ground locations... 97 T & C

[patapen]

All of a sudden the car just wont start. I am pretty suyre I have a ground problem... where do I start? Can someone point out where the major ground locations are?

what are the symptoms?
- The starter clicks like a machine gun. I replaced to find out that it wasnt the problem
- Battery is new because I replaced when I put in a new ALt (regretfully I am going pull the Alt to check the connections)

Thanks!

[1thunder]

boost the battery with a known good battery

[patapen]

well... totally embarrased! I had the total under dash apart... all the kick pannels... Couldnt understand what was wrong. Finally I went back and looked at the most recent parts replaced.

First place I looked was the battery and the cables. The cable end on the positive cable was replaced because it was all corroded and wouldnt tighten to make a good connection on the battery post. Well.. I guess I didnt clean the cable good enough.. I used one of those cable ends where you snip off the factory end and then you clamp the new one onto the wire and then bolt to the battery post. Here in Boston right on the ocean the corrosion was pretty bad I guess. I took the end off, fanned out the cable wires and really cleaned them. Clamped it back together and then back onto the battery and .... VROOOOOMMMMM.... it started right up. Sheesh... I feel so stupid! A lesson was learned though... make sure you clean all the gunk off... make good connecitons!

Thanks for everyones thoughts. Now I am going to have someone flush my tranny and put ATF-4 in to hopefully make that run a little better!

[RIP]

Easy to overlook the basics when you're in the middle of it. The main thing is you figured it out and you're back on the road. Coat the connections with grease to prevent further corrosion. Congrats!

[vipergg]

Originally Posted by patapen

well... totally embarrased! I had the total under dash apart... all the kick pannels... Couldnt understand what was wrong. Finally I went back and looked at the most recent parts replaced.

First place I looked was the battery and the cables. The cable end on the positive cable was replaced because it was all corroded and wouldnt tighten to make a good connection on the battery post. Well.. I guess I didnt clean the cable good enough.. I used one of those cable ends where you snip off the factory end and then you clamp the new one onto the wire and then bolt to the battery post. Here in Boston right on the ocean the corrosion was pretty bad I guess. I took the end off, fanned out the cable wires and really cleaned them. Clamped it back together and then back onto the battery and .... VROOOOOMMMMM.... it started right up. Sheesh... I feel so stupid! A lesson was learned though... make sure you clean all the gunk off... make good connecitons!

Thanks for everyones thoughts. Now I am going to have someone flush my tranny and put ATF-4 in to hopefully make that run a little better!

this gen van is "very" susceptible to poor grounds and bad battery connections and will manifest itself in all kinds of weird electrical anomalies . The insides of the battery posts can develop an almost invisible high resistance coating on them . To get good connections just cleaning is sometimes not enough you have to take a good battery brush to the battery posts and the inside of the battery terminal connectors.

[MT-2500]

Originally Posted by patapen

well... totally embarrased! I had the total under dash apart... all the kick pannels... Couldnt understand what was wrong. Finally I went back and looked at the most recent parts replaced.

First place I looked was the battery and the cables. The cable end on the positive cable was replaced because it was all corroded and wouldnt tighten to make a good connection on the battery post. Well.. I guess I didnt clean the cable good enough.. I used one of those cable ends where you snip off the factory end and then you clamp the new one onto the wire and then bolt to the battery post. Here in Boston right on the ocean the corrosion was pretty bad I guess. I took the end off, fanned out the cable wires and really cleaned them. Clamped it back together and then back onto the battery and .... VROOOOOMMMMM.... it started right up. Sheesh... I feel so stupid! A lesson was learned though... make sure you clean all the gunk off... make good connecitons!

Thanks for everyones thoughts. Now I am going to have someone flush my tranny and put ATF-4 in to hopefully make that run a little better!

Glad you got it going.
Kinda like finding lost tools always look the last place you used it or worked on it.
ATF-4 fluid is good but go easy on flushes and make sure they change the filter.
How many miles on transmission or since last service?

Them add on ends are a quick fix but in the long run they are electrical system killers.
When time and money permits get the right OEM type battery cable and replace.
Good Luck
MT