I really appreciate youtube users and vid makers. I was able to fix my van without taking it to a shop. I had no power to my car at all, thought it might have been the starter, fusible link or a bad ground wire. The problem was a bad connection between the battery to the starter. we had to take the wires off the terminals and got the corrosion off and tighten them back up. This saved me a lot of money because I was about to tow my car to a shop. This vid really pointed me in the right direction to what the real problem was. Thanks again.
Small chance you’re seeing this but if you have no power to the car, it’s 100% the battery you would never be the starter if it was the starter you’d at least have power to the lights on your dash and click or crank if it was your starter
Eric you are the main reason I actually retain this stuff. I got to a technical school and when we started talking about parasitic drain and I actually replaced a faulty alternator the instructors were amazed. I took off my negative battery terminal before I even touched the alternator and the teacher was in awe. "You are the only student I have seen do it right". Then I refered him to your youtube channel. He said to keep learning the correct way by whatever means. Thanks.
Glad you disconnected that negative battery terminal first! When you were working on the positive clamp I saw your wrench touch both the positive terminal AND part of the car's frame! Would have been major sparks if the negative terminal was still connected at that point!
Eric, Thank you very very much for this video. Im not afraid to admit that I am not a car guy at all. My dad was the mechanic in the family and I was the computer guy but I did know enough not to go buying a starter and battery. I have a 1996 Chrysler Sebring so it was pretty close to what you had on video so it was very easy to follow. Thank you again. You have been a blessing.
Eric, I'm just going to come out and say it; you're the best. Thanks for making so many awesome videos for us to view and follow. I'm a DIY guy and you've saved me thousands of dollars and that translates to thousands of dollars saved for my friends as well. Awesome! Thanks man!
Thank you for your videos. Yesterday I had a had a no crank no start and all I heard was a single loud click from under the hood then all the power went out on the car. I used your videos to check the relays, fuses , test the battery and charging system and then did a voltage drop test. Turned out to be the cable that ran from the fuse box under the hood to the positive terminal of the battery (it was really rusted) . I had some room on the wire so I just cut off the corroded part and stripped it, cleaned the terminals and wires all up and it started just fine. So far so good. 02 Chevrolet Cavalier LS sport 2.2l DOHC
This is why I'm subscribed to Eric the Car Guy by far one of the best mechanic on UA-cam I have personally figured a lot of things and figured a lot of things out watching his videos. nice feeling when you can fix your own car
I typically avoid using those crimp-style terminals - the ones that just smash the wire between the terminal. The invite corrosion and can pull out over time. I typically use the moulded type of connector. Those are the ones that look like ring terminal connectors. You actually insert the wire in and crimp the entire end down, this seals the wire from corrosion. That black wire coming off the other side of the positive terminal is a fine example.
I knew when I clicked on your video that I would get every details of the subject. I wanted to know if my cable would be an issue even though it doesn't look that bad and your voltage drop told me everything I need to know ! The way you speak is clear and not too fast. I really like your video !
One way to make those terminals work, at least a little bit, is to strip off some wire until it's clean, then solder the strands together. They'll act like a big lug, and they'll last longer with those stupid terminals. Coating them in dielectric grease ought to help after that.
Eric, my daughter's car is having the same problems and the battery terminals look this bad. I will clean them and see if that helps. Thank you for taking the time to post this video.
When comes to connections i enjoy using some wire brushes and sand paper few times and my cars never fail on me ...batteries last longer and car loves it....show your car some love ....it will return the favor
Had a charging issue in my Cherokee last month, terminals looked good, but when I took them off, small amount of corrosion on post. Cleaned her up and that was all it was. Glad I didn't order that Alternator I had already priced.
I SO agree man, and i get the feeling there is a set of sub's in this car and a deck, if thats the case someone did a really shitty install and did not know what they are doing, but i would have at least checked what thos wire's were going to, and told the customer how bad that is.
nailbomb3 this could have been me. I just happened to buy new terminals (quietly thinking my loose terminals were causing some kind of problem.) but then the clicking started to be more frequent... always assuming it was my starter going bad. After getting stranded at del taco (car cut off and click click no start, I replaced the starter and boom problem solved... for about three starts. Problem came back and ran across this vid. I literally put new terminals on a bad wiring job. Cleaned them all up and what do you know. My car starts no problem!! This dude is good
Thanks for the info, Eric. One piece of advice: the terminal cleaning tool is tapered, as are the battery posts-----So you should only insert and use that tool from the underside of the terminal, so it will maintain the proper taper to the terminal.
I have seen some weird stuff happen in newer cars if the connections are even a little loose/dirty. Not so much problems with starting,but other weird stuff like the ABS light suddenly coming on,ECU having 'hiccups',heater controls acting looney,noise in the stereo,all manner of things. Make sure they're clean and tight! It can save you a lot of headaches.
baking soda and water mix works great!!! it dilutes the battery acid and neutralizes it !!!! This works just as well as the spray you buy but waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy cheaper and I think everyone has baking soda at home
Sound advice. You don't stand a chance if your battery connections are not clean and tight. I liked the terminal cleaning device. Well worth having one and it would last a lifetime.
I had a 6 volt drop between my battery and the key side of the starter with intermittent no crank. I Chased many things for a long time, finally it was just a dirty terminal on one of the small wires! There were lots of small losses in the circuit but the terminal was true worst one.
also if you have dash lights when you turn the key from off to on then turn the key to start but nothing and then dash lights are off. this is also something that gives it away that the clamps are lose or dirty etc etc etc. great video
Wow, I tend to forget there’s people out there who don’t know jack about cars. The 1st thing you check in a no start situation is the battery and cables!!!! If that’s not good it doesn’t matter how much money in new parts you buy it won’t fix the problem lol! That’s $300 they could had kept in their pocket or more.
Dude, you are so awesome. I'm just like you, down to earth, AMERICAN, and are not afraid to show other people your knowledge, way to go. You help me lots. have a great holiday, sincerely, Alex Montero
Thanks for the great procedure! It turns out my 20yr old car had the grounding stud painted over in the trunk by the factory guys. Seems the manufacturer had the intention of the nut shielding the stud from paint. Mine wasn't tightened down, so there was overspray on the backside of the nut, and the face of the body where the strap should clamp and make contact.... If it weren't for metalflake there may never have been any connection to ground! 5 minutes with the dremel and a brush bit, and this car is cranking faster than it ever has! From no crank, no click, to super-crank! As you showed I set my multimeter to mV and traced the +'ve and -'ve battery connections outward. With the car in "run", headlights on w/o the engine running the drop from terminal to clamp was 14mV, another 14mV to the body, and I quickly saw my issue.
14.4 is the normal limit but you're not gonna cause any damage until about 15.5 volts, but that rarely happens, when alternator fail it's mostly gonna under-volt, not over-volt. Between 13.8 and 14.4 is ideal and tells you that the alternator is in good working condition.
When I turn my key I get no noise except the dinging from the inside of the car. No clicking no trying to turn over. New battery, new starter, fuses are good. What could it be
Glad to be back here. I have a different connection, but its not the original either, so staying away like the plague still applies. My radio goes off at times, ABS and such signs go off too and starting, I can tell has a weird start. Found out I have a loose connection because I have the butterfly negative wire. Couldn't see it, but I moved it and sound was going off in the car because I thought the battery "died".
😂 thank you Eric always my savyer when a problem crops up with my car iv learn so much over the years watching and studying your videos Anyway been having problems starting no lights no dash no crank etc every morning and trying to work out what could be going on upon looking at the battery terminals found the negative terminal had snapped managed to fix it for now but will need a connection when I get round to it Thank you again Eric
How would I replace the whole wire/cable? Not just the terminal ends. A few months ago I bought a used Toyota Corolla 2005 LE and it has had a few hiccups that I have taken care of but I want to get a decent battery (currently using a crap Wal Mart battery) but the length of the cable is a bit short as if it has been cut down. Plus it looks old. I assume it was a shore car as there is some corrosion. Other than that, and the muffler that I need to tighten, it runs well.
Don't know what he would say but... use what fits! [top or side post] Positive and negative terminals [top post] are different diameters - don't smash and bash the wrong ones onto your battery. There are three basic variants. What we see in this video is an all purpose open clamp, which is a handy spare to have on hand around a farm or BFE, but... as you see, corrosion sets in quite easily. The second is a factory molded piece that can't be done at home - I like these for the most part. They usually come with a main lead, and one or more auxiliary wires destined for non-starter loads. The third is kind of like the first, but has a single threaded post on top which requires ring terminal lugs be crimped onto wires first - these are nice if you have a complex setup [like 4 wires on each post or some such]. Regarding the factory molded type, use the same wire size car mfr did, or one size larger if availability is a problem. Generally, I find most gasoline engines are served by 4 awg reasonably well, but not all starter motors are a direct 1:1 ratio. If it's geared down [say 4:1 or some such], smaller HP motors can be used and that's a different ballgame regarding feed wire size.
I got a battery in 2016- just died on me now in 2020. I got it changed a few days ago at Autozone but noticed the guy who installed it didn't even clean the terminals. He kind of just blew on it. My car is still making a noise when I start it and I'm taking it to my usual shop to get the starter checked. I hope it's just the terminals! Thanks for the video, it's given me hope I won't have to spend $400-$500 on getting a new starter.
I've had a 97 eclipse for almost 7 years and had a problem with the power wires. Mine was doing the same thing and upon research after fixing it, I learned that most of them have this problem at some point. It's just one of those things with these cars.
Sounded a little to me like the new (or rebuilt) starter might have an overrunning clutch issue (and/or a drive or ring gear issue). Overrunning clutches aren't routinely replaced by rebuilders as they're big $. They can, and often do act up intermittently in their early failure stages. Modern overrunning clutches are much better than days of yore, but a dunk in solvent can still kill one. Did I also hear the alternator belt squeal after one of the starts? As in a loose or bad 'v' belt?
Basic stuff like this is bread and butter to auto shops. Loose battery connections at terminals, starter, ground points. Months of my life have disappeared into the ether going crazy testing the most obscure of "crank, no start" possible causes. Way more often than not it's because I fail to tighten terminal connections because I find myself taking out the battery so often when I'm under the hood.
Probably the new cables are not cheap. And probably the owner of the car has some money issues. You can't just call him a moron. Have some respect! After all it's his car, and if it burns down, than it will be his problem. What Eric can do on a customers car is totally out of his hands. He can't change the wires, if the customer doesn't want it to. That's life. But the video still had it's purpose. Its another educational one. I liked it, just like every other of Eric's videos. ;)
Just bought a Volvo 740. It starts whenever it feels like. Now I'm swapping spark plugs, cables to the plugs, distributor cap, rotor and battery terminals. It's a turbo, and driven somewhat hard, and these things are several years old, and I've heard they should be swapped once a year or so :P (not the terminals of course).
Thank you so much for this video, it really helped me find out what was wrong with my car & why it would not start, I had a lot of corrosion on my battery & it needed a good cleaning. Thanks a bunch.😀
Thank you for you great videos! I hope the notes I took help me figure out what's going on w/ my car. I took it to O'Rielys and their checker said it was a bad connection... I also took the alternator out and took it there to be tested and they said it was bad. A while back I accidently punctured my power steering pump resivoir which is right above my alternator. With all that fluid leaking down onto the alternator over time, do you think that could be what is causing it to go bad (this is the second time I've had to replace it in like a 2 year period, granted I got a used one as replacement last time, not new)... anyways I am going now to check my connections since that's what they said the problem was and here in the video you show me how to do that so THANKS.
I had no crank and no start. sometimes it would start and other times it wouldn't. I bought a new battery and starter, it was working fine. a couple of weeks ago it wouldn't start for 3 days, someone came to help and all he did was wiggle the terminal and it started. he tightened it up for me and said it wouldn't happen again, 2 days later it wouldn't start and still won't. my terminals are clean no corrosion, I don't know what to do. please help
Hi Jb, how did you correct this? That's the same issue I'm having right now. I bought a new starter and battery and my van worked for about a week but now won't start unless I touch the starter with something metal while someone turns the ignition. (My car guy wants me to buy yet another new starter b/c he said he checked all the connections but I really don't think he did; he just wants money.) I'm going to double check the connections and make sure they are not corroded.
Always keep your electrical connections clean, I also use a little grease on my battery terminals. This will keep your car running better and make your battery last longer.....
When I see battery terminals that are too big to fit on the top post, they sell little shims at the auto parts store. This solution is more permanent and more reliable than banging on the terminals.
have a chevy cobalt ss supercharge I accidentally touch together the battery posts and boom big sparks scared me! car doesnt crank at all now any thoughts about that
I am not sure but would it be better to check the voltage on the starter by pulling the plug to the distributor so it can crank long enough without starting the engine and you get a stable read on the voltmeter?
I have a 2006 Nissan Titan the possitive terminal has a fuse cable it is loose and I put a piece of metal to thicken the terminal and also did same to the negative terminal which is regular no fuse but is loose again do you have any suggestions and of course thank you for the videos they are always helpful
What if it's not the starter or battery or ground cable/terminals for the battery? Currently having starting issues with my Jeep after I replaced the starter a month ago...
I watch his channel as well. But this is not his channel. So please don't do this! It's called trolling or flaming. Eric has a great and entertaining channel, and he doesn't deserve this. Show some respect for him, please!
Hi Eric; One of the reasons why the wires are discoloured/burnt is heat. The voltage drop you're finding causes the same power drawn by the starter to require a higher current. Bad connections also increase the resistance to the passage of current and therefore contribute to increased losses of power to heat. Heat generated in wires is mainly a function of current flow and resistance (the Joule effect). Also, a voltmeter with a MAX HOLD function is great for that voltage drop test :) Cheers!
best thing is after you clean them up and get them all shiny coat it all in Vaseline and it will never give trouble as long as there is a coating there. works for any battery terminal. tho dont get it between the post and the terminals because then it wont conduct.
one of the reasons you cable was loose may have been because you removed the taper by flipping you reaming tool over. if you look close, the post on a battery, the clamp on a cable, and your tool have a taper and should only be used in one orientation.
Hello there, have. A problem with my truck battery, my friend forced to remove the terminal post at the battery and the battery post its loose, . Do I need to replace battery??. Thanks for answer
Hello, good video thanks! would you know where the AC drain is located for a Mazda mpv 2000, I'm getting water right under my feet driver side from the AC, no leaking outside under the car as it should be. I've been looking all over for this to unclog it.
Can striped posts be a problem as well... The issue I'm having is my car won'tnt start, we have to mess with the battery cables for a while before it starts also we noticed the cords running to the starter from the battery is not tight... What should I do, do you know what may be the problem??? THANKS
Hey Eric i know this off topic from the video but i got a 1996 honda accord 2.2 vtec and my check engine light wont turn on with the key on on i changed the bulb and it still doesnt turn on also when i try to put in my 7.5 fuse on the radio backup slot my parking lights turn on and i cant turn them off what should i doo? thank you.
Yes and NO I had a no turn over issue Cleaned terminals (will explain more later) changed ignition relay solenoid, starter, checked all my terminals 93 Ford Ranger all ground/hot leads make sure tight enough. Factory terminals are sealed at lead ends I could not see through the lead. Yes they are bad on inside, cut off changed out I have had no further issues.
My positive battery terminal wire is in half my friend and I are gonna connect it back together ..wanted to know would this be the cause of the green key coming on the dash ? My emobilizer,key, fuses, computer are good
How do you know if your car has an anti-theft battery installed or not? I have corrosion on the battery terminals in a 2003 Hyundai Elantra with a factory original radio. I wanted to deal with the corrosion issue but have been warned that if its an anti-theft radio it would need to be reset afterwards with a pin number. Checked all my original paperwork from car and find no mention of pin or whether its anti-theft or not. Is there a way to know for sure before I remove the cables?
My car intermittently doesn't start sometimes. I turn the key all the dashboard lights come on, air conditioner blows, headlights work, but there's no crank. I just wait a while and then it starts up again. Do you think it's a battery cable issue?
I spet half of a day dealing with my no crack issue, what a headache then i spent another 5 hours on youtube still no crank. Still going nuts after trying all types of tricks, then i slow it down a little and checked the pedal and sensor and the rubber stopper wasent engageing the sensor so i held it down with my hand and turned the key vrooom vrooom baby car started rite up.... Thankz doh
Thanks for your videos Eric!!! Its totally helped me so many times restoring my own car and this particular video is currently helping me with my own starting issues! Im going to run this test tomorrow. Thank you! :D
Hey Eric question for you, is the whole engine supposed to be grounded out? I was checking the cooling fan switch using a connector with a jumper wire to make the fan come on. On a few spots on the motor, the fan would come on and I'm trying to figure out why the whole motor wasn't grounded out. I even put it on the starter body were it's bolted up and nothing happened, but it does come on when you touch it to the grounded wires on the engine.
What's strange is new earth lead, a new battery, new starter motor, and them not noticing that the postive lead is that bad, then they want you to just clean it up lol.
had some problems with my car starting this morning, i was suspicious of the wiring on the ignition coil because of previous problems with it, so i go to my local hardware store and picked up some terminals and connectors, i cut the wires down past the corrosion and connected some new wire. i also had some trouble with my lights and turn signals, i check my fuse box and sure enough 3 blown fuses. i checked all the fuses by the way. i do wish to know how to check for bad relays though. thanks. :)
This is a great video! Thanks for posting! My car is doing the exact same thing and because of this video, now I know what to fix, my terminal connectors are very loose
hey Erick I'm having a weird problem with my car, it's a 2000 jeep grand Cherokee, and my battery died after sitting for a few days, i replaced the battery and the terminals because they needed it but when i connected the new battery it created an ark, the fan came on, the lights came on, and the horn came on. What do you think, anything come to mind?
i have the same problem with my2001 ml320 Mercedes the wire from the positive post looks just like the one in this video were do I get a new wire from any help!!!!!!!
I really appreciate youtube users and vid makers. I was able to fix my van without taking it to a shop. I had no power to my car at all, thought it might have been the starter, fusible link or a bad ground wire. The problem was a bad connection between the battery to the starter. we had to take the wires off the terminals and got the corrosion off and tighten them back up. This saved me a lot of money because I was about to tow my car to a shop. This vid really pointed me in the right direction to what the real problem was. Thanks again.
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Eric has always been a good man. I have a feeling this is gonna be my problem too.
Same exact situation with me!!! I subscribed to him just for this video
Tow it to your house and work on it. I would rather spend 8 hours watching UA-camrs and troubleshooting than pay someone to rip me off
Small chance you’re seeing this but if you have no power to the car, it’s 100% the battery you would never be the starter if it was the starter you’d at least have power to the lights on your dash and click or crank if it was your starter
Eric you are the main reason I actually retain this stuff. I got to a technical school and when we started talking about parasitic drain and I actually replaced a faulty alternator the instructors were amazed. I took off my negative battery terminal before I even touched the alternator and the teacher was in awe. "You are the only student I have seen do it right". Then I refered him to your youtube channel. He said to keep learning the correct way by whatever means. Thanks.
6:45 "it's new but I'll do it anyway"
This kids is what's called.... INTEGRITY thank you Lord for letting EricTheCarGuy be a genuine man
Glad you disconnected that negative battery terminal first! When you were working on the positive clamp I saw your wrench touch both the positive terminal AND part of the car's frame! Would have been major sparks if the negative terminal was still connected at that point!
Eric, Thank you very very much for this video. Im not afraid to admit that I am not a car guy at all. My dad was the mechanic in the family and I was the computer guy but I did know enough not to go buying a starter and battery. I have a 1996 Chrysler Sebring so it was pretty close to what you had on video so it was very easy to follow. Thank you again. You have been a blessing.
OMG!!! I did exactly what you said and my baby is alive!!! thanks for everything man!!!
Eric, I'm just going to come out and say it; you're the best. Thanks for making so many awesome videos for us to view and follow. I'm a DIY guy and you've saved me thousands of dollars and that translates to thousands of dollars saved for my friends as well. Awesome! Thanks man!
Thank you for your videos. Yesterday I had a had a no crank no start and all I heard was a single loud click from under the hood then all the power went out on the car. I used your videos to check the relays, fuses , test the battery and charging system and then did a voltage drop test. Turned out to be the cable that ran from the fuse box under the hood to the positive terminal of the battery (it was really rusted) . I had some room on the wire so I just cut off the corroded part and stripped it, cleaned the terminals and wires all up and it started just fine. So far so good.
02 Chevrolet Cavalier LS sport 2.2l DOHC
This is why I'm subscribed to Eric the Car Guy by far one of the best mechanic on UA-cam I have personally figured a lot of things and figured a lot of things out watching his videos. nice feeling when you can fix your own car
I typically avoid using those crimp-style terminals - the ones that just smash the wire between the terminal. The invite corrosion and can pull out over time.
I typically use the moulded type of connector. Those are the ones that look like ring terminal connectors. You actually insert the wire in and crimp the entire end down, this seals the wire from corrosion. That black wire coming off the other side of the positive terminal is a fine example.
I knew when I clicked on your video that I would get every details of the subject. I wanted to know if my cable would be an issue even though it doesn't look that bad and your voltage drop told me everything I need to know ! The way you speak is clear and not too fast. I really like your video !
One way to make those terminals work, at least a little bit, is to strip off some wire until it's clean, then solder the strands together. They'll act like a big lug, and they'll last longer with those stupid terminals. Coating them in dielectric grease ought to help after that.
Eric, my daughter's car is having the same problems and the battery terminals look this bad. I will clean them and see if that helps. Thank you for taking the time to post this video.
Those white cables look like the wires that came off a 120 volt light or fan that you would have in your house.
Hahahaha 🤣
When comes to connections i enjoy using some wire brushes and sand paper few times and my cars never fail on me ...batteries last longer and car loves it....show your car some love ....it will return the favor
Had a charging issue in my Cherokee last month, terminals looked good, but when I took them off, small amount of corrosion on post. Cleaned her up and that was all it was. Glad I didn't order that Alternator I had already priced.
I SO agree man, and i get the feeling there is a set of sub's in this car and a deck, if thats the case someone did a really shitty install and did not know what they are doing, but i would have at least checked what thos wire's were going to, and told the customer how bad that is.
wow. that's heavy. I can't believe someone bought a new starter and battery. and not a cable!
nailbomb3 this could have been me. I just happened to buy new terminals (quietly thinking my loose terminals were causing some kind of problem.) but then the clicking started to be more frequent... always assuming it was my starter going bad. After getting stranded at del taco (car cut off and click click no start, I replaced the starter and boom problem solved... for about three starts. Problem came back and ran across this vid. I literally put new terminals on a bad wiring job. Cleaned them all up and what do you know. My car starts no problem!! This dude is good
i did that !!!! new battery new starter and whole bunch of googling ...and today a clever mechanic finds a negative issue
Yep, unfortunately just happened to me.😞
I havent heard someone say thats heavy in a real long time brother
That’s why a multimeter can come very handy!😁
Thanks for the info, Eric. One piece of advice: the terminal cleaning tool is tapered, as are the battery posts-----So you should only insert and use that tool from the underside of the terminal, so it will maintain the proper taper to the terminal.
I have seen some weird stuff happen in newer cars if the connections are even a little loose/dirty. Not so much problems with starting,but other weird stuff like the ABS light suddenly coming on,ECU having 'hiccups',heater controls acting looney,noise in the stereo,all manner of things.
Make sure they're clean and tight! It can save you a lot of headaches.
baking soda and water mix works great!!! it dilutes the battery acid and neutralizes it !!!!
This works just as well as the spray you buy but waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy cheaper and I think everyone has baking soda at home
Sound advice. You don't stand a chance if your battery connections are not clean and tight. I liked the terminal cleaning device. Well worth having one and it would last a lifetime.
I had a 6 volt drop between my battery and the key side of the starter with intermittent no crank. I Chased many things for a long time, finally it was just a dirty terminal on one of the small wires! There were lots of small losses in the circuit but the terminal was true worst one.
Cleaning the battery terminals makes such a huge difference. Holy crap.
also if you have dash lights when you turn the key from off to on then turn the key to start but nothing and then dash lights are off. this is also something that gives it away that the clamps are lose or dirty etc etc etc. great video
Wow, I tend to forget there’s people out there who don’t know jack about cars. The 1st thing you check in a no start situation is the battery and cables!!!! If that’s not good it doesn’t matter how much money in new parts you buy it won’t fix the problem lol! That’s $300 they could had kept in their pocket or more.
Dude, you are so awesome. I'm just like you, down to earth, AMERICAN, and are not afraid to show other people your knowledge, way to go. You help me lots. have a great holiday, sincerely, Alex Montero
Thanks for the great procedure! It turns out my 20yr old car had the grounding stud painted over in the trunk by the factory guys. Seems the manufacturer had the intention of the nut shielding the stud from paint. Mine wasn't tightened down, so there was overspray on the backside of the nut, and the face of the body where the strap should clamp and make contact.... If it weren't for metalflake there may never have been any connection to ground! 5 minutes with the dremel and a brush bit, and this car is cranking faster than it ever has!
From no crank, no click, to super-crank!
As you showed I set my multimeter to mV and traced the +'ve and -'ve battery connections outward. With the car in "run", headlights on w/o the engine running the drop from terminal to clamp was 14mV, another 14mV to the body, and I quickly saw my issue.
Wish I could’ve found this video first before I bought a starter 🤦🏾♂️😂 live and you learn
4:25 'to avoid any arching" finally i understand why remove neg first and attach last. Thx bud. Great video. I learned a lot.
Who buys a new battery, new starter, new negative cable connection and not even clean the one on the positive side :)
The owner of this car lol
a woman or a young white man with no father.
What a joker
Dude it happens. I been working on cars and over 20 years and I still omit basic maintenance. Lol
If your rides been down a couple months that wiring can become fossilized hard and unpliable. Things in motion tend to stay in motion.
14.4 is the normal limit but you're not gonna cause any damage until about 15.5 volts, but that rarely happens, when alternator fail it's mostly gonna under-volt, not over-volt.
Between 13.8 and 14.4 is ideal and tells you that the alternator is in good working condition.
When I turn my key I get no noise except the dinging from the inside of the car. No clicking no trying to turn over. New battery, new starter, fuses are good. What could it be
Glad to be back here. I have a different connection, but its not the original either, so staying away like the plague still applies. My radio goes off at times, ABS and such signs go off too and starting, I can tell has a weird start. Found out I have a loose connection because I have the butterfly negative wire. Couldn't see it, but I moved it and sound was going off in the car because I thought the battery "died".
😂 thank you Eric always my savyer when a problem crops up with my car iv learn so much over the years watching and studying your videos
Anyway been having problems starting no lights no dash no crank etc every morning and trying to work out what could be going on upon looking at the battery terminals found the negative terminal had snapped managed to fix it for now but will need a connection when I get round to it
Thank you again Eric
Excellent video. Thanks for posting this. I love the way you explain things, so clear and understandable.
How would I replace the whole wire/cable? Not just the terminal ends.
A few months ago I bought a used Toyota Corolla 2005 LE and it has had a few hiccups that I have taken care of but I want to get a decent battery (currently using a crap Wal Mart battery) but the length of the cable is a bit short as if it has been cut down. Plus it looks old. I assume it was a shore car as there is some corrosion. Other than that, and the muffler that I need to tighten, it runs well.
Just disconnect it at the battery and follow the cables to the end, disconnect them. Installation in reverse.
@EricTheCarGuy, so what type of battery connections do you recommend?
Don't know what he would say but... use what fits! [top or side post] Positive and negative terminals [top post] are different diameters - don't smash and bash the wrong ones onto your battery. There are three basic variants. What we see in this video is an all purpose open clamp, which is a handy spare to have on hand around a farm or BFE, but... as you see, corrosion sets in quite easily. The second is a factory molded piece that can't be done at home - I like these for the most part. They usually come with a main lead, and one or more auxiliary wires destined for non-starter loads. The third is kind of like the first, but has a single threaded post on top which requires ring terminal lugs be crimped onto wires first - these are nice if you have a complex setup [like 4 wires on each post or some such].
Regarding the factory molded type, use the same wire size car mfr did, or one size larger if availability is a problem. Generally, I find most gasoline engines are served by 4 awg reasonably well, but not all starter motors are a direct 1:1 ratio. If it's geared down [say 4:1 or some such], smaller HP motors can be used and that's a different ballgame regarding feed wire size.
I got a battery in 2016- just died on me now in 2020. I got it changed a few days ago at Autozone but noticed the guy who installed it didn't even clean the terminals. He kind of just blew on it. My car is still making a noise when I start it and I'm taking it to my usual shop to get the starter checked. I hope it's just the terminals! Thanks for the video, it's given me hope I won't have to spend $400-$500 on getting a new starter.
I love your stuff. I just wish I had watched this before I bought a new battery!
I tend to coat the terminals with grease. Keeps the oxygen away and therefore less corrosion.
how do you add length to your existing battery cable, once you have repaired your terminal connection?
This guys the freakin best man we need to appreciate people like him
I clean the battery connections on all cars I service. Warm water and a wire brush works like a charm.
I do this on both my cars about twice a year.
I've had a 97 eclipse for almost 7 years and had a problem with the power wires. Mine was doing the same thing and upon research after fixing it, I learned that most of them have this problem at some point. It's just one of those things with these cars.
Sounded a little to me like the new (or rebuilt) starter might have an overrunning clutch issue (and/or a drive or ring gear issue). Overrunning clutches aren't routinely replaced by rebuilders as they're big $. They can, and often do act up intermittently in their early failure stages.
Modern overrunning clutches are much better than days of yore, but a dunk in solvent can still kill one.
Did I also hear the alternator belt squeal after one of the starts? As in a loose or bad 'v' belt?
Basic stuff like this is bread and butter to auto shops. Loose battery connections at terminals, starter, ground points. Months of my life have disappeared into the ether going crazy testing the most obscure of "crank, no start" possible causes. Way more often than not it's because I fail to tighten terminal connections because I find myself taking out the battery so often when I'm under the hood.
Probably the new cables are not cheap. And probably the owner of the car has some money issues. You can't just call him a moron. Have some respect! After all it's his car, and if it burns down, than it will be his problem. What Eric can do on a customers car is totally out of his hands. He can't change the wires, if the customer doesn't want it to. That's life. But the video still had it's purpose. Its another educational one. I liked it, just like every other of Eric's videos. ;)
This video is great. I love the end "Ill just come out and say it.... I hate them"
Its very rare you see many dislikes on any of Eric's videos.
That shows something...
Just bought a Volvo 740. It starts whenever it feels like. Now I'm swapping spark plugs, cables to the plugs, distributor cap, rotor and battery terminals. It's a turbo, and driven somewhat hard, and these things are several years old, and I've heard they should be swapped once a year or so :P (not the terminals of course).
eric, what was the black cable going across the tie down?
You can also spray copper grease on the terminals for maintenance.
Thank you so much for this video, it really helped me find out what was wrong with my car & why it would not start, I had a lot of corrosion on my battery & it needed a good cleaning. Thanks a bunch.😀
Nothing like a good battery cable end, those DIY repair ends are nothing but a headache
Thank you for you great videos! I hope the notes I took help me figure out what's going on w/ my car. I took it to O'Rielys and their checker said it was a bad connection... I also took the alternator out and took it there to be tested and they said it was bad. A while back I accidently punctured my power steering pump resivoir which is right above my alternator. With all that fluid leaking down onto the alternator over time, do you think that could be what is causing it to go bad (this is the second time I've had to replace it in like a 2 year period, granted I got a used one as replacement last time, not new)... anyways I am going now to check my connections since that's what they said the problem was and here in the video you show me how to do that so THANKS.
1:49 those wires look like wicked fire Hazzards 💀
I know this is an old video but if you could recommend some other terminals???? anyways good vid.. thanks
I had no crank and no start. sometimes it would start and other times it wouldn't. I bought a new battery and starter, it was working fine. a couple of weeks ago it wouldn't start for 3 days, someone came to help and all he did was wiggle the terminal and it started. he tightened it up for me and said it wouldn't happen again, 2 days later it wouldn't start and still won't. my terminals are clean no corrosion, I don't know what to do. please help
Hi Jb, how did you correct this? That's the same issue I'm having right now. I bought a new starter and battery and my van worked for about a week but now won't start unless I touch the starter with something metal while someone turns the ignition. (My car guy wants me to buy yet another new starter b/c he said he checked all the connections but I really don't think he did; he just wants money.) I'm going to double check the connections and make sure they are not corroded.
do u lay the cable wires on top of eacother before tightening them down or side my side
Always keep your electrical connections clean, I also use a little grease on my battery terminals. This will keep your car running better and make your battery last longer.....
What kind of grease and how do i actually clean the cables ive already cleaned electrical connectors on battery
Adjustable wrenchs work when used by Eric.Eric is a Mechanic.
When I see battery terminals that are too big to fit on the top post, they sell little shims at the auto parts store. This solution is more permanent and more reliable than banging on the terminals.
have a chevy cobalt ss supercharge I accidentally touch together the battery posts and boom big sparks scared me! car doesnt crank at all now any thoughts about that
I am not sure but would it be better to check the voltage on the starter by pulling the plug to the distributor so it can crank long enough without starting the engine and you get a stable read on the voltmeter?
kingmabb or use peak hold function.
I have a 2006 Nissan Titan the possitive terminal has a fuse cable it is loose and I put a piece of metal to thicken the terminal and also did same to the negative terminal which is regular no fuse but is loose again do you have any suggestions and of course thank you for the videos they are always helpful
What if it's not the starter or battery or ground cable/terminals for the battery? Currently having starting issues with my Jeep after I replaced the starter a month ago...
Any experience w newer Subaru Outback battery cables. Having starting troubles ongoing.
I watch his channel as well. But this is not his channel. So please don't do this! It's called trolling or flaming. Eric has a great and entertaining channel, and he doesn't deserve this. Show some respect for him, please!
Hi Eric; One of the reasons why the wires are discoloured/burnt is heat. The voltage drop you're finding causes the same power drawn by the starter to require a higher current. Bad connections also increase the resistance to the passage of current and therefore contribute to increased losses of power to heat. Heat generated in wires is mainly a function of current flow and resistance (the Joule effect).
Also, a voltmeter with a MAX HOLD function is great for that voltage drop test :) Cheers!
best thing is after you clean them up and get them all shiny coat it all in Vaseline and it will never give trouble as long as there is a coating there. works for any battery terminal. tho dont get it between the post and the terminals because then it wont conduct.
one of the reasons you cable was loose may have been because you removed the taper by flipping you reaming tool over. if you look close, the post on a battery, the clamp on a cable, and your tool have a taper and should only be used in one orientation.
Hello there, have. A problem with my truck battery, my friend forced to remove the terminal post at the battery and the battery post its loose, . Do I need to replace battery??. Thanks for answer
Hello, good video thanks!
would you know where the AC drain is located for a Mazda mpv 2000, I'm getting water right under my feet driver side from the AC, no leaking outside under the car as it should be.
I've been looking all over for this to unclog it.
Yes, you are one of top guys. Hey do you have a post on grounds how to find , inspect, and repair engine, body and frame.
6:05 how about burning some flux up in the cable to burn off oxidation?
A bit of something acid will help clean up that oxidation quite well. Even just a splash of vinegar wile you hit it with the wire brush.
Can striped posts be a problem as well... The issue I'm having is my car won'tnt start, we have to mess with the battery cables for a while before it starts also we noticed the cords running to the starter from the battery is not tight... What should I do, do you know what may be the problem??? THANKS
Hey Eric i know this off topic from the video but i got a 1996 honda accord 2.2 vtec and my check engine light wont turn on with the key on on i changed the bulb and it still doesnt turn on also when i try to put in my 7.5 fuse on the radio backup slot my parking lights turn on and i cant turn them off what should i doo? thank you.
Yes and NO I had a no turn over issue Cleaned terminals (will explain more later) changed ignition relay solenoid, starter, checked all my terminals 93 Ford Ranger all ground/hot leads make sure tight enough. Factory terminals are sealed at lead ends I could not see through the lead. Yes they are bad on inside, cut off changed out I have had no further issues.
What type of connections do you recommend?
My positive battery terminal wire is in half my friend and I are gonna connect it back together ..wanted to know would this be the cause of the green key coming on the dash ? My emobilizer,key, fuses, computer are good
Did those other wires ever get warm after the repair? They look to be made from lamp cord
How do you know if your car has an anti-theft battery installed or not? I have corrosion on the battery terminals in a 2003 Hyundai Elantra with a factory original radio. I wanted to deal with the corrosion issue but have been warned that if its an anti-theft radio it would need to be reset afterwards with a pin number. Checked all my original paperwork from car and find no mention of pin or whether its anti-theft or not. Is there a way to know for sure before I remove the cables?
My car intermittently doesn't start sometimes. I turn the key all the dashboard lights come on, air conditioner blows, headlights work, but there's no crank. I just wait a while and then it starts up again. Do you think it's a battery cable issue?
Hey can I ask?
If you make the mistake of putting the (-) terminal on the (+) side of the battery, will your car lights still go on?
I spet half of a day dealing with my no crack issue, what a headache then i spent another 5 hours on youtube still no crank. Still going nuts after trying all types of tricks, then i slow it down a little and checked the pedal and sensor and the rubber stopper wasent engageing the sensor so i held it down with my hand and turned the key vrooom vrooom baby car started rite up.... Thankz doh
I have the same car and I'm having the same problem. The wires look discolored as well. I will try this trick and see if it works!
What type of battery connectors would you recommend then?
Thanks for your videos Eric!!! Its totally helped me so many times restoring my own car and this particular video is currently helping me with my own starting issues! Im going to run this test tomorrow. Thank you! :D
Hey Eric question for you, is the whole engine supposed to be grounded out? I was checking the cooling fan switch using a connector with a jumper wire to make the fan come on. On a few spots on the motor, the fan would come on and I'm trying to figure out why the whole motor wasn't grounded out. I even put it on the starter body were it's bolted up and nothing happened, but it does come on when you touch it to the grounded wires on the engine.
you are a car legend ! my honda all of a sudden sounds like its struggling to turn on even tho it does .. you think this video could apply to that?
What's strange is new earth lead, a new battery, new starter motor, and them not noticing that the postive lead is that bad, then they want you to just clean it up lol.
What battery connections do you recommend then Eric? For a car or a minivan????
had some problems with my car starting this morning, i was suspicious of the wiring on the ignition coil because of previous problems with it, so i go to my local hardware store and picked up some terminals and connectors, i cut the wires down past the corrosion and connected some new wire. i also had some trouble with my lights and turn signals, i check my fuse box and sure enough 3 blown fuses. i checked all the fuses by the way. i do wish to know how to check for bad relays though. thanks. :)
Smart. Seem like when they replaced the starter they would have changed the positive battery cable. U was already there.
This is a great video! Thanks for posting! My car is doing the exact same thing and because of this video, now I know what to fix, my terminal connectors are very loose
hey Erick I'm having a weird problem with my car, it's a 2000 jeep grand Cherokee, and my battery died after sitting for a few days, i replaced the battery and the terminals because they needed it but when i connected the new battery it created an ark, the fan came on, the lights came on, and the horn came on. What do you think, anything come to mind?
Eric, if you don’t like the universal battery terminals, what would you recommend using?
i have the same problem with my2001 ml320 Mercedes the wire from the positive post looks just like the one in this video were do I get a new wire from any help!!!!!!!