After many many years in the auto business, today was my downfall... maybe its my 80 year old mind letting me down.
I had gotten a few request from Bring a Trailer about my photo submissions, stating they wanted photos without my For Sale Banner on the windshield and back window. I booked an appointment with the sign shop for 3.00 pm and i went to start the Impala. Battery DEAD. Ok get the booster cables out and all is well.
Hook up the cables in the dark underground and switch on the key NOTHING!!
Oh well start up my Hyundai for the boost and recheck the the ignition. NOTHING....
Sit in the Hyundia and keep the revs at about 1500 to 2000 to aid in the charge. after a few minutes i check over at the Chev and the Alternator is on fire. Real Flames... Jumped out and pulled the booster cables from my Hyundai and sprinted to the drivers side of the car. Flames had receded but still smoking.
In my haste I hooked the cables backwards on the impala and it got real hot, cables and all.
I decided that I needed to get CAA to come to my rescue. The car was completely dead.... There underground had low restriction overhead and a truck was sent to extricate the Chev from the underground.
The tow truck driver paced off the size of the car to 7 paces and then checked the opening at the exit door for clearance. Pushed the car from its nose into the wall back into a spot where we could turn the wheel sufficient to get it facing the tow truck. More pushing to get it lined up. Then put the rear wheel lift apparatus under the rear wheels and lift the rear wheels off the ground..... Cautiously navigated toward the exit and had to man the exit cord for the overhead door so that it did not come down on the car after the tow truck had exited.. Finally the Impala sees the light of day. But that is not all... The truck backs the car into a safe space so that the Tilt and Load Tow Truck can deliver it to Markham for repairs.
Tilt and load shows up and all goes well. Its on it way to Markham.
Possibly a new alternator... the Chrome on the alternator was peeling away.. Good reason to replace it.
Just got the Impala back.... What an expensive dumb move. Holy mackeral.
Just about all the primary wiring went up in smoke.... New (not chrome) alternator, new battery and lots of wire soldering up.
The cost of getting old. The shop was able to successfully remove the banner at the top of the windshield and back window that I had on all last summer and no takers... interest but nothing serious....
I have contacted a person on https://www.kijiji.ca/ that is very interested in doing a few videos for me about the 45 year history of the car..
-- Edited by oshawacliff on Thursday 15th of February 2024 03:02:17 PM
I was told to have your booster vehicle turned off during boosting. That way it is just the battery involved, not the whole charging system. I never had thought of it that way but it makes sense.
At work many years ago I had a coworker beg for a boost. It was a freezing evening and there was nobody else there. I went over to his Chrysler to verify that connections were tight. Once we got the cars hooked up together I watched my voltmeter dive towards discharge, meanwhile the guy in the dead Chrysler is cranking endlessly. What I didn't know was that it damaged my alternator and I would be living off a good battery until it gave up. I had to replace the alternator and went with a jobber for a rebuilt unit for half the price of a brand new one. The replacement lasted 1 year, then I went for the new factory one and never had another problem.
Be aware of what can go wrong when you offer to boost someone. You might think twice about it.
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67 Chevelle Malibu Sport Coupe, Oshawa-built 250 PG never disturbed.
In garage, 296 cid inline six & TH350...
Cam, Toronto.
I don't judge a man by how far he's fallen, but by how far back he bounces - Patton
Best way to eliminate this is to buy one of those small portable boosters. They fit in the glove box and pack quite a punch. You usually can boost several batteries before having to recharge. We have 3 of them - one even has a tire inflator and bright flashlight. They are "goof proof" meaning you can't get the polarity wrong when boosting.
Best way to eliminate this is to buy one of those small portable boosters. They fit in the glove box and pack quite a punch. You usually can boost several batteries before having to recharge. We have 3 of them - one even has a tire inflator and bright flashlight. They are "goof proof" meaning you can't get the polarity wrong when boosting.
My wife won one of these small portable boosters somewhere. I haven't tried it on our regular drivers, but it won't spin over my 454's.
I still have the Canadian Tire battery charger that does 6v/12v/engine start. I bought it in the late 80's and it works mint. I didn't go for the cheaper version.
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67 Chevelle Malibu Sport Coupe, Oshawa-built 250 PG never disturbed.
In garage, 296 cid inline six & TH350...
Cam, Toronto.
I don't judge a man by how far he's fallen, but by how far back he bounces - Patton
Best way to eliminate this is to buy one of those small portable boosters. They fit in the glove box and pack quite a punch. You usually can boost several batteries before having to recharge. We have 3 of them - one even has a tire inflator and bright flashlight. They are "goof proof" meaning you can't get the polarity wrong when boosting.
My wife won one of these small portable boosters somewhere. I haven't tried it on our regular drivers, but it won't spin over my 454's.
I have one in all 6 cars, indispensable! Even though I have no idea where the battery is in my G80! You need to spec a higher rated one for the 454. I got one that says it will start up to 8 litre gas engine....and it does.
With all the warm weather we were having I was just too lazy to take the battery completely out of the car and bring it in and put it on my trickle charger.
I've done that for the past winters. I even have a strap for carrying batterys that I used when I worked at a couple of parts stores as delivery driver.
With all the warm weather we were having I was just too lazy to take the battery completely out of the car and bring it in and put it on my trickle charger.
I've done that for the past winters. I even have a strap for carrying batterys that I used when I worked at a couple of parts stores as delivery driver.
If the car is in cold storage, do nothing more than charge the battery right up, remove the ground cable and walk away. The best way to store a battery is in cool temperatures.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
