Electrical nightmare

FlatheadTed said:
With the key on by pass the solenoid by using the jump leads from one terminal to the other or from the battery terminal to the starter terminal ,You will get some sparks but this will tell you if the solenoid is faulty or perhaps the dash button .Ted
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That's how I have been jumping now, the thing that is confusing me with everyone thinking the start solenoid is why would my battery go from 6.3 volts at first to 4 something or lest after I hit my start button even though nothing happens?
 
This is beginning to sound like the Bendix drive is hung up on the ring gear. Put it in high gear and rock the car back and forth.
 
53_mercLuke said:
That's how I have been jumping now, the thing that is confusing me with everyone thinking the start solenoid is why would my battery go from 6.3 volts at first to 4 something or lest after I hit my start button even though nothing happens?
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Maybe you solenoid is shorting out ??
 
So I just got home and tapped/hit the start solenoid with a screwdriver and absolutely nothing happened, checked the battery volts and it's at 0.00 volts. Now if I charge it, it will start fine so I'm not sure where to go at this point, do I charge it and wait until it happens again or what?
 
I'd pull one of the battery cables and put an ammeter between the battery
post and the cable to check for current draw, see if something is draining the battery.


Bob
 
As noted, remove the battery cable. If you touch the cable to the battery post and get a spark, you have a current draw and have to look for the source.
 
Check your grounds. Check your wires if they haven't been replaced.


You have a gremlin, most likely a bad wire harness or ground. Issue started with a change.



Maybe a solenoid but the rarely go bad (yes they are grounded also to the firewall). Grounds always makes' ya' chase every other issue.


Good luck
 
flatjack9 said:
As noted, remove the battery cable. If you touch the cable to the battery post and get a spark, you have a current draw and have to look for the source.
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Isn't that a wives tale? I have a solid system but yet when I hook up a battery charger I can get it to spark by tapping it a few times to the terminal. Curious, IDK
 
Bob C said:
I'd pull one of the battery cables and put an ammeter between the battery
post and the cable to check for current draw, see if something is draining the battery.


Bob
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yep. Every thing shut off and an amp meter off neg battery post and neg cable disconnected. if amps flow... you have a short.
 
Tinker said:
Isn't that a wives tale? I have a solid system but yet when I hook up a battery charger I can get it to spark by tapping it a few times to the terminal. Curious, IDK
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Not a wive's tale. It has worked for me several times over the years. Don't know about a battery charger. And it usually is a small spark.
 
flatjack9 said:
Not a wive's tale. It has worked for me several times over the years. Don't know about a battery charger. And it usually is a small spark.
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I don;t know... just discussion.


I will say a charger has a built in charge.


Model A - today systems are always active. neg/pos, like any system without a battery cutout. It's a live system ready to give amps. Amps discharge a battery, not active volts in the system. Connecting a volt system might spark when being connected to a circuit. Again IDK. But what you say it makes sense if everything is closed and insulated/isolated.





.
 
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A modern car will spark the battery terminal if touching it on and off, but on one of "our" old vehicles it should not. With the ignition and lights off, there should be absolutely no draw.

Mart.
 
So I went to charge my battery tonight after work so I can try and get this issue figured out over the weekend and had the battery in the car on a charger for about 2 hours and it didn't take a charge, took it out of the car and it seems to be taking a charge now, this is a new addition to my problem now
 
Just wanted to do an update on my issue. It seems to be the start solenoid. I bought a new one the other day charged my battery again and put it in, preformed so.e of the tests y'all recommended and today I took it for a good long cruise/test drive. Everything ran great got it home and let it sit in the driveway for a couple hours, went back out and it fired right up. I'm going to keep my eye on it but as of now it was the start solenoid. Thanks for all the help and advice I really appreciate it
 
Just an FYI You asked why the battery went to 4 volts after hitting the starter button? A motor, the starter in this case, is a dead short until it starts spinning. If the solenoid switch was not making good contact it would be enough to create the short but not enough to spin the starter. After sitting the voltage may restore itself a bit. I hope the solenoid solves your problem but if it happens again it may be the battery. The light you hooked up may just be a coincidence. To check for a battery drain take off a cable and put a test light between the post and the cable. If it lights up then something is causing current to flow when it should not. If you have a clock that will only be momentary as it winds itself and does not run continuously unless you have modernized it.
 
In post #1 it was mentioned that this is a 1953 Mercury with a 6-volt positive ground system. Hopefully your problem is fixed but for future reference, is this system all original or does it have any modifications like an alternator with solid state regulator? An original generator system can have major current draw if the cut out relay in the voltage regulator sticks closed. It tries to motor the generator till the battery dies. By the same token, and alternator can have damaged diodes internally and allow a large current drain but the alternator will usually start taking to you in the form of noise plus it will eventually quit charging. A generator would eventually burn up the field coil or armature or both if a cut out was intermittently sticking closed.


I hope you have found the culprit but just in case, more info doesn't hurt. It helps for us to know the straight skinny too.
 
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