vs being tempermental - ignition wont work half the time, other half battery problems

[Mungos_mungbeans]

Please help!!! My vs acclaim has gone haywire!

When I try to start the car it just clicks, if I take it key out and try again it eventually starts after the 20th time or so.... this was the case for a while anyway... then my interior light and key light decide to stay on all the time (so I resorted to pulling the bulb out) and started suffering from a flat battery. Would put the battery on charge overnight and it would start fine in the morning. Get me to work 45min drive. Start after work, get me home again and not start. (Ignition problem seems to have disappeared at this tstage) this went on for a while, recharging the battery every night. Then one day my fuel pump **** itself. Got that changed (in coles carpark :/) had to b jumpstarted after that. Then car went fine for about 4 days then the ignition problem and battery problemproblem decided to make a reappearance... now its sitting in the yard and seems to start when I try it, take it for small drives but I dont turn the car off. When I try to start it after I get back it doesn't start but I dont know if it'd the ignition or battery. I also decided to snap the bonnet cable so can't open bonnet to see weather its the battery :/

 

[aussie4life]

that doesnt sound good mate. firstly id start looking at the wiring side of things, earths, fuses and relays.my car was playing up but not to that extent where it would click. what i worked out was when it went click, if i held the key on it would start after 10 seconds or so of key being turned. turned out to be the relay( i opened it up and the contact on the relay was corroded and loose.

as for the battery, have you checked the cable on the back of the alternator? there is a sticky thread whick explains that the vs's have an inherant problem where the thick power cable coming off the back of the alternator would burn out and corrode thru stopping the power getting to the battery. vs-v6-owners-check-out.html

 

[FstStig]

that doesnt sound good mate. firstly id start looking at the wiring side of things, earths, fuses and relays.my car was playing up but not to that extent where it would click. what i worked out was when it went click, if i held the key on it would start after 10 seconds or so of key being turned. turned out to be the relay( i opened it up and the contact on the relay was corroded and loose.

as for the battery, have you checked the cable on the back of the alternator? there is a sticky thread whick explains that the vs's have an inherant problem where the thick power cable coming off the back of the alternator would burn out and corrode thru stopping the power getting to the battery. vs-v6-owners-check-out.html

If that was the case, the alternator wire snaps off and tries to find a place to earth and guess what happens when it does that. I'll give you a hint, SPARK plugs are used to produce it. So in this case If it was the wire on the back, I'm sure Mr.Mungo here would of had an engine bay fire by now.

To the OP:
Sounds like your starter motor was/is getting jammed in the Flexplate. However I would be getting your Alternator tested and also your battery cells tested. Battery Cells can be tested for free at your local Repco store. Unsure on how much it will be to have your Alternator tested. But its a must to make sure its putting out enough voltage back to your battery.

BUT! First things first, you need to get that bonnet up!

 

[aussie4life]

yes i viewed your post stig, get over it. just wanted to say, if corrosion had gotten in there the resistance would be increased. any way you should be able to answer this, what happens when metal is constantly heated and then cooled? ill give ya the answer, it weakens

 

[FstStig]

yes i viewed your post stig, get over it. just wanted to say, if corrosion had gotten in there the resistance would be increased. any way you should be able to answer this, what happens when metal is constantly heated and then cooled? ill give ya the answer, it weakens

Most of that is irrelevant to thread, so I don't care. Read my signature... That's if you can of course!

 

[aussie4life]

so a battery going flat has nothing to do with how its being charged? id call that a symptom. watever. ill leave u 2 to it.

 

[Mungos_mungbeans]

I was planning on taking it to an auto electrics place today but still cant get the bonnet open. Rang up the panel beater and he said to take the whole bumper off. Is there anyway that something in the ignition could b causing the battery to short out when its started?? Theres just seemed to b more of that causing problems than the battery.
Battery is only a year old but the ignitions been playing up for about 4 months :/
Thanks for helping

- Miss Mungo

 

[Mungos_mungbeans]

No corrosion on battery either just to clear that one up

 

[Mungos_mungbeans]

There appeal s to b some problem with the power from the battery to the starter motor as when the car us jump started it kicks over so im thinking there is something shorting out as when the car is started normally the startermotor throws out but doesnt mesh but the ignition itself feels sloppy and you have to turn it back a little tfromto stop the startermotor from staying on when it does start.......

 

[FstStig]

Anyway you can get a recording, video preferred. It will help us pinpoint it.