Will not start

Tiny
JJBURTON5
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 ACURA RSX
  • 2.0L
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 110,000 MILES
Was recently poking around in the engine bay fixing headlight grounds. After re-tightening the terminals, one terminal broke off. I went to a local garage and purchased some terminals which were heavy duty lead ones. I then cut off the terminals and pinned both wires (there are two large insulted copper wires for each terminal) underneath the bolts on each new terminal. They fit snugly around my battery posts, but when I tried to start the car, it would slowly crank. The radio, dash lights, headlights, and horn all work. I tried several times to start the car, and now when I turn the key the car does not crank and it eventually keeps making a clicking noise. I hooked the battery up to a charger last night which showed that the battery was at full charge. The horn does not shut down after constantly blowing it. I was wondering if it could possibly be not enough of the negative ground wire pinned on the new harness, as it may be enough for small appliances but not enough to start the car. Maybe the starter? I will also attach images of the new terminals I put on, and hopefully I can get a video of the cars behavior.
Wednesday, January 31st, 2018 AT 11:09 AM

4 Replies

Tiny
JJBURTON5
  • MEMBER
  • 27 POSTS
And here are the terminals I installed.
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Wednesday, January 31st, 2018 AT 11:54 AM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 48,363 POSTS
Nice work on the video and pictures, it is definitely a connection problem. Take it all a parts and clean the wiring, terminals and cable ends. I think you might have left off one of the power or grounds for the battery. Can you shoot over more pictures of the surrounding wiring of the battery?
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Friday, February 2nd, 2018 AT 2:02 PM
Tiny
JJBURTON5
  • MEMBER
  • 27 POSTS
You were correct. After removing the terminals I discovered that the wires in the battery cables were actually coated in a thin layer of corrosion. I used a wire brush and after a fair amount of scrubbing the car now starts on the first turn. Thanks for all your help Ken!
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Sunday, February 4th, 2018 AT 5:29 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 48,363 POSTS
Use 2CarPros anytime, we are here to help. Please tell a friend.

Cheers, Ken
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Monday, February 5th, 2018 AT 10:46 AM

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