Hey guys. I recently had my battery relocated to the boot. The sparky that did it installed terminals at the front of the car aswell for jumpstarting. Now wenever i go to start it it barely cranks over and at idle its not even charging.. Anyone else had this problem or know how to fix it? Everything was fine before. Cheers guys!

Check all the earths are tight n clean as this will cause poor cranking , how did the sparky run the alternator wiring

Best thing to do would be to take it back to your electrician.

Well he's already checked it over and rkns thas cos the batteries all the way back in the boot its losing current on the way back to the engine bay, which i dont understand as alot of ppl r runnin batteries in the boot! He thinks i'l need a bigger battery and a drip charger or something. All earths r tight and nothings draining power eitha! I can put my good battery outa my vs, put it in the vl and it really struggles to start, but i put the battery back in my vs and starts first crank!! Im clueless!! Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Take it back and tell him to keep looking. What size cables did he use?

if its not charging on idol then he hasnt hooked up the signal wire on the alternator its the white wire behind the alternator it just needs to be spliced to constant 12v, as for slo cranking could be due to small cables im running 50mm2 cables in my wagon and mine cranks faster than factory, the smaller the cables the more of a voltage drop ull get over a further distance and not to mention they will get hot as while cranking to so just be carefull

Hmm well the cables r only about 15 to 20mm diameter. Would that b the problem? And i also have a loose white wire but it looks like its comin from same loom as coil... And its only a tiny wire too??

sounds like its a 16-25mm2 cable wich is to small expecially under cranking when it needs alot of voltage and ampes to crank it, a bigger battery may help but its not the solution as ya trying to squeez alot of something through something small wich inturn causes resistance and causes heat so upgrade ya cables both positive and negative take a pic and show us the cable size aswell as where the wires are terminated to in the bay ect, as for the charging cut the white wire put a ring terminal on it and screw it to the post on the back of the alternator where the thicker cable is (constant 12v)

Did you run an earth and a positve to the front? does the positive go straight to the starter? Sounds to me like its an earth problem. Do a resistance check on your main earth. If you havnt got one running to the engine bay and just made one from the battery bolted straight to some metal in the boot that isnt good enough. ---------- Post added 30-04-12 at 09:50 ---------- 15 to 20mm diameter cable is more than ample, post up exactly where the posive and negative off the battery go to first.

Thanks for the helpful comments guys. Both the positive and negatives go to terminal posts in engine bay. Not earthed in the boot. So I'l hafta wait till this arvo, wen i get home i'l trace exactly where they are running to and post it up as im keen to get it sorted out! It wont charge at idle, and its only just charging when im driving. When i turn lights or thermo on you can hear the idle drop down like its draining power.

mate measure the cable with out the insulation and also as above show us where the cables are mounted to, for eg mine go from the battery and i have a 8 way block in the bay for the positive that juntions off to starter, alternator, ignition ect ect and the earth goes to k frame to block on both sides ---------- Post added 30-04-12 at 10:25 ---------- Quote: Originally Posted by SATAN [View Post] Thanks for the helpful comments guys. Both the positive and negatives go to terminal posts in engine bay. Not earthed in the boot. So I'l hafta wait till this arvo, wen i get home i'l trace exactly where they are running to and post it up as im keen to get it sorted out! It wont charge at idle, and its only just charging when im driving. When i turn lights or thermo on you can hear the idle drop down like its draining power. like i said cut the white wire on the back of the alternator and put a ring terminal on that and bolt it on to the 12v post on the back of the alternator this will eliminate bad joins and resistance ect, as its a signal wire for the charg on the alternator....if it still wopnt charge get a new alternator

Ok i'l do that tonight and let ya kno how i go! And where the cables are run to. Cheers!

If its charging at higher revs, Id definatley be leaning towards bad earth/ bad posive supply from you "posts". Get your wire routing up and it will be an easy fix. Mine is similer to boosted wagon although I run mine straight to starter/alternataor then run a junction box off that for ancilleries. Going by the size of the wire you said you have its more than ample, it would have to be 0 guage being that big unless its got 5mm of insulation which isnt gonna happen. Id almost bet you have a bad/ high resistant connection in the bay. Id be firing ur auto elec lol its not rocket science!

Haha yea it seems that way m8! I'l check the set up and post it all up, hopefully it is an easy fix!! ---------- Post added 30-04-12 at 11:03 ---------- Oh i forgot to mention, everything that ran off the pos an neg of battery when it was in factory position are now all bolted to the terminal posts in the engine bay. The only things that go to battery are the pos and neg cables themselves. Not sure if that helps at all?

I'd be checking that white wire also . Can also try earthing the alternator mine was only gettin 13 volts to battery but getting 14.1 at back of alternator . Ran earth from alternator body to engine block and then all good Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Oh yea righto will try that!! Just had a look through and it is earthed from the battery to the metal in the boot rather than run back to the engine bay. Is that the problem?

yes it is a problem. run its own wire back too the motor/gearbox bolt. ---------- Post added 30-04-12 at 18:06 ---------- I had problems like your saying but after the car was up too running temp and turned off, it wouldnt crank at all. Took the car too EFI performance and they run a wire too the front and never ever had a problem again. It also says in the WOLF and Microtech install books that its a must.

Oh righto! Thats exactly wat my cars doing! Great i'l do that this weekend! Could b a very silly question, but Where abouts is the motor/ gearbox bolt?

mine is on a gearbox bolt that bolts the gearbox too the motor. close too the starter motor. The starter is where you want the power.

Ok cool! Thanks mate!