smoke from solenoid??

[rayya73]

I have a 91 voyager 3.3 v-6 and i had a flat and drove a little while on it until the tire came off the rim...so i called tow truck and waited 3 hours in the cold and during which i ran the heat intermittantly but the next day the battery was dead..i tried to jump the attery and it started right up and when i went to rev up the gas to keep it started the gas pedal stuck all the way to the ground!! we turned it off and tried to start it back up but it was completely dead again. So when we tried to jump it again i saw smoke come from out of where the air filter is..after further review it loks like smoke is coming from where the solenoid would be..what can i do to fix this? and which solenoid is that?? and why would it not hold a charge?? thanks

[gromittoo]

Originally Posted by rayya73

I have a 91 voyager 3.3 v-6 and i had a flat and drove a little while on it until the tire came off the rim...so i called tow truck and waited 3 hours in the cold and during which i ran the heat intermittantly but the next day the battery was dead..i tried to jump the attery and it started right up and when i went to rev up the gas to keep it started the gas pedal stuck all the way to the ground!! we turned it off and tried to start it back up but it was completely dead again. So when we tried to jump it again i saw smoke come from out of where the air filter is..after further review it loks like smoke is coming from where the solenoid would be..what can i do to fix this? and which solenoid is that?? and why would it not hold a charge?? thanks

I am VERY concerned that your reving the engine caused the throttle to stick. That is a serious saftey concern you must deal with. That said...

It is very possible that the "smoke" you are seeing is actually a corroded teminal on the solenoid that is getting so hot, that it is burning the insulation. Your starting problem >>might be << just corroded terminals. Really bad corroded terminals can make it seem like the battey is almost dead when the battery is fine. They also tend to produce smoke. The car might start with jumper cables, because you are clamping the cables directly onto the battery cable, effectivly bypassing the corrosion between the battery terminal and the cable.

The first thing I would is clean the terminals on the battery, then the cable at the solenoid. When you mention "Solenoid" I assume you mean the Solenoid that turns on the Starter motor (and I believe is located on the starter Motor itself. Don't forget to inspect the Ground straps between the engine, body and the Negative terminal of the battery.

If that doesn't help, take it to Sears and get them to perform thier Charging system test. It has been many years, but I reacall that this cost like $10, while you wait. This test will give you a printout of how much current the Starter is drawing, how many amps your battery is providing etc..

If this test says you battery is really bad, then at least you are at the right place to buy a Die Hard replacement.

[rayya73]

Originally Posted by gromittoo

I am VERY concerned that your reving the engine caused the throttle to stick. That is a serious saftey concern you must deal with. That said...

It is very possible that the "smoke" you are seeing is actually a corroded teminal on the solenoid that is getting so hot, that it is burning the insulation. Your starting problem >>might be << just corroded terminals. Really bad corroded terminals can make it seem like the battey is almost dead when the battery is fine. They also tend to produce smoke. The car might start with jumper cables, because you are clamping the cables directly onto the battery cable, effectivly bypassing the corrosion between the battery terminal and the cable.

The first thing I would is clean the terminals on the battery, then the cable at the solenoid. When you mention "Solenoid" I assume you mean the Solenoid that turns on the Starter motor (and I believe is located on the starter Motor itself. Don't forget to inspect the Ground straps between the engine, body and the Negative terminal of the battery.

If that doesn't help, take it to Sears and get them to perform thier Charging system test. It has been many years, but I reacall that this cost like $10, while you wait. This test will give you a printout of how much current the Starter is drawing, how many amps your battery is providing etc..

If this test says you battery is really bad, then at least you are at the right place to buy a Die Hard replacement.

OK I FIXED THE DEAD BATTERY ISSUE BUT NOW IT WONT SPARK...IT SOUNDED LIKE I WAS OUT OF GAS SO WE PUT ABOUT 6 GALLONS IN BUT IT STILL WONT TURN OVER..I LOOKED AT IT THINKING MAYBE SPARK PLUGS BUT AFTER INVESTIGATING REALIZED ITS NOT EVEN GETTING ANY SPARK TO THE PLUGS, ITS STILL SOUNDS LIEK I AM OUT OF GAS WHEN IN FACT ITS A HALF A TANK IN THERE...ANY IDEAS?? I HATE TO BUY A FUEL PUMP OR STARTER WHN IT MIGHT BE A SIMPLE ISSUE ... I AM STUMPED!!
ALSO MY NEIGHBOR LOOKD AT IT AND MENTIONED THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR MIGHT BE THE PROBLEM...WHAT THE HECK IS THAT AND WHERE IS IT LOCATED?????
THANKS