Not Another One

[sydsider66]

Hows this.The old thin wall copper battery terminals probably original,needed replacing as they couldnt tighten on the terminals cause of having cracks in them.Thought id change them to some much thicker brass ones i had.What a mistake.Everything powers up like h/lights dash lights.But it wont start No error codes,new battery never had a problem before touching the terminals.Could someone tell me if its the much thicker brass terminals that are the problem? I cant put the old ones back on as they were crimped on and cracked up.Would putting on some new thin wall ones from Holden solve it? Thanks fellas.

[ImALittleTeapot!]

terminals aren't going to cause this kinda problem.

is the car in park?

is the battery to chassis earth cable connected?

[sydsider66]

Yeah in park.And battery earthed.Never had a problem before touching the battery terminals.

[Pimpn1]

what happens when you go to turn the car over does everything cut out? lights radio etc etc

[sydsider66]

Everything just works normally when trying to start.Its those thicker terminals that are probably giving problems.Checked the 60amp main fuse and its ok.Had the car 8 years and never touched the terminals till today.Gotta be them.Thats probably why the originals were thin and not thick like the old ones.

[ImALittleTeapot!]

you do realise that thicker terminals at worst will work BETTER, right?

its got nothing to do with the terminals, you just did something wrong

does it click when you try cranking it? does it turn over at all? does everything remain on, or does everything turn off when you crank it?

[Mike S]

I notice on mine there are two or three wires on each terminal, maybe youve missed one. Like has it fallen down next to the battery ?

[DannyboyDS]

I'm with Mike, you have forgotten to connect everything up, or a fuse is blown, you really need to let us know a little more, some people above asked you some questions, maybe answer them so they can answer you.

[sydsider66]

Yeah it clicks where the relays are but then doesnt even crank over.Everything stays on as normal.Used to crank first time every time for 8 years.Took the negative lead off first then the positive.Yeah theres 3 on each side.There all in on each side.Why are the orginals thin? Is it cause there cheaper fo Holden to use? Thats what id like to know.

[Pimpn1]

if it makes a clicking noise sounds like its a possability the battery died?

[sydsider66]

May be because when i put on the new terminals the 2 smaller gauge wires on each of the positive and negative teminals with the lugs on them wouldnt go over the slightly larger bolt in the new terminals.So i chopped them off and put them in together.Ill get new lugs and ill put them on as they were tommorrow.

[ImALittleTeapot!]

May be because when i put on the new terminals the 2 smaller gauge wires on each of the positive and negative teminals with the lugs on them wouldnt go over the slightly larger bolt in the new terminals.So i chopped them off and put them in together.Ill get new lugs and ill put them on as they were tommorrow.

thats not going to make any difference, assuming you actually connected everything right in the first place.

of course, the battery could just be flat, but you haven't confirmed or denied that yet either.

[sydsider66]

In my first post i state the battery is new.Theres a little window in the top of the battery.Its green as normal.It states on battery that battery is ok.All topped up battery.Havent touched it since i put it in a few months ago.Has worked well since.Thanks for the input fellas.

[DannyboyDS]

I thought that light meant that the fluid level in the battery is high, have you tested the battery to ensure it is charged? just for arguments sake, jump start the car.

[sydsider66]

No havent tested it or jump started.I decided to change the terminals not thinking twice about whether id have issues with it.Can anyone tell me what the smaller gauge wires are for on both terminals? The battery has got 3 symbols on top for condition.The green says its ok.Ill put the multimeter on the batttery for voltage check.

[ImALittleTeapot!]

Its possible the battery to engine block ground/earth cable was corroded where it connects to the block, and by moving the cables, its broken, or partially broken, so the starter motor can't get enough current to crank the engine over.

[sydsider66]

The earth cable is in perfect condition and connected nice and tight both ends.Second smallest red wire is for the starter motor.How about the smallest gauge wire?

[Mike S]

The other red wire is the one that goes to the fuse box and powers everything in the car.
The large red one goes to the starter motor. One cause of slow cranking on Commodores is loose connections at the starter, you could also check that. I'm inclined to go with the flat battery theory, just cos it's new and started the motor yesterday dosn't mean it's going to do the same today.

[sydsider66]

Ill do a voltage check to see if volts are dropping while cranking over.Ill check the connection to the starter motor.Thanks.

[VrWagz1]

The only reason holden use or anyone uses the thin terminals is cause they are budget.

Did the terminals have any sort of metal protection on them like a thin film that needed to be cleaned off the inside.

Just cause the battery is new and the indicator is green dosnt mean it isnt flat for some odd reason. If its new and charged you should see 13.5V.
Check the voltage first on the battery terminals, and then check it on the new clamps and see if it varies at all.

[hako]

Ill do a voltage check to see if volts are dropping while cranking over.Ill check the connection to the starter motor.Thanks.

Bit confusing - previous post you said; "Yeah it clicks where the relays are but then doesnt even crank over"...from last post it appears motor does crank over???. Battery voltage at rest should be 12.8 fully charged - if under 12.2 you'll have troubles starting.

[sydsider66]

It just clicks when i go to crank it over.Sorry meant it doesnt crank over after clicking.Theres no film on inside of terminals.Ive used them before in a boats 12 volt system no problems.Ill do a check on battery.Thanks for those test voltages.The type of terminals are the type that tighten down on the cable with a bolt.Put the cable in the hole and tighten bolt on it.Dont like the way bolt tightens on cables.

[sydsider66]

Ok,bought proper battery terminals and the connectors.Crimped them on connected to battery.Same response.No cranking over.Checked battery voltage with multimeter and new terminals.Reads 10 volts connected.And 12.6 volts disconnnected. Could it be either the start or ignition relay?


Just put battery on charger.Could it be stuffed already?Has a 2 year warranty.Checked connection to starter motor and is secure.

[hako]

Those voltages quoted sound strange....another test which doesn't involve a multimeter is to simply turn your headlights on - if they're bright then the battery is OK....but if yellow and dim then the battery is the problem. Your reasoning that the terminals were dodgy can be tested by whether they get hot when trying to crank due to high resistance.
Stupid question but there is no chance you've got the battery back to front?

[sydsider66]

Gday.Yeah they are dim.No its ok they are on the right way.I just had the battery on charge for not even half an hour and it showed charged on the battery charger.Checked voltage not connected and was 13.6 volts and dropping every 10 seconds.Put multimeter on volts DC and setting 20.
Have done ground and positive connection checks on starter and ground to block.New terminals and connectors from the auto electrician.Checked the main 60 amp fuse under the relay compartment.Gotta be the battery.

Ive got the ignition on and its flashing 12 as normal code.Without bridging 5 and 6 under the steering column.Ive just read in the Gregorys about ignition checks.
Says if engine will not crank when key is turned to start position check security lamp on the dashboard.If lamp is flashing(which mine is) press the unlock button on the keypad with the key in start or on position.And try to start again.If pressing unlock hasnt worked,proceed as follows.On series 1 models turn the ignition key to the on position and wait 45 mins..Then if that doesnt work there are further checks.I will take the battery back to where i bought it and get a new one.Its under 2 year warranty.