Jump start HELP!!!

[bennymc]

Sorry this isn’t strictly about a Puma, but I do own one

Last night I tried to jump start a 1998 Ford Fiesta from my 1999 Puma. I assume the problem with the Fiesta is the battery as there is NO response from the ignition, not even a cough and nothing electric turns on like the wipers. So, time to jump - Easy, right? I encountered problems and aborted for fear of causing untold damage, hopefully you guys can help me find out what went wrong (if anything)

So here’s what I did

- Opened both bonnets
- Connected the Red cable to the positive on the dead battery
- Connected the other end to the Positive on the Good Battery
- Connected the Black cable to the Negative on the Good Battery
- Clipped the other end to a metal part of the engine block.
- Started the Puma and left it for 5/6 minutes
- Tried the Fiesta

And here’s what happened

- As I connected the last step (Black cable to the Engine Block) there was a bright spark (more or a clap) as it touched.
- The central locking activated
- After waiting for 5 minutes with the Puma running I tried the ignition on the Fiesta. The engine cranked once and the was another clap and a big spark from the engine block, this time it was brighter and louder
- All the dials on the dash (Speedo, Rev Counter) stuck at full, and the petrol registered at half full (This is with the keys out, and it wasn’t even an accurate reading)
- A spark and a click occurred roughly every 10 seconds on the Fiestas Engine Block

With this I decided to switch off the Puma and abort, taking all the cables off leaving the one clipped to the Engine last as it looked a bit angry. The dials (the last time I checked) are still stuck on full and there is again no response from turning the Key.

Any ideas on what happened? I can’t find anything like it elsewhere on the web. I’ve never done this before and it’s PROBABLY normal but I wanna learn more just in case.

Thanks!

 

[madhillbilly17]

sounds like you had fun seems like you havent got a good enough earth to me,i know now they say not to go battery to battery with the earths and to use the engine block,but i have alway found i cant get a good connection so i go battery to battery and havent had any problems yet lol,your know when you get a good earth as the revs will normally drop on the running engine. your dials were probably in the middle of doing a sweep test then lost power so they have stayed where they were.

 

[PhilLew]

I would double check you had the leads on the correct terminals, sounds like you were shorting out somewhere
Don't go by the colour of lead on the car, look for the + and - signs stamped on the batteries.

 

[bennymc]

Thanks guys for your replies.

One or two people have advised that I just go ahead and connect the last clip to the BATTERY and not the engine block. I’m a bit nervous about doing this though as I’ve read horror stories about hydrogen exploding if there is a spark – and there were certainly plenty of sparks last night!

How serious is this threat do you think, or am I just being paranoid? It’s the sparking that scares me slightly!

 

[PhilLew]

I've seen it done both ways many times and nobody has died, it should work either way.
just make sure the leads are the right way around!

 

[PhilLew]

just a thought, you said.....

Last night I tried to jump start a 1998 Ford Fiesta from my 1999 Puma. I assume the problem with the Fiesta is the battery as there is NO response from the ignition, not even a cough and nothing electric turns on like the wipers.

Has the Fiesta's battery been removed and refitted/conected the wrong way round?

Sounds daft but that would give the above symptoms and lots of sparks when connected to another battery. :grin:

 

[bennymc]

just a thought, you said.....

Last night I tried to jump start a 1998 Ford Fiesta from my 1999 Puma. I assume the problem with the Fiesta is the battery as there is NO response from the ignition, not even a cough and nothing electric turns on like the wipers.

Has the Fiesta's battery been removed and refitted/conected the wrong way round?

Sounds daft but that would give the above symptoms and lots of sparks when connected to another battery. :grin:

As far as I know, no. The car has been sitting pretty much Idle for a year which I suspect is the root of the problem and apparently it was fine the last time she drove it. My girlfriend was disqualified from driving and is just about to get her licence back so we need it running.

For the record, this is a NEW girlfriend lol. I would have driven it once a week or so if I was around. She didn’t understand that leaving a car stopped for that long would hurt it.

Just to throw this out there – do you think a bump start would be a safer/better/more effective option?

 

[martinthrapston]

personally,get the battery off and trickle charge it with a battery conditioner,this will ensure you get a decent charge in the battery and dont do what some people do,dead lock the car with bonnet open to remove battery,lock the car manually after battery is removed k:

 

[bennymc]

Thanks for all your help guys.

In the end I bit the bullet and clamped straight on the battery, despite warnings not to. Most of my friends and fam assured me it'd be ok.

As it happens, SUCCESS! It started more or less no problem. Down side is, I drove the Fiesta around for half and hour to try and get some juice in the battery and when I stopped the engine it wouldn't start again.

I assume the battery is no more :-/

 

[gargravarr]

There's no real problem with clamping straight onto the battery. I think connecting to the engine is to stop too high a current going through the battery negative cable on the dead car. Always use the engine lifting bracket if you can find it - it's a hoop at the top of the engine block.

Sparks are NOT normal and could indeed be indicative of a very poor earth. Make sure you're latched onto a solid piece of metal that's directly part of the engine (like the lifting bracket). However, hydrogen explosions are not a big risk - batteries produce hydrogen when charged with too high a current that the electrolyte is electrolysed. It generally takes more than a few minutes of high current for this to happen, and even then the gas will generally dissipate into the air before it becomes a problem.

The Fez could well have an electrical problem if it was sparking regularly. It might have shorted its own battery out and may have had a good go at your Puma! An electronic battery charger may be able to revive it, but don't hold your breath. If you put a fresh battery on it and there's more than a little crackle (i.e. a big spark) when reconnecting with the key off, there may well be a short.

Hope this helps,
Gargravarr
Edit: just realised I'm a month late! Hope you got it sorted!