Electrical Burn Smell Inside '96 Ls400 After Turning The Car '

[stanls400]

[my subject title was cut short = Electrical burn smell inside '96 LS400 after turning the car over (attempting to start the car) ]

When I arrived home one evening - my '96 LS400...

I was driving around all day taken care of errands (mix of <5mi, or >30mi). I guess I can be thankful that I made it home vs. this happening somewhere else. When I turn the key to ACC, the steering wheel auto moved (as usual), the dash / everything lights up. But the moment I turned it "on", everything shut off - no headlights, no dash, no interior lights, etc. When I stepped out of the car, I had to manually lock the door.

After about 20 min, I tried the remote unlock and it worked, When I opened the door, the interior light came on. When it turned the key to ACC everything lite up. When I turned the key 'on', poof everything shut off again. I tried the 20min wait again, but nothing this time.

When I first sat in the car, I could smell a hint of an electrical short / burning smell. Maybe a wire attached to the ignition key is shorted out. Or the motor for the steering wheel burned up. I did not have a chance to look at the fuses (this evening).

Any thoughts re: the burning smell? Or any other suggestions?

[landar]

The first thing that I would do is check/clean the battery connectors and check the battery itself.

[stanls400]

I will this weekend. But I jumped the car and it started just fine. Then I charged the battery. I noticed today that the car died when i was trying to start it - the engine was just starting to turnover, then all of a sudden, everything shut off - as if the battery was 100% dead. After this happened today, I thought I would check the battery, connections, & cables. (as you suggest Landar - thanks).

It sure seems like something is shorting out, meaning tripping the battery power "off". I plan on hunting for a potential loose wire (maybe the wire sleeve is burnt through - the initial smell - exposing the bare wire).

Also, when I jumped the car (first time via a tow truck, second by me), the tow truck driver said there was some 'draw' on the battery when he jumped it because there was some sparks when he connected the positive jumper clamp. I thought maybe the lights were on. But when I jumped it yesterday, there were sparks as well (not as bright, popping loud as the tow truck).

[landar]

If your battery is low or there is a shorted cell within, then yes, you will get some sparking, perhaps a lot of sparking. That is precisely why, when jumping a battery, you should make the positive (+) connection first, then find a good ground to clamp the negative (-) cable to which is away from the battery. When the last connection (-) is made, the spark is nowhere near the battery. A battery will give off hydrogen gas which is highly flammable and you do not want a spark anywhere near that source. I have personally witnessed a battery explode in an old Ford when a spark occurred near the battery post so there is good reason to follow this procedure. Sulphuric acid everywhere and very corrosive.

Anyway, (off my "safety soapbox" ^_^ ) consider the battery as a primary suspect in this case. I know it seems good but I have seen them do some crazy things when a cell is shorted (or in the process of shorting) internally.

BTW, just how old is your battery?

[stanls400]

Thank you for the "safety soapbox" reminder - I rather "hear it again, than not" :)

2 years old - bought it from AAA (3 yr warranty). So, I plan on taking it to Autozone which does a free charging system test - alternator, battery, starter. If it is the battery, free (or prorated) battery. I am guessing the battery is not the best quality, but it filled the void at the time.

[stanls400]

Almost forgot to reply ^_^

The issue was the battery cable bolts. When AAA came by to give me a jump, then checked the cables to ensure they were tight. Then I checked and what I found was the clamp around the post was tight, but the bolt that locked the cable to clamp was loose. Once I tightened those bolts, every worked just fine

I'm not sure what the 'light burning' smell was, but everything works fine.

I had the charging system checked out and everything is working fine. landar thanks for your input.