[DeTomaso] Electrical problem from Japan

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/26/11 7 38 9, rob at dumoulins.net writes:


> The low voltage is one issue, but the click is another. There is a bad
> connection in the starter circuit or his solenoid is giving out. If he has
> the interior light on and tries to start the car, does the interior light 
> go
> out or stay the same when the click is heard?  If it goes out, the starter
> is either zapping all the power the battery can provide or there is a 
> short.
> If it stays the same, the starter is not getting enough juice. I'd bet the
> light stays the same and the starter is not kicking in. In that case, 
> start
> with cleaning all the wires going to the starter and solenoid.
> 

The car starts just fine when cold, which would tend to eliminate the 
theory of bad connections (although I did tell him to go through and check/clean 
everything).   In this instance, the car had been idling for an extensive 
amount of time, with the radiator fans etc. draining the battery and the 
alternator failing to properly charge.   Finally the battery just died.   The 
'click' is a standard symptom of a dead battery.

When left overnight, the battery recovered enough juice to start the car 
up.   A pretty typical story...

Mike