Battery Smoking & Failing to Start
01-21-2014, 04:28 PM
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Battery Smoking & Failing to Start
Hey guys, new to the forum and my name is Chris. I have a 1992 Flareside 4.9L 5-speed that I traded my 1995 4x4 rustbucket for. The truck has been sitting for the last few months since I have other vehicles to drive but now that the weather is kind of clearing up here in Michigan I'm wanting to get the truck back on the road.
Currently, the truck will crank but won't fire and the battery was smoking and I saw some acid come out around the positive terminal. I still have power however because I can crank it over and all the lights and radio work.
What happened was kind of peculiar. I was driving to the gas station and the motor started cutting out on me. After a half mile of the CEL coming on and off as I lost power to the motor I lost all power throughout the entire truck so I pulled over and popped the hood. I tried starting it up and it did but did not idle and died. I noticed smoke coming from the battery and suspected maybe the alternator was overcharging it so I uplugged on of the connectors to the alternator and tried to start it up. It fired up and I hurried home before I drained the battery. Since it fired without the alternator connected I tried removing it but the lower bolt is seized and I broke 3 sockets including on of my snap-on's. I tried heat and pb blaster but that did not work. After I gave up on getting that bolt out I put it back together and wanted to see if I could start it but it just cranks and cranks. My other F-150 had a bad seal on for the power steering and ruined the ignition coil and the symptoms were similar. It started cutting in and out on the highway and pulled over and couldn't get it started again. This is may be part of the problem but I am baffled as to the smoking battery which also charred the wiring around the terminals pretty bad. Has anybody experienced this before or have any idea as to what I can do to troubleshoot it?
Here is a picture of my truck:
Currently, the truck will crank but won't fire and the battery was smoking and I saw some acid come out around the positive terminal. I still have power however because I can crank it over and all the lights and radio work.
What happened was kind of peculiar. I was driving to the gas station and the motor started cutting out on me. After a half mile of the CEL coming on and off as I lost power to the motor I lost all power throughout the entire truck so I pulled over and popped the hood. I tried starting it up and it did but did not idle and died. I noticed smoke coming from the battery and suspected maybe the alternator was overcharging it so I uplugged on of the connectors to the alternator and tried to start it up. It fired up and I hurried home before I drained the battery. Since it fired without the alternator connected I tried removing it but the lower bolt is seized and I broke 3 sockets including on of my snap-on's. I tried heat and pb blaster but that did not work. After I gave up on getting that bolt out I put it back together and wanted to see if I could start it but it just cranks and cranks. My other F-150 had a bad seal on for the power steering and ruined the ignition coil and the symptoms were similar. It started cutting in and out on the highway and pulled over and couldn't get it started again. This is may be part of the problem but I am baffled as to the smoking battery which also charred the wiring around the terminals pretty bad. Has anybody experienced this before or have any idea as to what I can do to troubleshoot it?
Here is a picture of my truck:
01-27-2014, 04:32 PM
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I don't think it's shorted, the starter cranks really well. I noticed a possible bad ground from the battery to the frame though, could this be a potential cause?