car wont start - some electrical issues

My car has been off the road for about a month (doing some body work). While body work was being done i removed the battery, the battery was dead anyways so i needed a new one.

When i was ready to get the car back on the road i bought a new battery and tried to start her up. All i heard was one click, so i tried again but this time boosted it with another car, started fine. While on the road i noticed a few of my electricals going whack, my driver side window would stop working once ina while(power windows) and my speedometer would stop working.

I try it again the next day(needed to boost it again even with the new battery) but this time only the speedometer wasnt working.

Im wondering what the problem can be, im gonna give the alternator a check, also to note, i bought the cheapest battery canadian tire had(REALLY low on cash, its about 500Amps, might that be a problem, while im driving lights dont seem to flicker)

Thanks

Also, i have an alarm system that i think reset back to default mode, could that be messing around with some of my electricals?

Car is a 1991 240sx - KADE

Depending on how your alarm is hooked up, that may be the culprit.

Also make sure the battery terminal connections are clean & tight.

Other considerations…check alternator as mentioned, check grounds, battery should be fine but test it, if you start getting the clicking sound even when trying to boost it you might want to look into the starter also.

Good luck.

when stuff starts to go ape-sh… like that, it’s usually 'cause you have shotty grounds. like already mentioned, make sure all terminals are TIGHT and clean and all your grounds on secure (not just the battery ones).

and 500amps is more than enough, 500 amps isn’t even a measurable amount. it’s an absolutely insane amount of current. 500 amps would melt the copper wiring heh. wellll, maybe not the wires, but the wrap for sure. easily start an engine fire.

Thanks for the fast replies guys,

I have a feeling it might be the alarm, i was reading the manual and it has some kind of start disable, im guessing when i boost the car, it by-passes it somehow.

Im gonna go to the shop that installed my alarm and see what happens.

It’s not gonna be that…your car is just borrowing energy from the other battery. If you get consistent good boost starts and consistent non-working self-starts with the new battery in place, you will want to test your new battery.

You need to find out if the boost/no-boost starting trend is a fluke or if your new battery may actually be a dud/dead one.

Your alarm may be an issue, but not in this fashion if you know what I mean…it just wouldn’t start - boosted or not.

Good luck.

get your new battery tested. Just because its new does not mean it is good. Also your alternator could be bad.

well…figured out the problem, it was faulty grounds afterall, starts fine now.

All electrical systems are working except the speedo, that still aint working, any ideas? fuse maybe?

Nice work on the grounds! Pay attention fellow 240 owners! :slight_smile:

Vehicle speed sensor or the speedometer itself would be most likely. If it gets stuck often more likely the speedo, if stays at 0, probably the sensor.

Or is the cluster not lighting up…or?