Total loss of electrics on TR6

[Mick Graham]

I periodically use a battery charger/starter device - normally with no issues. However, just tried to start the car with the device on 'car start' mode and starting device fuse blew and now none of electrics work on the car. Is this disastrous or is there an easy investigation/fix I can do at home?

[dougbgt6]

My battery was disconnected and my son-in-law put on charge for me. Later I connected it...…... and nothing, S-I-L had reversed charged the battery which blew the alternator diodes and nothing worked. Could this be what has happened to you? Could you have connected the charger the wrong way around? You're in a slightly different situation, your battery may be OK, mine was knackered having been reverse charged for 8 hours, I discharged it  using the head lights, but it wouldn't charge the correct way again. 

Doug

[JohnD]

Mick,

We aren't clairvoyant here.  Have you done any checks, tests etc? 

 Like look at the car's fuses?  Get out your multimeter and check the battery volts, and how far they penetrate into the eletrical system?

John

[Colin Lindsay]

Start by replacing the fuses (just read John's post above so I agree it's a good place to start!). It may be that simple.

[Guest]

Hello Mick,

I think what John is trying to say is that you need to approach the problem on a step at a time basis and each check will hopefully bring you closer to the answer !!

First off, remove all of the charging apparatus from the car battery if being charged in situ, if not is situ connect the battery to the correct leads.

1- with the ignition OFF, do the headlights come on ??

2- if no, turn the headlights off and turn the ignition key to the ignition ON position, does the ignition light come on ??

3 - if no, turn ignition off and check the fuses - I presume you have 2x main fuses (not 100% versed on TR6 vehicles) if the clear lens type can you see the fuse line intact running from end to end ??

4- if no, that is certainly one possible issue - if yes, then the battery becomes suspect, how long have you had it on the car ??

5- if you have a 12v test lamp place that across the terminals to see if the bulb burns bright, if dull then the battery is even more of a suspect. Should you have a multimeter you will be able to get a more precise reading on the health of the battery placing the probes on the respective terminals.

That is your "starter for ten", try the above and report back.

Good luck.

Regards.

Richard.

[thescrapman]

Remove Andy refit the 2 battery connections, may be a poor connection that failed under load from starter 

[Ben Caswell]

It could be the battery has failed

[Pete Lewis]

I tend to agree ,, why did you need the  start charge boost in the first place, was there a problem with the battery developing

Pete

 

 

[mpbarrett]

if you don't have one buy or borrow a voltmeter, they are cheap and always very useful, and check the battery voltage.
Batteries can fail suddenly and with zero or very little voltage at the terminals.

regards

mike

[Anglefire]

A voltmeter is essential in my view. 

Something very simple and cheap will do. 

This is a cheap one I found on amazon  but there are loads out there  

Fanxing Multimeter New Thermometer Multimeter Digital Voltmeter AC DC Ammeter OHM Volt Tester Gauge (Green) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B075LDCTMY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_RIvzBb54FCC04

 

[Pete Lewis]

Just to add batteries can have an intant catastrophic failure with little warning , they can also show good volts but have very little 

capacity for any amps  so a volt meter may not give you a good condition indication, 

Glazed terminal posts and  lamps can stop every thing , a rough shine up is needed  to remove the glaze

A good battery does not need frequent charging unless theres a contant drain which needs a top up in storeage

Pete

 

[dave.vitesse]

Three possibilities 1/ Most booster starting devices rely on there being some charge still in the battery. However, if the battery is defective or its posts are making a bad contact then the booster would be taking the full load from the starter motor (350 Amps) and would blow its fuse. 2/ The starter motor is defective. 3/ A short to earth either at the starter relay of the wiring to the starter motor

A battery can only be tested effectively when on load just reading the open circuit voltage will not show if there is a high internal resistance present, which is a defect. After fully charging the battery if you then turn on the headlights, without the engine running, and after five minutes check the voltage. If it is 9 volts or below then its either the battery or its connecting posts. 

I agree with all the other comments and feedback.

Dave

[Anglefire]

I agree with the comments about the volts not always telling the true story.  But if it’s only at ~12 volts or less then it’s knackered. A healthy battery should be at 13.2v with no load (each cell is 2.2v if lead acid) 

[Anglefire]

Or discharged I should say. But less than about 9v and almost certainly it’s unrecoverable. 

[dave.vitesse]

The Clarke Battery tester is a useful box as it has a switchable internal load and gives a much truer test than using a multi-meter which gives the open circuit voltage.

However, the multi-meter has the advantage of being capable of carrying out more tests  (e.g. resistance and current) than the Clarke. Using the headlights as a load is a way of getting the best out of your multi-meter without the need to buy an extra piece of test equipment.

Dave

 

[Pete Lewis]

we had one of the old resistance dischargers  with a whacking ceramic shunt to enable 24volt ...frying tonite   awfull bit of kit lots of sparks  just what you want on a discharged cell vent.

if someone left it on a seat or such it would melt  straight through the foam and vinyl ,  hot  lead lamps have the same problem

[dave.vitesse]

Yes a lot of heat, plus the risk of a bang! The later connect up and switch in types were slightly less risky. But you had to watch out for the sparks from the switch if it was a high current type.

I can remember some lighting fags by dropping a large spanner across the battery posts, then knocking it off with a hammer. That had all been stopped by the early 1970's. Also the Quick-Heat soldering irons were used to light fags, less risky than the battery method!

Those were the days.

Dave

[dougbgt6]

21 hours ago, JohnD said:

We aren't clairvoyant here.  Have you done any checks, tests etc? 

 

19 hours ago, classiclife said:

I think what John is trying to say is 

 

I more inclined to think John is saying, "Give us some more details, some feedback."

db

[dave.vitesse]

Sorry Doug, I have taken off track.

Dave

[dougbgt6]

Dave, 

Until we get some details we might as well throw in a few anecdotes.

Did I tell you about the time I stepped into a lift and found the other passengers were Margret Thatcher and Nigel Lawson?  It was like this...………………...

db

[Pete Lewis]

We had a load of battery troubles , all parts on warranty we had to test and whilst some would charge up and test ok the electolyte

Was worse than tap water   sg less than 1.0  what would degenerate the level to that I rambled on that the supplier had filled them with

tapoline or catsP but no acid content ,  always denied , but can it revert to an sg of 0.9 due to chemical action ???

It wouldn't even change the colour of the bue roll paper towel

Refill with sg 1.26 sulphuric and the battery burst into life ....wonderful,  , we were not popular with suppliers

Pete

[JohnD]

Dozens of posts, OP not come back.   Either cured or put off.

J.

[Colin Lindsay]

He's probably away hands-on with a few of our suggestions and will report back if it works, or not.... depending! We'll keep the thread going anyway...

With regards to battery jump-starters: I had one of the NOCO Genius-Boost systems, I think it's a GB30, kept on charge in the rear of my modern for about two years or more. It failed on first use on a flat battery and has never worked or charged since, but as it was outside warranty.... tough, says NOCO. Buy another.