Sparks When Jump Starting 98 Gs300

ChePibe · January 8, 2007

My wife's 1998 GS300 died today, turned key no sounds. Tried to jump start it, but when I tried to connect the jumper cables the positive side would spark. Tried another known good battery and when I tried to attach the positive cable it also sparked and the engine tried to turn over with no key in it. Any clues out there. I figure this is going to be big bucks for the dealer to look at.

Thanks

Hopes it only a fuse?

ChePibe · January 8, 2007

Did some more searching through the forums and looks like it is a starter problem. These forums are great. Looks like the special tools I might need are a real long extension(24 -36in long) and a swivel socket. Not sure of the size I seen both 14mm and 16mm mentioned in other posts. Are there any other special tools that I might need or any other tips in removing the starter?

Thanks

stroked4.6 · January 8, 2007

Did some more searching through the forums and looks like it is a starter problem. These forums are great. Looks like the special tools I might need are a real long extension(24 -36in long) and a swivel socket. Not sure of the size I seen both 14mm and 16mm mentioned in other posts. Are there any other special tools that I might need or any other tips in removing the starter?

Thanks

Did you connect the jumper cables the right way? There should be a very small amount of sparks. Did you switch the cables? I actually did this once and thought I blew the computer but with some testing figured out it was the main fuse. I jumped to a conclusion and bought a computer which I didn’t need. Now I have a $250 credit to a junk yard :censored: - I guess its all a learning experience.

Well your suppose to attach pos (+) first on the dead batt then the (+) on the good battery. After that attach the neg (-) cable on the good battery and you want to ground the other end (-) on part of the dead car's engine block. And when removing take of neg (-) off first then the pos (+) cable. This creates the least amount of sparks. In school we are taught not to jump start a car because with the new computers jump starting could actually send a voltage spike to the computer. If you could I would invest in one of the self contained battery packs which are made for jump starting. I have one and its been very useful. When dealing with the battery always (+) then (-) and to remove (-) then (+).

If there were a good amount of sparks there is a good chance a fuse popped. If the car's main fuse did pop the car should do absolutely nothing even with a good battery. You could use a DVOM (voltmeter) to test and see if your getting voltage. Check to see if you getting voltage at the starter before you buy a new one. Hope you get this figured out if you have any other questions Ill try and answer them. Good Luck

-John

SKperformance · January 9, 2007

If it tried to start when adding a good battery i would also say a bad soleniod

lexuseng · January 15, 2007

Did some more searching through the forums and looks like it is a starter problem. These forums are great. Looks like the special tools I might need are a real long extension(24 -36in long) and a swivel socket. Not sure of the size I seen both 14mm and 16mm mentioned in other posts. Are there any other special tools that I might need or any other tips in removing the starter?

Thanks

Did you connect the jumper cables the right way? There should be a very small amount of sparks. Did you switch the cables? I actually did this once and thought I blew the computer but with some testing figured out it was the main fuse. I jumped to a conclusion and bought a computer which I didn’t need. Now I have a $250 credit to a junk yard - I guess its all a learning experience.

Well your suppose to attach pos (+) first on the dead batt then the (+) on the good battery. After that attach the neg (-) cable on the good battery and you want to ground the other end (-) on part of the dead car's engine block. And when removing take of neg (-) off first then the pos (+) cable. This creates the least amount of sparks. In school we are taught not to jump start a car because with the new computers jump starting could actually send a voltage spike to the computer. If you could I would invest in one of the self contained battery packs which are made for jump starting. I have one and its been very useful. When dealing with the battery always (+) then (-) and to remove (-) then (+).

If there were a good amount of sparks there is a good chance a fuse popped. If the car's main fuse did pop the car should do absolutely nothing even with a good battery. You could use a DVOM (voltmeter) to test and see if your getting voltage. Check to see if you getting voltage at the starter before you buy a new one. Hope you get this figured out if you have any other questions Ill try and answer them. Good Luck

-John

A recent newspaper article in a automobile Q & A column also states that jump starting a vehicle with the ignition switch on can kill the PCM.

I've jumped many with my engine off figuring then it is no different than starting your own engine. On some very dead batteries and depending on the quality/length of the jumper cable this may not be adequate to get a successful jump. In this case, you can connect the jumper cables and run your car to briefly charge the dead battery but turn it off when the actual jump is being done (this last part was not in the article).