Car Won't Fire! Well Kinda!

General car repair questions and answers.
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Chad
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Joined:Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:32 pm
Car Won't Fire! Well Kinda!

Post by Chad » Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:53 pm

Been working on my car all summer..long story..started with no heat.... changed heating core, radiator, thermostat, .....now last thing I had to do was change Blower Motor...This was a task as well as I had to remove my Alternator in order to do this....Well spent a few days doing it..on second day I was get flustered with it....and just wanted to get it done...so was a bit rushed and didnt disconnect my battery while installing Alternator!...So what happened is.. I presume my Ground wire hit the top of my Motor causing a spark..because it wasnt connected to my Alternator... The Other wire maybe have been connect...can't remember..Sorta closed my eyes when it happened as it surprised me..think it was also sparking (smoking)(bit of burn rubber smell I guess)...down close to radiator...perhaps location of starter?.. Well I got everything changed eventually and went to start car but it turns over just doesnt fire up...I did check all my fuses ..underneath hood and interior..but didnt find anything burnt out!!...
After doing research on the net to try and find out problem... some people gave me few idea's ...One was to reset Security or something like that... Don't think that is it though... as it seems like long process and long time to leave lights on in car..waiting for it to go out....So after checking fuses a few times thought id switch them around as I dont have Multi meter...so cant check them that way only by sight!...well I fiqured If i change same amp with signal..and signal dont work then they fuse is no good.....Well what I discovered maybe by fluke.. I dunno Signal wasnt working when key in on position..so I kept switching key to on off position tell I could maybe get them to come on..and when they did.. I could tell I had a spark then..... so I fiqured i would turn key back to on position and wait for few minutes as I did that signal came on again .. so I started it up...and Worked but ... Battery Warning Light stay's On!!.. I didnt want to run car like that...so just turned it around and shut it off!... So not sure if I have a short (Ground wire faulty) Fusible link shot? Alternator no good?...or a switch or something?...I must of fried something ... Any responces would be appreciated..ty for reading!!.
oh yeah lol sorry Car is older ..1997 Olds mobile Achieva 3.1....6cyl....

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Terry
Posts:110
Joined:Sun Jan 05, 2014 9:05 pm

Re: Car Won't Fire! Well Kinda!

Post by Terry » Mon Nov 24, 2014 12:05 am

First off, the wire that shorted out on the alternator was not a ground wire, it was a power wire. Ground wires cannot short out.

OK, i think the key to your problem is that after turning the ignition key on and off several times you got different results- start, wont start, light on then off, etc. Sounds like an ignition switch problem. Turning it back and forth effects the contacts inside the switch causing a poor electrical connection, then a good one. Basically the contacts are burned and this can effect the amount of voltage there- good, low or none.

Also there may be a few fusible links down by the starter, i would check those.

Chad
Posts:6
Joined:Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:32 pm

Re: Car Won't Fire! Well Kinda!

Post by Chad » Mon Nov 24, 2014 1:32 pm

Well I thought it was the ground..lol..because other one on there had a harness that connected that way with bunch of wires..and then clipped onto alternator...this one was put on with screw..just tightened onto it!.....
And yeah...your theory makes sense! Just confuses me a bit and makes me think otherwise..because about 4 months ago or so..Is when I got an ignition switch problem...the key sorta got stuck in there and wouldnt come out!..When I got it out discovered the light's on dashboard were all on..so to solve this problem i would take out fuse that operated dashboard..and when i went to start car put fuse back in...otherswise car won't start!!...This I have had for month's now..so yeah I do have ignition switch problem if that is what this is!! But I never had battery light come on or any problem's with it...at all....then few week's ago had to take out alternator because I was changing blower motor and alternator had to come out to install Blower Motor...Then I created spark problem and now This start, no start, battery light problem! So not sure if IT did more damage to switch area....or If I created another problem ontop of the Switch problem... I did get underneath car a few times...and looked at wires'..not sure what fusible link look's like think its something bit bigger then wire but tied into wire line...I couldnt see that well underneath but looked a few times and felt the wire's... everything seemed to be ok to me!....so im sorta at a loss....ty very much for your responce!!

Chad
Posts:6
Joined:Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:32 pm

Re: Car Won't Fire! Well Kinda!

Post by Chad » Mon Nov 24, 2014 1:37 pm

I havent even been driving the car....because im afraid...that battery could go dead if alternator is not charging it due to battery light being on.....

Chad
Posts:6
Joined:Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:32 pm

Re: Car Won't Fire! Well Kinda!

Post by Chad » Mon Nov 24, 2014 2:05 pm

Well I just seen a video on you tube and look's like your right...the wire harness is probably ignition wire's that went to starter...and the one that comes from battery to alternator is the one that tighten's onto alternator with nut!(Is your power wire) that is the one that hit the top of my motor and caused spark and carried on down line to around my starter(solenoid) causing spark and smoke in that area, and who knows if anything inside the vehicle..it all happens so fast...blinked for a second and barely missed it all!!.... Now the Alternator's power wire..im not sure how that work's ..must get tied into starter with fusible link on either starter side or battery side?.

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Terry
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Re: Car Won't Fire! Well Kinda!

Post by Terry » Fri Dec 05, 2014 4:50 pm

Yes, the power wire to the alternator is hot all the time. It wither gets power from a fusible link down by starter or a junction near the battery.

Chad
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Re: Car Won't Fire! Well Kinda!

Post by Chad » Fri Dec 05, 2014 6:26 pm

Thank's Terry....yah i still havent fixed the problem....the fusible link from what i can see looks ok but then again i looked in the dark..not sure how noticeable they are when they are shot...cause it was sparking and smoking around the starter(solenoid) when it happened...just a second or so after spark at alternator power wire....so you would think i fried something down by starter?...Basically Im thinkin its either my fusible link or ignition switch(locking system)? If I was a mechanic...im sure it would of been fixed long agooooooo...lol...

Chad
Posts:6
Joined:Wed Nov 12, 2014 4:32 pm

Re: Car Won't Fire! Well Kinda!

Post by Chad » Tue Dec 16, 2014 12:07 pm

Well couple days ago.. I went to start my Car again to see if it would still start! Sure enough it started...after a minute of idling the Battery light came on.. I turned on heater full tilt...headlights were on..and i put on wiper blades...It appeared to me wiper blades werent moving as fast as usual...heater didnt seem to be going as high as it did before i fixed it..and lights seemed to be dim... after a minute of that.. car started to make noise like it was gonna die..pretty sure it was gonna so shut it off before it did..im sure it was a second away from it!.. So after this I fiqured it was the Alternator that was shot..not keeping the battery charged? But now im thinking when this all happened the power wire wasnt even connected to the alternator...when it had sparked at the point and the spark down by solenoid(Starter) with burnt wire smell. So how could i have fried Alternator if it wasnt even connected? lol... Any suggestions would be appreciated..ty...

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