Battery was dead with no warning. Bought a new one. Go to connect it but the sparks from either cable are too much. Something is not right. Might have Onstar IDK, I read about a possible back up battery with that. Does a bad ground cause excessive sparking? Could it be that the key is stuck in ignition still? Do I need to touch the cables together to discharge retained power from the vehicle? What damages might be caused by a power steering leak? I just realized it is located above the alternator/generator, and this is also the location for the engine ground cable. I plan to take care of all the problems but right now my biggest problem is understanding what the biggest problem is.
If the key is in the ignition and turned on when installing the battery cables it can cause sparks. Make sure your hooking the cables up to the right terminals also. With the key out of the ignition there shouldn't be too much of a spark when hooking the battery cables up. If you're still getting really bad sparking with the key out and the cables on the correct terminals, then there is a dead short somewhere in the main electrical cables
Testimonial: "Hi, I'm wondering, is this where I type to continue the conversation? I don't see anywhere else but still not convinced."
I connected the battery and pulled the key out. I checked the fluids smelled plastic so I disconnected the battery. A little bit of smoke came from under the upper radiator hose. I felt around and found a wiring harness with a really crispy outside wrap. Thats where I left off.
Okay I was fairly certain I was going to find a melted wire somewhere inside that 4 feet of harness but no. All the wrap around all the wiring in the front end is crispy and falling apart. So where did I see that faint white haze of smoke start to come from? I pulled up fuse block and disconnected end terminal to the harness. The connection looks and smells fine. Fan wires fine. I haven't done any testing yet. Not sure where to start. Should I connect the battery and just re-create the event?
It definitely sounds like you have a dead short, and its most likely in one of the larger wires that arent fused. Unhook the positive cable from the starter and the alternator then attempt to reconnect the battery. If there is no spark then the issue is in either the starter or alternator. If you have a volt/ohm meter, it's best to test both of those wires for a short to ground. If you dont have a meter, you can slightly touch the positive wires that you previously removed to the alternator/starter. If you get sparks from either one it should be replaced as the sparks indicate that it's internally shorted.
Thank you, I am going to do this right now.
Okay, thanks for the help. It was the alternator and I replaced it. It was thick with grease and gunk. Probably from the power steering leak that I am now trying to address. I think I will start a new question for that.
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