On 7 Jan 1997 08:14:43 U "Scott Dinhofer" <dinhofer@concorde-group.com>
writes:
>Electrical short
>After having my battery die, I installed a new one and started my '76
>TR6 up
>just fine. When installing the battery restraining bar I accidently
>touched both terminals
>with the bar creating a short. I have had the battery tested
How was the battery tested? It should be tested under load. The best
test might be to install it in another car and see how it works.
and
>determined that
>it is fine. I obviously have a short in my electrical system, I can
>say that
>nothing electrical is working in the car. However when it sits for a
>while, I do
>have some electrical.
Do you mean you have some components working, or you have some weak
voltage on the system - dim lights, etc.?
I have checked the fuses I can find on the
>drivers side of
>the car in the engine compartment, all look ok. Any ideas?
>
>even though the battery checked out ok, could it still be the source
>of my
>trouble?
>
>Thanks in advance!
>
>
If your system has even some power on it after it sits awhile, it sounds
to me like the battery is discharged. I can't tell how bad the short
across the terminals was. Did it make you say "Oh yikes" and there were
some little sparks, or did it stay long enough to glow incandescent red and
require help from a crowbar to pry it off the terminals? If it's
leaning anywhere towards the latter, you may have damaged the battery. I would
suggest having it charged and load tested. It's not very likely
that shorting the terminals would damage the car's electrical system -
the juice takes the path of least resistance - post to post.
Mark Anderton
1972 Triumph TR6 (daily driver)
1984 Jaguar XJ6 (2 ea - some people never learn)
1966 Morris Minor (everything a car should be)
1971 Land Rover
1967 Daimler V8 Saloon
1958 Velocette MSS (500cc single)
|