Hey all, new guy here with a question. My '93 850 would not start yesterday so I started looking at the starter circuit. The positive battery post was thoroughly covered with corrosion and I pulled the cable off of the battery and cleaned it up. the connector with the six red wires crimped together was completely ruined so I cut the wires back and reconnected them using new connectors and solder. I even pulled the negative cable end off and cleaned it up also. Once all this was done and all cables reinstalled, I turned the key to on. ALL of my dashboard indicator lights just flash and the starter solenoid clicks a little. What is going on? Do I need to reset something ( and how do I reset it )?

 

Sounds like the battery - maybe it was dead before you cleaned up the wires? Did you try a jump or battery charger? When you were cleaning cables did you also do the big cable termination at the starter and the negative's ground strap to frame connection> curious if your cleaning could have broken a weak connection the other end (but my sense is that the battery was drained before you started since the alternator connection was probably bad to the battery.

 

After submitting my question, I realized that I had not mentioned that I had charged the battery during the wire connector fix. That being said, I have yet to check the other end of the positive and negative cable ends for clean connections. Time and weather are playing off of each other so I will have to find a dry spot tomorrow to do those checks. What really got me wondering was the way the dashboard indicator lights were flashing. All of them at the same time. I've never even heard of a condition like that, let alone experienced it. Till now.

 

hmmm. Two other ideas for you - Its possible the alternator's voltage regulator is shorting and draining your battery. You can try unplugging that and trying a jump start. As to resets, you can always try disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes then reconnecting - but that doesn't seem appropriate as the computers/relays/fuses control low current stuff like the spark and fuel (ie the immobilizer on the newer Volvos cut the spark so there you'd crank with no start). Final thought is its the starter itself... You may want start shopping for a rebuilt or search used parts yards via Car-part.com.

 

Time for an update on my starter problem. I did my research on starter removal and was successful in doing the job. A bench test of the starter ( with a different battery ) showed the unit was indeed in need of replacement. Testing the cars battery showed it also needed to be replaced. So after a few days of working in between rain storms and some very chilly temperatures, I was able to put on a new starter and battery. The car started right up with no problems.


Thanks for all the answers and suggestions to the initial inquiry.

 

nice work!