Electrical mystery

[john charlton]

Went to start my 28 phaeton but Sweet Nothing as Brenda Lee would say .HHHMMM I went, must be a flat battery . I switched on the headlights and they were nice and bright and the horn ahoogard loud and clear then I pushed on the starter button again and the lights went out . So I thought short in the starter switch so checked that out and it looked OK . With the switch off I touched the battery cable direct to the starter button only a slight spark and still no go so no dead short in the starter anyway. Very odd I thought as the battery was nearly new and I had put it on an overnight trickle charge . Took the starter out (easy job with RHD) checked it out and it spun OK on the bench(and tightened the two loose bendix bolts ).Took the battery out and flashed a heavy wire across it and it zapped mighty fine . I flashed across the tops of the posts which were bright and shiney . I then noticed the positive post side seemed to have a hard black coating so flashed on that and hardly a spark . Cleaned the post and Hey Presto problem solved !!! . I have never seen this before so you learn something new every day !!!

John in cold evening Suffolk County England .

[Jwilli]

Glad you found the problem.

[nhusa]

All electricity is a mystery to me.
If I can't touch it - it doesn't exist!

[Tom Endy]

Good idea to also check the ground strap where it connects to the frame. It is out of sight and out of mind. If it is corroded it can cause the same fault.

Tom Endy

[Terry, NJ]

Clean, Bright, and Tight ! words to live by!
Terry

[Patrick L.]

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I have never seen this before so you learn something new every day !!!
end quote



Kinda common, it happens. And, yep, its a good idea to check the ground connection too.

[steve s]

Was the black mystery coating there when the battery was new, I wonder.

[Mike Peters]

I've had that black oxide, whatever it is, on lead battery cable terminal ends, and same symptoms. No start. No matter how much I scraped the crud, still no start. The cure was either replace the entire cable or just the terminal end of the cable. These things sometimes get to a point when they will no longer conduct enough electricity to run the starter. The black crud on John's battery terminal could have come from the cable end. How old are your battery cables, John? Just my experience.

[3.6rs]

Originally Posted by nhusa

All electricity is a mystery to me.
If I can't touch it - it doesn't exist!

Well, years ago I had the same thoughts, but not anymore.
Once the electricity goes through your body you know it exists.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I've had to use my pocket knife to remove the hard dark coating. The first time I came across it was in 1965 when my Corvair Spyder didn't want to start one day.

[john charlton]

The problem was just the positive post ,both battery cables and the ground strap from trans top to frame were new . I got to thinking maybe some kind of preservative but why would it need it ???

John in dull very humid cold overcast Suffolk County England .

[katy]

All electricity is a mystery to me. If I can't touch it - it doesn't exist!

Originally Posted by 3.6rs

Well, years ago I had the same thoughts, but not anymore.
Once the electricity goes through your body you know it exists.

Ditto

[steve s]

Originally Posted by john charlton

The problem was just the positive post ,both battery cables and the ground strap from trans top to frame were new . I got to thinking maybe some kind of preservative but why would it need it ???

John in dull very humid cold overcast Suffolk County England .

Maybe to prevent accidental shorting out across terminals?

[katy]

Possibly some foreign material, in the recycled metal of the post, that reacted w/the acid or fumes from the battery?

[Jim Brierley]

I bought a Cadillac powered '59 Chevy pickup years ago, got it cheap because of starting problems. Someone had even added an external starter button (using 20 ga. wire). All it needed was battery terminal cleaning!

[Brian T]

I once had a car come to our shop with a newly installed battery, the installer told the customer that the alternator was not charging , they jump started the car and sent him to us, we found the plastic shipping caps had not been removed from the terminal posts, we didn't have the heart to charge him for removing them.

[old Tom]

You are a honest man

[katy]

I once saw a older fellow drilling small holes in the battery caps on a new battery, I asked why he was drilling the holes, he said "for vents", I asked why he didn't just remove the pieces of masking tape that were covering the existing holes. He replied "they were put there at the factory for a reason and they're supposed to be there and they're going to stay there". I just shook my head and walked away.

[Synchro909]

I've seen that black layer build up under the terminal and cause the electrical connection to be interrupted. I just wire brush it till clean, apply a little of the special grease for the purpose available at any auto parts store and reconnect the clamp. Never see it again in that battery. The black layer can be quite hard so sand paper is a good way to remove it. Stop what the metal (post or clamp) is shiny again. Baking soda in hot water works well too.

[raprice]

Originally Posted by john charlton

Went to start my 28 phaeton but Sweet Nothing as Brenda Lee would say .HHHMMM I went, must be a flat battery . I switched on the headlights and they were nice and bright and the horn ahoogard loud and clear then I pushed on the starter button again and the lights went out . So I thought short in the starter switch so checked that out and it looked OK . With the switch off I touched the battery cable direct to the starter button only a slight spark and still no go so no dead short in the starter anyway. Very odd I thought as the battery was nearly new and I had put it on an overnight trickle charge . Took the starter out (easy job with RHD) checked it out and it spun OK on the bench(and tightened the two loose bendix bolts ).Took the battery out and flashed a heavy wire across it and it zapped mighty fine . I flashed across the tops of the posts which were bright and shiney . I then noticed the positive post side seemed to have a hard black coating so flashed on that and hardly a spark . Cleaned the post and Hey Presto problem solved !!! . I have never seen this before so you learn something new every day !!!

John in cold evening Suffolk County England .

John,
Glad you got your electrical problem solved. Not an easy task for anyone, especially me.
By the way, I live in Suffolk County, but on Long Island, NY.
Rog