46
votes
Accepted
Car won't start, horn won't honk, headlights won't come on, what could cause this?
The symptoms all point to a faulty battery, and an incorrect test result for the Autozone battery test.
Starting with this: Hitting brakes: Brake lights come on and interior lights dim: a good ...
- 4,422
35
votes
Accepted
Why put copper in between battery contacts and clamps?
I think your guess will be correct. The clamp has probably been over-tightened in the past, has stretched and is no longer giving a good tight connection. The copper will have been added to act as a ...
- 24.9k
30
votes
Accepted
Toyota USB port kills devices plugged into it
The port is badly broken, stop using it until you get it fixed.
If it has always been like this, chances are the port is miswired so that the +5V and ground pins are swapped (perhaps an internal cable ...
- 541
22
votes
Accepted
Should I replace fuses as a part of regular maintenance?
Fuses do not need to be replaced unless they have blown, so it's not a regular maintenance thing.
In terms of checking them, depending on your vehicle, many only require a visual check to see if the ...
- 18.6k
20
votes
When reconnecting a battery, why connect the positive first?
The reason I would connect the positive cable first (in a negatively-earthed car) is that while tightening the positive connector with a spanner (wrench), if I were to touch the body of the car with ...
- 24.9k
20
votes
Accepted
No electrical to the dashboard after attempting jumpstart with Schumacher charger
Turns out I didn't read the instructions right (heh). It says to plug the charger in then set to "jump start" wait a couple minutes till it goes from "On" to "RdY" before cranking.
https://www....
- 827
19
votes
Can a weak battery destroy an alternator?
Your question is difficult to answer without you knowing the inner workings of an alternator.
The basics. If you move a magnetic field near a coil of wire the electrons in the wire get excited and ...
- 16k
19
votes
What can I do to combat wire embrittlement?
Heat and thermal stress, even at engine bay temperatures, is not generally the cause of copper wire failure. There is "hydrogen embrittlement" for copper but that only really comes into play at 400C+ ...
- 4,900
18
votes
Accepted
Can I jump start one car with two other cars in parallel?
To answer your question, it will not cause any issues as long as the cables are connected correctly. If both donor cars are connected in parallel (negative to negative/positive to positive) to the ...
- 153k
18
votes
Why don't I get shocked constantly?
Unless you touch both battery posts, your body isn't completing the circuit from - to +
The voltage is not high enough to overcome the resistance of your body (under most circumstances)
The most ...
- 3,012
18
votes
Car imitates dead battery but comes back to life ~30 minutes later and lets me start it
Since you lost power to your 12v accessory socket at the same time as the other systems, I can’t see this as being an computer malfunction. This sounds to me like you have a fault in your main fuse ...
- 24.9k
17
votes
Accepted
When should I disconnect the battery to stay safe during repairs?
These are some general guidelines when working with electricity on vehicles:
Always remove any jewelry, to include rings, necklaces, watches, etc. If one of these items should come in contact between ...
- 153k
17
votes
Can I jump start one car with two other cars in parallel?
When you jump start a car, you are always putting the cars in a parallel circuit. Here's an illustration of parallel vs. series:
Source
Think of the bigger car's battery as the one on the left and ...
- 5,245
17
votes
Accepted
Need advice for changing battery terminals
That the car now cranks and runs correctly tells us that the battery and the cables are conducting electricity acceptably. I see no need to cut and refasten either cable, especially (as you note) the (...
- 3,643
17
votes
Accepted
Park/marker lamps won't turn off
I pulled almost every fuse from the fuse block under the dash without any success, but now that it is dark outside I was able to see something I missed when it was day: when I put everything back ...
- 936
16
votes
Static electric shock as I leave the car
Yes, the others face it as well. It depends on the pants and shoes you wear, as well as the material of your seats - static charge builds up between the different fabrics when you stand up because of ...
16
votes
What is this? maybe a sensor?
It's one of the Heated Windscreen connectors. They have a reputation for breaking off on the Ford Focus, because the wipers hit them if they're not routed correctly.
It's common for replacement glass ...
- 8,672
15
votes
Accepted
Removing a car battery - order of wires explanation
When disconnecting a clamp from a car battery, there is a danger of creating a short circuit with the tools that are in contact with the battery terminal. So a tool in contact with the positive ...
- 321
15
votes
Should negative trickle charger clips be attached to the battery negative terminal, or ground?
Yes, as everyone is stating, a spark igniting hydrogen gas could cause an explosion, causing injury from small parts, sulfuric acid or both. Very nasty. Hydrogen gas is a byproduct of electrical ...
- 898
15
votes
How to upgrade a motorcycle battery to a bigger AH battery?
Sure you could put a bigger battery in .What may happen is that the total proposed draw is too much for the dynamo and it will go flat.Even if it does not go flat because your appliance usage patterns ...
- 2,083
15
votes
Accepted
Is it ok to plug in battery backward to do compression test?
This engine is equipped with a voltage regulator. Depending on the exact construction of the regulator a reverse current would be disastrous, especially the high current from a starter battery
- 8,448
15
votes
Car won't start, horn won't honk, headlights won't come on, what could cause this?
All symptoms point to a dead battery, but as you have already attempted to rule that out, the next thing I'd check would be bad connections or cables.
Turn on the headlights or something else that ...
- 151
14
votes
Accepted
Replace car batteries with capacitors?
Yes its possible to start a car with Ultra capacitors. These caps don't appear to have a cycle life that the traditional lead acid batteries have. The ability of these caps to provide starting current ...
- 2,083
14
votes
Considerations for soldering car battery wires?
You don't need to solder them, clean the terminals really well and apply some dielctric grease or buy some battery terminal protector, this is a spray that you can spray on the terminals and this will ...
- 1,100
14
votes
How can a fuse drain a car battery?
It wouldn't be the fuse which is causing the power drain, but the circuit the fuse is there to protect. (This is the reason why the copied area you have posted has 5 "Not Helpful" votes against it.) ...
- 153k
14
votes
Accepted
Why is a 12V outlet that provides 120W protected by a 20A fuse in my 2015 Forester?
The purpose of the fuse is to limit the current in the wire to prevent it from overheating. That could cause the insulation to melt or even start a fire. The other components in the circuit will (...
- 14.4k
12
votes
Accepted
Fuse box above battery melting
As I understand it, there was a fundamental redesign in the cars from around 2002 onwards. Unfortunately that doesn't help you but I wonder if it is possible to retrofit the later model fuse box.
...
- 23.5k
12
votes
Accepted
How do I make all of this work together?
How can I convert the DC current from my battery to power the blender in the Jeep?
The only solution is a 12V DC to 110V AC inverter. Google is full of this, so I just linked google.
Your blender ...
- 7,047
12
votes
Accepted
Multimeter - Basic Functionality and Howto
Basic Functionality
Image In order to illustrate a typical Multimeter
The Multimeter is specifically a multifunction tool. By definition it combines several, well defined instruments and multiplexes ...
- 496
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible