Burned fuse or something else

I'm kind of beating myself senseless for this stupidity but it wasn't entirely my fault. Yesterday morning my car wouldn't start, so after work my friend took me to go get new jumper cables, we ended up having to switch parking spots due to the local of our batteries on our cars. I was pushing and she was steering in my car, I put the cables on my battery and as I was about to pick up the other end of the cable, my kid trips over them causing the ends to touch and spark for a 5 seconds. I decided to try to charge it to see if I could get anything and there was no current at all. Nothing, nada, my car is completely dead, nothing will turn on. What happened? I don't have a lot of money so I'm trying to fix everything myself. Please help! Oh by the way, it's a 1984 Mercury Grand Marquis

Reply to
beth_r
Loading thread data ...

I'm kind of beating myself senseless for this stupidity but it wasn't entirely my fault. Yesterday morning my car wouldn't start, so after work my friend took me to go get new jumper cables, we ended up having to switch parking spots due to the local of our batteries on our cars. I was pushing and she was steering in my car, I put the cables on my battery and as I was about to pick up the other end of the cable, my kid trips over them causing the ends to touch and spark for a 5 seconds. It turns out she had left the ignition on. I decided to try to charge it to see if I could get anything and there was no current at all. Nothing, nada, my car is completely dead, nothing will turn on. What happened? I don't have a lot of money so I'm trying to fix everything myself. Please help! Oh by the way, it's a 1984 Mercury Grand Marquis

Reply to
beth_r

Get out the meter. Start at the battery, work your way out, see what is open. Odds are you have taken out a fusible link somewhere. Maybe other stuff too... you'll have to get the meter and see.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

What kind of meter are you talking about? I'm just starting to learn about cars, I'm a DIY type of person

Reply to
beth_r

Reply to
<HLS

First, look everything over and see if, in your attempts to get the battery jumper cables disconnected, you may have disconnected something.

If those cables really remained shorted together for 5 seconds, I am surprised that something didnt get red hot, melt, and maybe even start burning.

Turn your headlights on, and see if they burn. If they do, try to start the car and see if they dim. If they dim, it means you have a low or defective battery, or one heck of a current drain somewhere else.

If you dont have a volt-ohm-(milli) ammeter, go to the parts store and buy a simple and cheap test light. It will help you trace the voltage through the system.

First, put one test light probe on the negative terminal of the battery and the other on the positive. If it lights up, then that may be a good sign. If not, you may have fried the battery.

Assuming it lights, then put one probe to a bare metal ground spot on the chassis and the other to the positive terminal. If it still lights, then the ground cable is likely intact.

The red battery cable from the battery should go to the starter solenoid. This solenoid is like a power relay which operates on activating the starter switch on the steering column. Check to see if you have power at the solenoid connection.

Tell us what you find and we will try to take it a little further.

Reply to
<HLS

A voltmeter, a DVM. In a pinch, a taillight with two wires hanging off it.

If you don't have any voltage anywhere in the fusebox, you have something in-between the fusebox and the battery open. And that's probably a link. But you're going to need to find out which one and where it is.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

Dirty battery cables. Clean them and then try to start it. Or then jump charge it.

Reply to
« Paul »

First thing I would do is pull the battery, and take it to a garage , auto parts store or Walmart for a test. If it is still OK then get it charged.

Open the fuse box and check a few of the fuses to see if anything blew. If you find blown fuses you need to check fusible links as well.

Then install the charged battery , clean and tighten cables and start checking lights, radio etc. Then turn everything off and start the car.

Reply to
marks542004

Exactly. When the jumper cables shorted together there was NO CURRENT THROUGH ANY OF THE FUSES OR FUSIBLE LINKS so forget about that! There was very heavy current through the connections to the battery posts and if they were marginal one of those connections has probably now failed. As I am prone to repeat: Start with the obvious and simple! If its not the the connections to the battery posts the battery has failed or is discharged. The end!

Don

formatting link

Reply to
Don

How does touching two jumper cables clamps together send current through a fusible link?

Don

formatting link

Reply to
Don

My apolgies... I might have misread the sequence of events here. Perhaps he had a bad fusible link or such before the incident with the cables. In that case he still has the original problem -- possibly a fusible link -- and the incident with the cables is not relevant.

Don

formatting link

Reply to
Don

I might have misinterpted the sequence of events here:

In regards to the the jumper cables shorting together forget about fuses or fusible links, but that COULD have been the original problem.

Not quite the end.....but the battery posts ARE the place to start.

Don

formatting link

Reply to
Don

Reply to
beth_r via CarKB.com

you blown you battery i may be wrong but check with a friends battery if that dosn't work you may have to replace you computer ask your local Mechanic thay should tell you the same thing good luck..

Reply to
dunndunn

Good on ya', Beth. Not only did you fix it, you let everybody know what it was, and that is appreciated by all, I am sure.

Reply to
<HLS

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.