negative sparkin
 

hey all - any help u can provide is appreciated....

---- 1980 k10 350 short bed ----

the other night stopped at the gas station to filler up and she wouldn't start back up - she has always struggled a bit on hot starts

i tried to jump it but when i connected my negative clamp to the batt it arc welded the clamp to the top post

towed her home thx to a buddy - replaced all the cables today (starter to battery & negative grounds)

when i attempt to hook up my negative cable to the battery she starts to smoke and spark again

i'd rather not end up like harvey two face - what should i replace?

thx

JL

Re: negative sparkin
 

I,m thinking your battery is toast

Re: negative sparkin
 

Sounds like you have a dead short in the system, I would start by removing the large battery supply wire from the alternator. Then try hooking the battery cable up, If no sparks the alternator is the problem.

If it the neg. still sparks with the alternator un-hooked start removing fuses one and a time while checking for sparking at the neg. cable.


Good Luck

Re: negative sparkin
 

There is a dead short to ground in the b+ circut. If the smoke\heat is in the large battery cables and no place else trace the cables to insure they aren't cut\damaged. If they are clean disconnect the starter cable at the starter and make sure it's not touching anything and reattech the ground cable to the alt bracket. Little arch is ok. Now touch the small wires that were on the starter to the B+ cable. Small arch is ok. If you do this and get no big archs, replace the starter. jim

Re: negative sparkin
 

I completely agree with the others about the short....but there is a serious flaw in your "jumping" strategy.

Never clamp the final connection to the dead battery (ground) to the actual battery. It should be clamped to another grounding source. The spark that you mentioned can explode the battery right in your face. If you clamp somewhere else, the spark is not directly above the battery.

Re: negative sparkin
 

I had the same thing happen one time. On the back of the alternator, check to make sure the plastic (or rubber) spacer is in tact on the positive stud there. mine shook off and had to replace a ton of wire.

Re: negative sparkin
 

so i replaced the starter and it still sparked so i started the narrowing process - (probably should have done this first) turns out ther are two black cables from my passenger side headlight harness that were connected together and then connected to the battery....they both were frayed a few inches down the cable

i cut them off and connected everything up just fine. after some testing i figured out that the two wires i cut supply power to the bright light and the front blinker - my question now....should i make a good cable splice back into the battery like they were or should i route them where the rest of my headlight wiring goes?

thx

JL