Q: Negative battery terminal sparks/smokes no power to car
Bought a 2000 Nissan maxima was told the starter didmt work. Took the battery and starter to autozone. Both were bad. Replaced them hooked up the battery the lights came on(headlights, dome lights, lights on door). When I tried to start the car it made a funny sound hard to explain I guess it sounded like something shutting down. Then all the lights went off I unhooked the battery and hooked it back up the negative terminal sparked and smoked. And none of the lights came back on. What could be the issue?
My car has an automatic transmission.
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Hi there. Check the condition of the starter wires when they were installed. See if the small remote wire on the starter solenoid is touching the main battery cable wire on the starter solenoid. If these two wires were to touch, then when operating the ignition switch will cause the starter solenoid to burn up. If the wires are not touching, then there could be an issue with the wiring from the battery to the starter solenoid and the ignition switch to the starter solenoid. The main fuse to the car may have burned up when the battery sparked causing all power to be lost in the car. Before retesting your starting condition, be sure to check all of the fuses for any of them burned. I recommend seeking out a professional, such as one from Your Mechanic, to help you if you cannot figure out the source of the electrical malfunction.
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