Brett944Cab

I have an intermittent starting problem. I've done most of the easy stuff for fixes, but it still happens sometimes. After a suggestion from the board of hooking up a timing light to check spark, I tried it, and the timing light makes it crank. Would I risk any problems by running a wire from my positive to one of the protrusions on the battery side of the engine? Would it be better to just use a jumper cable and unhook it after each start that needed it?

Thanks

my944

Do you mean run a dedicated wire from the positive battery post just as a jumper cable for the times that you need to jump the car?

If "yes", I would absolutely NOT do that. Find the problem rather than rigging your car. Just read some of the posts where cars have caught on fire due to electrical shorts, amongst other things.

If you are dead set on doing this, then use larger cable than the current cable going to the battery. Also, install a battery "on/off" switch so that this positve feed does not remain live when not in use.

Mike S

If I read that correctly, you don't want to do that. You said from the positive to an engine(using the engine as a ground). Umm, the ground on the battery is the negative terminal, you could run a ground from the negative to the engine, but this may not solve your problem...i'm not really sure how the timing light is helping.

Flat Six Addict

Starting problems eh!!!

Great fun. I have a 27 year old Dodge truck currently but the same ideas should work. I made a big ground strap, probably about 1/2 in diameter, and I found the ground post on the engine block, and I ran the ground from the motor to the frame, with lock washers to ensure a good clean ground. I cleaned all of the terminals on the battery, checked my voltage regulator, starter solenoid (heat sometimes fouls them up, causes corrosion). I checked the coil for voltage. I ended up replacing all of these components. But I think that the ground strap really helped out. I didn't think of the ground strap till the end of the project!!!

AutoXdriver

Mike S is right. Don't do it! You would be shorting your battery directly to ground.

When you use the timing light the light drops the voltage between the battery and the engine block (ground). Connecting just a wire between the two will quickly burn the crap out of the wire and possibly you! Not to mention death to your battery and anything flammable in the vicinity.

I'm not sure why the timing light helps either. Maybe you have a corroded or loose positive battery terminal and that connecting the timing light is causing it to make a good connection?

david fracolli

The engine is grounded. Hook up ther positive lead directly to the engine and I guarantee you will get a large arc! I would check your wiring.
I did install an extra ground from the battery to the frame just to make sure I had a good ground plane since my stereo puts out almost 1200 watts.
Dave 85.5 944

triscadek

I think (hope) he means running a wire to supply a good power supply to the coil.

mideastmafia

[quote]Originally posted by triscadek:
<strong>I think (hope) he means running a wire to supply a good power supply to the coil.</strong><hr></blockquote>

thats what i was thinking...

SHAUN

Brett944Cab

Thanks for the help, guys. Don't worry - I haven't tried this. My electrical knowledge is next to zero - that's why I floated the trial baloon. Off this topic, I have decided to do the right thing and take care of timing and balance (rollers, etc.) and the cam tensioner next week. Hopefully when I'm on those projects I can spot the pesky electrical connection or whatever else is causing this.

Just for laughs, I'll let you know that the timing light has worked every time, without fail, for probably 30-40 starts now. The car won't start about half the time, and the light fixes it. Weird.