RE: Turbo don't start, FURTHER EPISODE!

["Mark Battley" <m.battley@domain.elided>]

>OK, today we've had a blackout on this street (company's place).
>10.30 -> black out. Power supply didn't resist long with all
>the devices on , so I took 1.5h out to do my business. And my business
>includes ALFA. :)  I went buying a new battery.
>Once back home, I slippedit in, and tried: CAR started right up.
>The connector I suspected to be K.O. is still there, so I am not
>sure it's that... even if it can lead to random failures. I will
>replace it anyway.
>The question is: can an almost dead battery act like working/not working?
>I mean, it didn't work, I wired the starter directly to the + pole
>and it did, then it didn't again. May I have killed the battery
>with all my tests and short circuits ? :)  Can it be that it's almost
>dead but sometimes it works sometimes not ? Or should I worry for some
>grounds killing this battery as well?

Hi Luca,

There is another possible explanation: I have had odd behaviours (including
refusing to crank randomly) that were caused by poor contacts between the
main wiring terminals and the battery posts - presumably corrosion between
the inside of the terminal and the post. A slight movement of the connection
would cure it temporarily, cleaning it properly (wire brush/sandpaper)
solved it. If this was the original problem replacing the battery would be
likely to scrape through to a clean surface of the terminal.

Did you test the state of your old battery? - Use a voltmeter to check the
no load voltage (should be close to 12.6V, if one cell had dies it will be
nearer ), then put the lights on full beam, check the voltage again, if it
drops much below about 12.0 (??) volts it is questionable (Last one I
checked, which is good, read 12.4 no load, 12.2 full load, it depends how
accurate the meter is). For a better test most auto electricians have
equipment to put a load on the battery and measure the current and voltage
supplied.

What had me really puzzled initially was that my meter was reading 17V for
no load.... which turned out to be caused by a nearly flat battery in the
multimeter!

Mark Battley
Auckland, New Zealand.

1973 Alfa Romeo 2000 GT Veloce
1989 Fiat Uno Turbo 
1989 Fiat Croma
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