Electrical Problem mystery(continued)

I recently posted this:



“Hello! I have a 1990 toyota corrola which has a mystery start up problem.



It has a new alternator, starter, and battery. One of the fuses seems slightly corroded.



Every now and then it stops starting. The battery can turn on the lights, but it doesn’t have enough power to start the engine.



It has had to be jumped twice now, and both times the first jump didn’t work, but the second jump did work.



The other 2-3 times it has not started. We just left it alone for a night, and it started up again in the morning.



We went to get a sears battery check, and they said that the battery was fine.



What’s going on?!!



Thanks,

Azeem”



I would like to update 2 things:



The car hood has rusting right above the negative terminal of the battery. Is the battery touching the hood through there causing problems? Would a rubber cable glove fix that?



An man with experience was checking fuses as I turned the key(while dead), and felt a clicking in the main engine fuse in the Larger electrics panel. The previous corroded fuse was one of those tiny colored fuses while this one is a lot larger and black. He claimed this clicking was sign of a bad fuse, and the problem with the car.(he also said the rusty hood was grounding the car, and also to blame)



Does his theory seem sound? Is the clicking noise a tell tale sign of a bad engine fuse?



Also, I have been looking on wholesale car part websites and have been unable to find this larger main engine fuse. Where can I find this online?(if this is my problem of course!)



Thanks for all the first post answers!

-Azeem

He claimed this clicking was sign of a bad fuse

No. A fuse is a one time thing. It works until it detects a overload and then it turns stuff off to prevent further damage. It will not heal itself. It gives up its life to protect more expensive damage.

(he also said the rusty hood was grounding the car, and also to blame)

Now that is a equally bogus.

I suggest you should not rely on this guy for automotive or electrical advice. :slight_smile:

I do believe you may have a bad starter or a corroded connection somewhere. Since there are many places this could be, it means someone will have to check it out in person. Note: it may even be a problem inside a cable.

You could try cleaning both ends of all battery cables as well as the cable that goes between the engine and the car body. Remover clean and reinstall.