coolant urgent!

[J]

re-occuring electrical and heating problems are starting to piss me off

battery died at the shops yesterday, got it home... still wont hold a charge.

again, voltage is affecting the temperature gauge.

the nrma guy said my battery is too small for the length of wire running into the boot. he said its hard to start it because off the amount of travel in the wire. same goes for recharging the battery.

so i chucked everything back to the stock location, soldered all connections again just to be sure... and again 5mins after startup - battery dies.

does the temperature measure engine bay temps? water temps?

because ive checked my oil levels, which are fine.
ive check tranny levels which are fine
**** the coolant bottle near the firewall is extremely low though... i know i should top this up... would this be the source of the problem? what coolant do i need ie. special code or generic.

i need the car tonight for work!*

so if you think you know the problem or even guess a solution... anything is apreciated

[Bennoz]

the nrma guy said my battery is too small for the length of wire running into the boot. he said its hard to start it because off the amount of travel in the wire. same goes for recharging the battery.

LOL! I love NRMA guys. You know what NRMA stands for?? No Real Mechanics Available

does the temperature measure engine bay temps? water temps?

Measures the temp of the water in the engine, just near the thermostat.

Are your thermo fans coming on?

[I8A4RE]

How old is the battery?

Temp sensor measures water temps not ambient temp

Take off radiator cap and check coolant level in that. what level is it?

Top up over flow (one near the firewal) bottle with water.

Usually your battery shouldnt affect the temp gauge so I am guessing you have two problems.

[J]

ben - my fans do turn on

simon - just topped up the bottle.
coolant tower has a bit in it... theres some at the bottom
battery is 2weeks new

doubt it will do much but im flushing engine oil now

[J]

could it be a faulty alternator?

just guessing but maybe its doesnt charge at random times so the battery does have enough charge to run whatever it is to cool the water down

??? i wish i was a mech

[I8A4RE]

Ok first off deal with the battery issue first.

If its a new battery then you have a charging problem or something is draining your battery when your car is off.

Get a multimeter on to your battery and see what the voltage is before you start. Should be over 12.3v

12.5 = Good battery

12.7 = Excellent

Then check again while enigne is running should be over 14

[J]

nothing as it dies after time...

i charged it back up with xr6 took it around the block (topped coolant, new oil) it ran fine.

got onto the driveway... idling in 1st gear, foot on the brake and battery slowly died again, temp slowly rose till max then the engine cut out, turned on straight away and then turn off again

btw when i change to nuetral or reverse it sometimes goes back to normal voltage and temp... put it back in tippy or drive and voltage drops and temps start moving

fuk, work in 1hr

[payaya]

When your engine is started it doesn't rely on the battery, its mostly alternator.

[payaya]

Does it restart when it stalls? Or do you need to jump start???

[J]

when it stalls i need to jumpstart it...

if it has some power and i try to start it takes ages to fire up. the engine will keep clicking for 10secs when i turn the key.

papaya - do you reckon i need a new alternator?

update:
took off ALL wires connecting the battery to engine and all earth wires. checked for any faulty looking wires or dodgy connections. everything was fine, also checked all fuses aswell... still cant determine the problem, will try again when the sunlight comes through

[Bennoz]

You may have damamged the starter too. Remember when you had that earth cable wrong? Ie no earth to the engine at all? That forces the current through the next channel of least resistance - the starter solenoids.

It certainly fucked my starter when they didn't earth the motor.

[J]

You may have damamged the starter too. Remember when you had that earth cable wrong? Ie no earth to the engine at all? That forces the current through the next channel of least resistance - the starter solenoids.

It certainly fucked my starter when they didn't earth the motor.

ahhhh ok. have a feeling its on its last legs anyway, will change it just incase