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Electrical problem

So I started my 95 explorer yesterday morning, went to work, did some mid-day errands, after work went to store, came out of the store and it wouldn't start, no power. So I'm thinking it's that dodgy battery terminal (-) connection. I get something out of the back, tap it a little bit and the power comes back. I try to start it, but when then starter engages the power goes out again. I repeat this thing and it happens again. Thinking the cable is bad, I get the jumpers and connect the terminal to the power steering bracket in the hope of getting a better ground connection. It doesn't help. A guy comes to help and gives me a jump. It starts with the jump, but when we disconnect the jumpers it dies, the whole system goes down. A tap on the terminal powers up the car again but still no start. The battery is a few weeks old and seems to be fully charged. The alternator was replaced last year. Anybody have any ideas what to do? I'm thinking that this could just be the battery cable, but once the car is started shouldn't it keep going even if the battery is disconnected?

Any help will be appreciated.

Reply to
gbostock
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To me it sounds like (probably) a bad battery. Just because it's new doesn't mean it's necessarily good. How do you know it's fully charged? Did you check each cell with a hydrometer? What is the battery voltage with the engine off? What is it with the engine on? Do you have a voltmeter on the dash, and, if so, does it go up when the engine is running or does it only go down? If you charge the battery for a while will the engine start and run for a while and then die? That might indicate a bad alternator.

I had a battery on my '92 that would run the headlights for hours but would not start the car. One of the cells appeared to be shorted out.

The 91-94s had battery cable problems but I don't know if they put different cables on the '95s. When you say "dodgy" terminal is it all corroded? Did you clean and tighten it?

Reply to
Ulysses

The problem turned out to be the battery cable. There was corrosion but it had been cleaned, the clamp was having problems. I knew it wasn't the battery itself because it was able to power up eveything in the car and because all electricals (including spak plugs) failed when the engine was started and the jumper cables were removed. A bad battery wouldn't shut down the engine after the car had started. My theory is that there was some sort of computer sensor that detected too much resistance along that cable and shut everything down to prevent fire.

Reply to
gbostock

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