Electrical/Charging System Q&A's

[DrAE77]

I have many Q's about the workings of electrical sytems in cars, in general... more specifially about my car though, (1988 olds regency brougham 98). Hopefully There will be many replys with the A's to them!

Thanks ahead of time for your replies.
~Dannielle

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Q's about ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS, BATTERY, ALTENATOR, STARTER, SHORT CIRCUITS, FUSES, IGNITION / IGNITION COIL, CABLES / CONNECTIONS, etc.:

1. Do some cars require you to have a side post battery rather than a top post one?
2. I have connections from the alt. and starter to the battery... Should I use a side post or top post battery - or does it matter?
3. What would cause a car to, periodically, not start with absolutely no power, yet jump start VERY easily?
4. Can the altenator be the cause of a car dying while pressing on the brakes?
5. What can cause car to drain battery after battery? Could it be any thing other than the altenator?

6. What could be the cause of all of the above problems combined in a 1988 Olds regency 98?

7. I read somewhere on this site about some or all of the above problems could be related to problems I am not familiar with.. Could someone enlighten me with thier knowledge about how my questions could be related to any of the following and how to check if it is the cause of my problem?

fuseable link, airpump, ELC Struts leaking, power antenna, CCM


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Now about my mom's car... Same type of engine as mine, same type of Q's as above, different problem though LOL

8. What would be the cause of a car that only starts when it wants to - without having any problems with the battery being drained?
9. What could cause a car to start EASILY when cold, and not start, when motor is hot (driven for more than 10-20 min)?... It has power to the battery and tries to turn over. Sound like a problem with the Ignition Coil, or starter perhaps?

~Obviously us ladies are having problems starting our engines... (in our cars! "OUR" engines work fine!)

Thanks Again,
~Dannielle

[Schister66]

1. Top terminal or side terminal....doesn't matter, its only a space issue.
2. Doesn't matter....again they are the same kind of battery, but designed to fit in different spaces.
3. Corroded battery cables which wouldn't allow the current to flow from the battery to wherever it is needed.
4. I wouldn't think so, it could be something w/ vaccuum.
5. It could be a bad alternator, or it could be a parasitic load on the battery after the car is shut off....have some place test your charging system and also have a parasitic load test performed.
6. Not sure
7. Someone can help you, but not me....
8. There are lots of possibilities.....
9. The starter could be suffering heat soak....where the starter gets soooo hot that it won't start anymore.....my friend's 89 Iroc Camaro had the same problem

Hope this helps and i'm sure that more people will add to and correct this list!!

[curtis73]

1- top terminals and side terminals are different connnections. A top post is a round lug that you put a collar over and tighten. A side post has a flat connector that you put a bolt in the middle. You'll see the difference when you go to buy one.

2- see above. Just replace your battery with the same type and all the wires will have a home.

3- Sounds like a loose terminal at the battery. When you put the jumper cables on, you're borrowing power from the other car so it starts right away. Make sure the terminals are tight and have no corrosion. If they do, put some baking soda paste (just add some water) and leave it for several minutes. Then rinse it off with water.

4- nope. That one's a certified electrical gremlin. Sounds like a fuse is blown or there is a bad ground.

5- it could be that you have an electrical leak. Its most likely the alternator, but if its a leak it can be diagnosed. Beg, borrow, or steal an electrical multimeter set to mA DC. With the key off, take the negative terminal off the battery and connect the meter between the cable and the battery post. You should have a little tiny drain; things like the radio take a trickle to save the memory buttons and clock settings. If you have more than a few milliamps, start checking things. Pull fuses out one by one, check the meter, and replace each one. When the meter dips way down when you pull a fuse, you know you have the problem. You can expect the radio fuse to make a significant difference so ignore that one. Once you find the fuse that made the big difference, look at the fuse panel and see what's on that circuit. If it says, headlights, courtesy lights, and A/C, you've just narrowed it down to three things. Check trunk lights, headlight switch, etc.

7- I think those might have been suggestions of things that could be leaking juice.

8- Does the car just click sometimes when you turn the key? Bad solenoid on the starter.

9- Are you saying that the car has plenty of battery, but the starter seems like the battery is dead when its hot? It cranks slowly? Bad starter again. New starters should be available for $68 with an hour of labor to put them on.

Its really hard to tell on the first car what exactly is going on. If I were there I could probably tell you in a couple minutes with a multi meter, but any of the problems it could be are pretty easy fixes and pretty easy to diagnose if you get a logically thinking tech. Or, if you want, PM me and I'll try to walk you through diagnosing it yourself.

[DrAE77]

Tank you guys for your insights. I will definately put them to use.

~Dannielle