well, thought id take my mind off of recent events and get a bit more done on the motor, anyway went down to the car once the little ones were all tucked in bed, connected the fuel lines, connected the coil packs and injectors, cas unit / TPS / ICV, O2 sensors, boost solenoids and what not, went to connect the battery, connected the earth first, went to connect the live and im getting arching like the 4th of july plus smoke from the negative wire, so removed the live instantly.

 

what would be the cause of this? im at a loss as the live is fed down to the start motor and connected at the correct points. the neg is also mounted on the gearbox mount bolt at the correct point. but seems like there is a short some where in the main loop. so what would be the main cause of fireworks at the positive / negative terminals on the battery when connecting?

 

problem is with recent events i cant even remember what or if I've missed a major earth point, which im sure is what the cause is, but would like a second opinion please.

Have you wired in the earth points from the efi loom to the plenum at the back mate?

Have you wired in the earth points from the efi loom to the plenum at the back mate?

 

yep, only thing i can think of missing at this moment in time (but will have to check) is if the main earth off the battery is mounted to the back of the engine, hope so as thats one tight fecking squeeze to get in and bolt it on.

Battery neg lead should go : batt > firewall > gearbox bellhouse. Sounds like you've connected those up.

 

Have you got that battery doodah on top of your cover wired in? If so I would strip the wiring down to stock connections on the batt leads and try that.

First of all contact the positive side first not the earth. Secondly make sure there is no loads switched on when you connect the battery (like interior light,ignition or ACC ect..) A small spark is normal , but if you feel it's no big try to connect it via a multimeter (set to A) so you can see if there's too high current. If you haven't got a multimeter try to connect it with a bigger fuse like 30A should be ok if no load switched on. I hope this helps.

Battery neg lead should go : batt > firewall > gearbox bellhouse. Sounds like you've connected those up.

 

Have you got that battery doodah on top of your cover wired in? If so I would strip the wiring down to stock connections on the batt leads and try that.

 

Battery neg lead goes like this bud,

 

Battery, firewall, engine, gearbox bolt, ive not connected the doodah ontop, the only other wire on the live is one for the amp, but there is no power to that with out the ign switched on

 

First of all contact the positive side first not the earth. Secondly make sure there is no loads switched on when you connect the battery (like interior light,ignition or ACC ect..) A small spark is normal , but if you feel it's no big try to connect it via a multimeter (set to A) so you can see if there's too high current. If you haven't got a multimeter try to connect it with a bigger fuse like 30A should be ok if no load switched on. I hope this helps.

 

Doesnt matter what way around i connect the battery, i know about the few small sparks, but im getting arching and heating of the neg wire, so something defiantly isnt right.

Battery neg lead goes like this bud,

 

Battery, wirewall, engine, gearbox bolt, ive not connected the doodah ontop, the only other wire on the live is one for the amp, but there is no power to that with out the ign switched on

 

 

 

Got my info from Yowser when I asked about connecting up the neg lead, pretty sure mine isn't connected to the engine but then I do have a pretty poor memory :)

 

I would try disconnecting the amp for the moment and see if that makes a difference.

Alternator cable connections mixed or crossed.

 

Jeff TT

Got my info from Yowser when I asked about connecting up the neg lead, pretty sure mine isn't connected to the engine but then I do have a pretty poor memory :)

 

I would try disconnecting the amp for the moment and see if that makes a difference.

 

already thought of that, still doing it, when i do finally connect it, im getting no power on ign, so something is still not right, ive had to down tools for now as its too dark, it was a fully charged battery i put on, but still i cant understand why its arching and heating the neg terminal before i get the battery connections on.

 

there is nothing drawing power by the way.

It is an odd one. Daft question, but you have got the battery the right way round haven'y you :)

Alternator cable connections mixed or crossed.

 

Jeff TT

 

well the Alt i connected up as the engine was going in, plugged the plug in, and bolted on one earth to it, then there is the little earth lead i also did up, i remember that as steams was watching the engine hoist, but ill check again in the morning.

It is an odd one. Daft question, but you have got the battery the right way round haven'y you :)

 

lol im not that stupid bud (well, most of the time, but now you have me wondering :blink:)

well the Alt i connected up as the engine was going in, plugged the plug in, and bolted on one earth to it, then there is the little earth lead i also did up, i remember that as steams was watching the engine hoist, but ill check again in the morning.

 

shouldnt the big bolt on lead to the alternator be positive not ground?

ok lets do a run down,

 

Neg battery, firewall, engine, gearbox

 

Live battery, ?, ?, ?, startmotor

 

fill in the blanks and i can check in the morning

shouldnt the big bolt on lead to the alternator be positive not ground?

 

well with 2 people saying alternator, looks like thats my next port of call in the morning lol

If you've got a multimeter handy and got a continuity checker on it you should be able to pinpoint where the fault is quite quickly

If you've got a multimeter handy and got a continuity checker on it you should be able to pinpoint where the fault is quite quickly

 

got a m meter, but no battery, its ok ill just do it the old fasion way and double check all the connections are around the correct way.

 

I suppose it was the wrong thing to do until id got my head sorted out to be honest. working on the car when your not quite thinking straight isnt the best solution.

 

ok, my harness is slightly different to this, one the oil pressure sender wire is on the other side of the engine bay, i also have a auto so most of the gearbox plugs wire directly into the gearbox.

 

A6 however, isnt clearly marked as to the 2 ring connecters, the plug is plugged into the alt, but i always though those two ring connectors were earths.

The 2 rings on the Alt are both Pos,disconnect the Alt wiring and connect the Battery to see if it cures the arcing.:ninja:

The 2 rings on the Alt are both Pos,disconnect the Alt wiring and connect the Battery to see if it cures the arcing.:ninja:

 

good call, will give it a try tomorrow. if it does, time to change the alt?

alternator should be ok Ian ..just make sure you have the ring connectors on the positive terminal not earth and not shorting out to earth, earth should be a completely seperate cable , it sounds like you have adead short accross the alternator connections.

I have a feeling that If both of those ring connecters are lives, then I have a feeling that's the problem, seem to remember having trouble with the One that uses the tiny little bolt to connect to the alternator

Defo the alt, it's off the car and I have power, but for all intense and purposes it was wired up correctly? So now I'm more confused than ever

 

Plug in to socket, large ring connector with cover on the stud with 12mm bolt attached, small ring connector mounted to rear of alt with tiny 8mm bolt?

 

So at the moment I'm seriously confused lol

Edited August 21, 201114 yr by vodkashots

Check the polarity hasn't flipped on the battery. Connect a multi-meter up as properly, see what the reading says. If it has a negative reading, there's your problem.

If the polarity had flipped on the battery surly it would still do it with the alt disconnected?

could it be the diode pack on the alternator is faulty?