Smoke at the terminal could be from either the post or the cable connection, I've had both go bad.
I can't see the battery when turning the key from the driver's seat and need a voltmeter with long enough leads to rest it against the raised hood. Actually I've needed a test lead long enough to reach from the computer under the glovebox nearly to the left headlight, when searching for a bad ground.
-jsw
I built a fault simulator for GM that created the types of voltage transients that a car's electrical system can suffer. The energy levels exceeded what they could do with their lab test equipment.
A "load dump" occurs when the battery disconnects while the alternator field is energized, their example was a rough road jostling the cables. The stored field energy can raise the normal 12-14V to 100V or more (I can't quote specifics), and the surge suppressors they install to protect the electronics have limited dissipation capacity.
The engineers tried out my new tester on a fuel injection computer and blew it up when the protection Zener overheated and failed after a few load dump cycles. I think that's why they went to side terminal batteries.
-jsw
The Chevy Vega had side terminals in 1976. There was DARN little electronics in that car. There was a module to shut off the air cond when the alternator was not producing, a timer on the rear window defroster, probably a VERY simple electronic ignition (I don't remember points on that one) and the radio. I don't think it even had intermittent wipers. That was it, and it was all analog stuff.
Jon
Well, having the battery in the trunk seemed to solve a lot of problems in my 1958 Alfa Romeo. It was nice and clean back there, and cool. However, the cable that ran forward used a lot of copper.
As for electronics, I did have to replace a couple of vacuum tubes in the Blaupunkt radio...
There is a lot of virtue in simplicity.
The fuel injection computer was for the 76 Seville. Since I worked for a supplier of production test stations I saw developmental items before they reached consumers.
I've closely examined a disassembled 1910-ish Maxwell in a private collection. Mechanically it's like a 4-wheel bicycle. That stuff is fun to play with as long as you don't have to depend on it.
On a 9n it's easy enough to crank the engine from a position where you CAN see the battery.
The battery in the trunk of my '61 Mini almost resulted in the destruction of the car - and the crappy "cap" type battery connector was a royal pain.
For thise who have never seen an early Mini up close, the battery was in the trunk opposite the fuel tank and was originally covered with a heany cardboard cover. The battery connection was a tapered cap that fit down over the battery post and was held down with basically a #8 sheet metal screw threaded into the top of the battery post. The connection tended to get "flakey" to the point that when one pressed on the rubber covered button on the gigh current switch between the seats, sometimes it would spark and the engine would not crank. Simplyb having someone swat the rear quarter panel, kick the rear tire, or slam the door with the button pressed usually caused the connection to re-establish itself, and the critter would crank and start.
By the time I aquired this particular car it was10 years old and had
196000 miles of rural mail delivery under it's belt - and that battery cover was long gone. It had also developed a prodigious appetete for engine oil, so there was generally a few quarts of Nugold SAE50 riding along in the trunk.One day with eigh of us young folks crammed in heading to the local stock car races 2 of those cans managed to short out across the battery, burning a hole in the cans and lighting the ensuing small stream of oil on fire. When we noticed the smoke curling up from around the back seat, I shut off the car and we were all out before it came to a full stop, and one of my friends had the trunk open and tossed the burning oil can onto the ground beside the car. when the fire was out and the smoke dissipated, we all jumped back in and went on our way.
Same goes for a 1928 Chevy, an old "A-Bone" or "T-Bone" or a 1949 Beetle. A 1953 MG fits pretty well too - - -
I had a VW bug, several actually, but one of the first had the back seat short against the battery terminals. I had no idea that this could be a problem until someone was sitting in the back seat and complained of a burning smell and then said the seat was getting hot. I pulled over and pulled the seat out. There was some sort of cover missing and the seat coils were making contact with the battery posts as the car bounced. Didn't affect the running of the car though. I think it was a magazine or some newspaper I put over the battery as a temporary fix. Then we piled back in, cracked another beer, and sped down the dirt road. That was an interesting day. Eric
Hmm ... my first MGA 1500 used two 6V batteries, behind the two seats on either side of the driveshaft. It was accessed under a removable panel behind the seats. Anyway -- it had four of those connector/screw combinations. One for the cable to the engine compartment, one for the ground cable to the chassis, and two on the vary short cable which looped over the driveshaft. I never had problems with the connectors there.
My later MGA 1600 MK-II was similar, except that it had the normal clamp type connectors instead of the cap and screw types, though they might have been changed during the life of the vehicle before it passed into my hands.
Enjoy, DoN.
Well ... with the MGA, the key was not needed -- other than to be turned on. (And it was easy to bypass the ignition switch at the fuse block by moving a fuse from one pair of clips to be between both pairs.)
Then, to crank (and you really don't need the ignition on anyway if you are looking for where a high resistance point is in the battery/starter system), you simply reach over to the starter contacts, which are normally operated from the driver's seat by pulling a knob on a flexible cable, and either pull on the collar connecting the switch to the cable, or push on the part projecting from the switch. Purely mechanical until you get to the contacts themselves. :-)
Enjoy, DoN.
in my 1958 Alfa Romeo. It was nice and clean back there, and cool. Howe ver, the cable that ran forward used a lot of copper.
e Blaupunkt radio...
A product of Britain's Prince of Darkness, eh?
[Bumper sticker seen on Mini in the early '60s: "Why to the Brits drink war m beer? Because they have Lucas refrigerators."]
BMC owners always have fun tales to tell. I'll bet Don has some from his MG A experience.
Mine, with my MG Midget Mk III (1275 cc), came one night in December when I was driving from Michigan to NJ in freezing rain, and the left-side parkin g light cover filled with salt water because the gasket leaked; the wiring shorted out with no fuses at all in the system, burning the insulation off of the wiring harness under the dash and filling the cockpit with smoke; an d then I had to drive 20 miles down the Ohio Turnkike with a flashlight ins tead of headlights. d8-)
Once, I happened to be at a local drive-in restaurant at the same time as some co-workers who could not start their car. With the hood open, it was obvious that it was the battery clamp and the terminal in the battery itself. As a quick work-around, I drove a fat wood screw into the line between the clamp and the terminal, with the advice to get it replaced soon.
Enjoy, DoN.
From what I remenber the 9n is similar.From my recollection there is a way tp activate the switch directly instead of through the mechanical remote control. There is no solenoid, and the key doesn't activate the starter.
They drink their beer at room temperature, and anyone who's lived in Britain knows THAT isn't particularly "warm".
Germany didn't always do a lot better.
The battery for the VW Beetle was under the back seat, cardboard-lined metal cover and metal hold-down strap. After this or that battery trouble, it was commonplace for the owner to find reinstalling the cover and strap bothersome and discard them.
All remained well until a large, heavy person rode on that side of the back seat. Then smoke, crackles, seat on fire. That big guy had had trouble getting into the back seat. Amazing how quickly he got out.
Can you imagine a large diesel truck battery in the VW? The seat sat on my porch. The battery in the 1943 military powerwagon was under the seat (or behind it - I can't remember exactly) and it (the seat) went up in smoke one night on the old tow-truck
I vaguely remember zener clamping circuits from Coleman College (long ago and far away) but don't recall meeting one in person.
? What's the difference in transient voltage handling between top and side term batts? I thought the difference was merely physical config.
Bummer on the quick trashing of your tester.
It sounds as if you had a really fun job.
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