Coytee Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 Can't believe I did this one... I, like I suppose many here, have been tinkering on my cars for (in my case) about 42 years. If we go back to minibikes, dirtbikes and taking care of mowers... maybe pushing 50 years. Tune ups, brake jobs, timing chains, valve jobs total engine/transmission disassembly (on the dirt bikes).... you get the idea. Today, I still do all my fixing, along with taking care of my industrial backhoe that I've now owned for nearing 20 years. (bad thing with the hoe is the tools get larger, parts get heavier (and much harder to procure) and of course... the cost goes up quickly) Something has been amiss in the electrical system ....really, ever since I bought the machine. Alternator checks out just fine but over time (perhaps because of low usage) the batteries (plural since it's happened over the time of ownership with various batteries) the batteries just lose their ability to hold a charge and crank the engine over. Bummer too because with a fresh battery, the engine starts in what seems to be about a 3/4 of a single revolution... it really starts "right now" when it's fed good power. (Perkins diesel) Long prelude to give some background to my stupidity alert... by the way.... if anyone cares to chime in with your own stupidity you are welcome to or, if you wish, you can pile up on me... I can take it....and frankly, deserve it. So I've created the habit of jump starting the machine. I've done it over the years, dozens and dozens and dozens of time.... Other day, pull car, check terminals... put cables on. Put cables on other end and find an interesting splash of sparks. What the ...??? Look at my connections and everything is fine. Machine fired right up (which in hindsight frankly, confuses me a bit) 2-days later, wife wanted some mulch mobilized so went to put it into front bucket....had to jump start machine. Check cables... put on.... another splash of sparks??? What the heck? Look at cables and again, all is fine. Put cables on.... and the car slowly dies. ??? Not once but TWICE I stood there looking at the ground wire and connected the hot to it, cross wiring the cables from the car battery to the hoe battery. Twice.... let that sink in. Twice AFTER the sparks. Twice, AFTER I looked at them to make sure everything was ok. TWICE Such a dumbazz.... Anyone got a tube amp you want me to tinker with after this story...I'm feeling lucky!!!!???? 1 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 Your candor is admirable. Perhaps you need some of that stuff they get from jellyfish. I forget what It’s called. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted June 1, 2018 Author Share Posted June 1, 2018 You may be right. The candor was more to try to help someone think about this and really LOOK at what they're doing so perhaps they don't duplicate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 You have the old timers disease of "Loss of Focus". Put one hand on the cable and the other on the terminal and see if you get sparks. This will align your eyeballs. JJK 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted June 2, 2018 Author Share Posted June 2, 2018 Is that my official welcome to the club?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 Get you one of those desulfing trickle chargers for the hoe and quit the jump starting. https://www.ebay.com/itm/BatteryMINDer-Model-1510-12-Volt-1-5-Amp-Charger-Maintainer-Desulfator-1510/222818581066?epid=1140168408&hash=item33e105ba4a:g:fdUAAOSwRTVacjsf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted June 2, 2018 Moderators Share Posted June 2, 2018 Your lucky the battery did not blow up. Once I came out of a convenience store and as I walked past a truck the person went to start it and the battery blew up, it sounded like a shotgun going off and it dented the hood up in that spot 6"-8", it was quite surprising to the point that if I had need to go to the bathroom it would have been over with. 2 hours ago, Coytee said: Is that my official welcome to the club?? I would think as most people you have been in the club a long time, this was just a reminder. Things like this happen to everyone sooner or later, or they are lying. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 3 hours ago, Coytee said: Twice AFTER the sparks. Twice, AFTER I looked at them to make sure everything was ok. TWICE Such a dumbazz.... When I was 16 I had a Honda SL 100. I loved that bike. One day I was running it flat out...BBBbbbuuuu. Engine died. I'm sure I holed the piston. I walked it home and pulled the engine because the 100's were known for holing pistons. The piston was fine. It took me the whole summer to get it back together because I didn't know what I was doing. I finally got the engine buttoned up and went to put everything back together. I go to put the tank on and "tiiiing." I rap on the tank again, "tiiiing." The gas tank was empty. I lost a whole summer of riding my beloved dirt bike because I ran out of gas and never bothered to check, I just ASSUMED I knew what was wrong. dumbazz.......... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 That was funny coytee..... and I got a good one, it's called "Lo Barato Sale Caro", ...... translated.... The Cheap Price Costs More" Dad owns an old 94 Toyota Pick-up. I picked it out for him way back when,... it was the last of the Japanese made trucks, 6 months before the Tundra was introduced. I love that little truck, it's a tough MF'er, or use to be anyway. About 12 or 15 years ago, I was visiting the parents, and told dad it needed a battery, and that I'd go get one and put it in for him. Noooo, he said, I'll take care of it. I know the shop manager at WalMart, and he likes to go to the ranch, and wont' charge me a dime. So, off he went to WalMart the next morning to go chat with the manager. He buys a battery, put's it in his big GMC truck, and drives home with the manager, who proceeds to install the battery in the toyota. He's hoping dad will let him shoot a hog for some meat..... which he does. But the manager was a little too eager to go to the ranch, and in his haste, forgets to secure the batter to the tray. Dad takes the Toyota to the ranch, in-tow, part of the journey includes 7 miles of oil rig, rough as hell wash-board caliche roads, to say nothing about the ranch roads. Not being secured, the battery shifts to the side, so that when they get in it, the alternator pulley proceeds to grind it's way into the battery case. After penetrating the case, the engine gets a good sulfuric acid bath, before getting parked under a tree. It sit's there today as a monument to cheapasses everywhere. The rats have long taken care of what left, they've dined on fine japanese wiring. Anybody wanna buy a used Interstate Battery, used only once!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted June 2, 2018 Author Share Posted June 2, 2018 9 hours ago, wvu80 said: The gas tank was empty. That hurts... but in hindsight, kinda funny perhaps?? Reminds me once when a buddy & I were leaving work at night (high school days). Car parked in lot... door was locked and as I recall, the key was inside or something like that where we couldn't get in. Spent maybe 60/90 minutes trying to find and then pull the lock up with a hanger with no success... when my friend for whatever reason... walked to the other side of the car to find the window rolled down. He looked at me, laughed and got in the car. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 2 hours ago, Coytee said: That hurts... but in hindsight, kinda funny perhaps?? Yeah, freakin' hilarious. 🚳 Most importantly it was a life lesson through motorcycle riding. I learned to never assume. If your piece of audio equipment stops working, what's the first thing you do, not the last? Check the cable! But that's another story, for another time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woofers and Tweeters Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 15 hours ago, Coytee said: Can't believe I did this one... I've had my moments too. You know that I have a hoe, just like yours. My backhoe, like yours, has the same battery problem. Like yours, mine will start just as soon as the starter is hit..as long as the battery is charged. I have the hood off of mine, so the battery is right there, easy to get to in front of the steering wheel. Story time: One time the battery was low so it cranked slowly and didn't start right, it just made a few revs lugging the starter motor. The battery terminal was not tight enough and lost its connection. I bent over the front to twist the cable while holding the key to the start position. The battery blew up in my...I don't mean it popped the caps off or blew part of the top off...it blew up like I have never seen one explode before. It hurt, badly. I have a bad habit of wearing safety glasses and ear plugs while I'm working. If I didn't have the safety glasses on, I have no doubt that I would be blind, unemployed, poor and in some type of assisted living. I put something like one of these on and it stopped the battery problem 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 Had a nephew who knew better cross the poles. Battery blew up and acid all over himself. Lesson learned. Trickle charger is good idea but for of a sudden jumps, just be careful and learn from tales like this one to well, focus on the task at hand. A lesson I am still learning. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted June 2, 2018 Moderators Share Posted June 2, 2018 1 hour ago, Woofers and Tweeters said: I put something like one of these on and it stopped the battery problem I have seen these used before, they work because they seperate whatever is shorting the battery to cause it to drain down, I have seen them used on many boats also. That and a trickle charger should fix the problem. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted June 2, 2018 Author Share Posted June 2, 2018 I used to have a disconnect. I figure once I get the battery charged, I may as well do everything I can do to keep them that way. Over time, the one I had fell apart. Glad you weren't hurt when your battery exploded. I've never witnessed one of these events, don't care that I ever do. I'd like to get one of those solar powered battery minders....but....keep forgetting about it 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codewritinfool Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 I might be able to beat your "dumbazz" moment. It wasn't me, though, it was my brother. So about 30 years ago, my folks bought this piece of land next to theirs. My father and some of the other old-timers in the area remembered that there was a well-drilling rig on it in the late 1950's, and they all agreed on where it sat, plus or minus 30 feet or so. Dad wanted to find that well casing so he could mark it properly in case he ever wanted to use it. Well, one of my brothers knew someone with a "really good" metal detector that would make short work of finding the casing. So he borrowed it. It looked like a cheap unit to me, but what did I know? We all went over there to see if we could find it, and he goes into the approximate center of the designated area, fires the detector up, and starts sweeping the ground. Almost immediately he gets an indication of metal. Because I was the youngest brother, I got to man the shovel. So I started digging. I turned over a few shovel-fulls of dirt and he walks over and puts the detector in the hole. Nothing. He puts it on the pile of dirt. Nothing. Hmmm. That's odd. He starts sweeping again and gets another indication. It isn't over there, it is right here. Here I go with the shovel again, and once again, nothing. We do this whole process once more before I speak up and say, "Something is wrong. These holes are feet apart. There is no way you're getting detection in all of these places - you don't know how to work that thing and I'm not digging any more." Right then, Dad pointed to my brother's feet and started laughing. He had STEEL-TOED BOOTS on. Now *that's* a dumbazz (may they both R.I.P.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillyBob Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 I've crossed terminals. Alternator/voltage regulator let magic smoke. I hate it when I do that. My dad replaced a starter, alternator and battery to find his terminals were corroded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted June 7, 2018 Moderators Share Posted June 7, 2018 On 6/1/2018 at 6:26 PM, DizRotus said: Your candor is admirable. That is surely not what my wife calls it when I screw up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babadono Posted June 7, 2018 Share Posted June 7, 2018 Yea getting old sucks, beats the alternative 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Well, I guess some dumbazz alerts are too close to home. NK general, we salute you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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