Starting problems

[kansaisubaru]

I have a 98 Suzuki Sidekick 1.6L. I recently disconnected the battery to clean corrosion on the battery terminals and the wires. After using a file to remove the corrosion, I rubbed "bulb grease" on the terminals (The grease was dielectric grease made for electrical connections). Since then, the car has a very hard time starting. The battery power seems ok. The headlights turn on without the engine running. Once the car starts (finally) after trying to start the car for several seconds ("cranking"?), everything is ok until I turn off the engine. Any suggestions?

 

[needtoknow]

Try removing the dielectric grease if it was used between the contact points of the terminals . Any grease I have seen on battery terminals has been on the outside only.
Quote:
A dielectric material is a substance that is a poor conductor of electricity, but an efficient supporter of electrostatic fields.

 

[kansaisubaru]

I should have noted in my first post that I did remove all the grease from the batt terminal almost immediately after the problem occured. Still no change. I am wondering what part of the vehicle the problem lies within. What do you think?

 

[needtoknow]

It sounds as if you have lots of battery power if the engine is turning over quickly. Not sure if this problem started as soon as you disconnected and reconnected the battery terminals or began a little while after? Not sure if there is a reset proceedure on the electronics after battery disconnection? Only other areas to try are fuel delivery and spark. Once the car starts and runs does it run smooth from the get go or does it run better once warmed up? You are in CA so I'm assuming the weather is warm all the time?

 

[kansaisubaru]

The cables are tightly secured to the battery. I don't think I created any deep grooves that would of caused the problem. I did not use water. The problem occured right after I cleaned the terminals and reconnected the battery. The car hesitates in starting, but once it starts, it runs normally. I thought it may be b/c of low batt charge so I even drove the car around to charge the battery (once it finally started). After I shut off the engine, it would not start up properly again. Could it be related to a starting component?

 

[labman]

Usually if you do something and then have problems right away, you need to go straight back to it. It sounds like you have carefully covered rechecking the battery terminals. Why did you clean them in the first place? Were you already having some trouble? It sounds like you have a bad connection somewhere. I would check the far end of both battery cables. You could have the contacts in the solenoid going bad. Also if you have a strap between the frame and engine, clean those connections.

If all the other connections between the battery and starter and back to the battery are good, check resistance and voltage. The resistance of positive terminal of the battery to the starter terminal should be less than an ohm. Ditto for the starter housing to the negative terminal. The voltage from the starter terminal to the starter housing should be the same as one battery post to the other. Any problems, clean and check until you find and fix it.

If you are still having problems, maybe have Auto Zone or somebody check the start system.

 

[2x]

Are the battery cables tightly secured to the battery? May sound stupid but if it's not nice and tight, it will have trouble due to poor contact. Also you mentioned using a file. Hopefully the file was very fine and did not create grooves on the terminals and cables where poor contact may result even if the ends were on tight. Next time I would suggest using very fine sandpaper instead. Anything more needed to get corrosion off is not a good sign. Also did you use any water? If so make sure everything is nice and dry.

 

[RH+G]

You should have the battery checked and look at the wires for corrosion. Make sure they dont have any cracks in them

 

[seotaji]

make sure you have a good ground.

how old is the battery?

might be time for a change.

 

[T-Keith]

Keep in mind, di-electric grease by definition does not conduct electricity. You don't want it between the contacts, you want it around them to seal out moisture.

-T

 

[kansaisubaru]

Thanks for all your inputs. I justed needed a new battery. I'm going to buy a new one at Costco (Kirkland Sign. batteries were rated top by Consumer Reports). Thanks