranty wire. they say they still have them, so was thinking of getting the same.
OR, should I take the money and run and get something else?
just under the full warranty wire. they say they still have them, so was thinking of getting the same.OR, should I take the money and run and get something else?
Glad you sorted it out. As Pin Head said, I was almost sure it was the starter but you have to follow a logical process to eleminate the non-issues. Only large feeds in direct short (starter, winch, etc) could melt jumper cables before toasting smaller gage wire.
Easy fix, under warranty=a good day. Rebuilt components save a few bucks but you get a bad one once in a while. Some poor fool making minimum wage prolly had his head up his you know what when he went through "your" starter. Oh well.
As for the Optima, get another if they will exchange. I personally prefer the yellow tops and have had great luck with them as compared to the red tops but that topic has been beat to death on POR. In any case you should be good to go shortly!
Easy fix, under warranty=a good day. Rebuilt components save a few bucks but you get a bad one once in a while. Some poor fool making minimum wage prolly had his head up his you know what when he went through "your" starter. Oh well.
As for the Optima, get another if they will exchange. I personally prefer the yellow tops and have had great luck with them as compared to the red tops but that topic has been beat to death on POR. In any case you should be good to go shortly!
bsevans
Focus on the Journey
yep, bought at Costco 1 month shy of 3 years
OR, should I take the money and run and get something else?
As my Optimas have diminished in their ability to fully charge I have replaced them with the Sears Platinum and really like them. I have two in my turbo diesel and the engine has never turned over this fast starting. They are expensive but come with a much better warranty (Platinum P-4 - Group Size 34/78DT; 48 months full coverage and 100 months pro-rated).
- Thread starter
- #73
I just kept it easy and let costco swap me for a new one. So, got another red top.
once I get the starter swapped, will post up and report on what the result was.
once I get the starter swapped, will post up and report on what the result was.
- Thread starter
- #74
UPDATE: we were wrong. the starter is totally fine. passed tests 100%.
Now what?
I have a perfect starter and a brand new battery, but I am afraid to hook up the battery as I bet the moment I do, it will start to fry. If jumping it from the car direct to the rig causes melting/smoke, then the new battery will as well.
I am now backed to being stumped and not even sure where to start.
Now what?
I have a perfect starter and a brand new battery, but I am afraid to hook up the battery as I bet the moment I do, it will start to fry. If jumping it from the car direct to the rig causes melting/smoke, then the new battery will as well.
I am now backed to being stumped and not even sure where to start.
Coolerman
SILVER Star
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2004
- Threads
- 142
- Messages
- 6,741
- Location
- Paint Lick, KY
- Website
- www.globalsoftware-inc.com
Too weird... Post up some pics of the wiring so we can see what you have. Someone may spot something that would help you.
When you say that the starter passed tests 100%, was one of the tests measuring the resistance from the solenoid terminal to the case? You did this test and it failed. Now it passes?
- Thread starter
- #77
what would you like to see?
Page #2 has the alternator photo - speaking of which, could that be the issue? The reason I ask is that I had to get the rig in the garage to make it easier to work on since it was outside. So, I went ahead and hooked up the starter and brand new Optima battery and wired it all up as it was the only way. it fired right up, I pulled the rig in and shut it down - for 1 minute I had it on.
BUT, in that 1 minute I noticed 3 quick things..
1) the stock AMP gauge deflected left to discharging (-30)
2) the after market volt gauge deflected left into the yellow zone (11-12 volts) and not right to it's normal green zone I see (13-14 volts)
3) the little test gauge I had plugged into the lighter that tells me condition of the alternator and battery showed the battery as yellow light status of "recharge" (11.8-12.35v) and not the normal green "charged" status (12.4-12.6v) zone AND the Alternator system lights did not even show up or turn on, like it is not even there. Which is never the case.
does any of this shed light on the issue? Could it be the alternator?
Page #2 has the alternator photo - speaking of which, could that be the issue? The reason I ask is that I had to get the rig in the garage to make it easier to work on since it was outside. So, I went ahead and hooked up the starter and brand new Optima battery and wired it all up as it was the only way. it fired right up, I pulled the rig in and shut it down - for 1 minute I had it on.
BUT, in that 1 minute I noticed 3 quick things..
1) the stock AMP gauge deflected left to discharging (-30)
2) the after market volt gauge deflected left into the yellow zone (11-12 volts) and not right to it's normal green zone I see (13-14 volts)
3) the little test gauge I had plugged into the lighter that tells me condition of the alternator and battery showed the battery as yellow light status of "recharge" (11.8-12.35v) and not the normal green "charged" status (12.4-12.6v) zone AND the Alternator system lights did not even show up or turn on, like it is not even there. Which is never the case.
does any of this shed light on the issue? Could it be the alternator?
- Thread starter
- #78
I did the test as you asked, yes. I got the numbers I reported here. Unless I did something wrong in my test, but I think if you reread, it seemed clear what you asked, what I did, and what I reported. Agreed?
I have the test report. They hook it up to that machine and it just says "PASS" and this:
Voltage, current, solenoid, chatter, drive extension PASSED
High Voltage 16.5 low 8 actual 11.56
Current 120 low 40 actual 99.77
Solenoid off amps 1 low 0.00 actual 0.00
Chatter time 800.00 low 0.00 actual 0.00
You still have a short somewhere. If it is not the starter, then that leaves all the other wires that you have attached to + post of the battery. Disconnect all of them and then attach them one at a time and look for big sparks from the wire that is shorted.
It still doesn't make sense that any of these wires would be the source of the short because they are much smaller wires than your average jumper cable and would smoke and melt before the jumper cable would.
Don't leave your battery connected until you fix the short.
Your ammeter says that it's discharging because you still have a short in your electrical system.
Your battery discharged very quickly because it's a big short.
I hope you disconnected the battery after you got it in the garage.
There aren't many things that could do this. It ought to be simple.
Maybe you need to take some pictures because there's either something you're missing or their test didn't check for a short in the solenoid. When they said that the starter was good, I would have pulled out my meter and showed them the short. Did you test the starter yourself again when it was out?
Your battery discharged very quickly because it's a big short.
I hope you disconnected the battery after you got it in the garage.
There aren't many things that could do this. It ought to be simple.
Maybe you need to take some pictures because there's either something you're missing or their test didn't check for a short in the solenoid. When they said that the starter was good, I would have pulled out my meter and showed them the short. Did you test the starter yourself again when it was out?
