Alright I was driven my car fine home from the gym one day and was stopped at a light when i smelt a burning smell. There was a hooptie in front of me so i thought nothing of it. I got home fine nothing wierd happened until the next day when i went to go start the car again. Stone dead! I checked the alternator at pep boys and they claim its fine. The battery is an optima and is less than a year old. What else could it be? and what the hell is that smell (coming from the d/s somewheres)?

 

check all of your wires at your alt plug and at the starter relay. red top batteries are kind of junk if you ask me I'm on like my third one under warrenty. what does the smell resemble?

 

check for a burnt wire. the newer red and yellow optima'sare junk. they go out in about 1 yr. i've had the old style (still in my truck)and the new style. ( in the dump now) all of my jeep friends have had the same prob with the optima's. so i would check for a burnt wire some where.



will...

 

do you really think the stupid battery is shot already? whats the warranty on them? also i checked the wires for the alternator and all other wires in that area and non seem bunt at all. i tested all the wires to make sure they werent grounding out and they were fine. Is it possible that pep boys is wrong becuase it took my brother about 5 alternators to get a working one for his old pickup.

 

i would get a 2nd opinion on the alt. pep boys sucks. it could very well be the optima. i've had both the older one and the newer ones. the newer ones suck.
check all of the wiring not just around the alt. thats what i'd do. gotta find it by process of elimination.


will...

 

the warranty on optimas is 3yr free replacement. im not sure if you need ur receipt or not... i kept mine tho

 

Check out the fusable links under the hood. Is there power to the accessories in the car? radio? guages? lights? askin cause on know on some older fords there used to be a recall for a piece that has linkage going the ignition switch.....mind is blank atm and can't think of hte name of it. the pieve is located on the steering shaft and should be white in color.

 

i took out the fusable links when i did the sn95 conversion a few years back, so that isnt it. I guess ill run a load test on the battery when i get home, but does the battery have to be charged in order to do that? Also my stang is a 91 so would it have the white thing under the steering column.

 

Also could it be a bad solenoid? I can jump start the car fine though so i dont think so but i figured id get a second opinion.

 

did the light work fine when it wouldn't start?? meaning bright headlights??? if so = not a battery issue..if battery was in fact stone dead..look for a parasitic draw