smoking wires

[LeRoi]

Tom,
I agree with you on the bad battery/low voltage causing a starter to stay engaged.
I had this happen to me twice, first on a mercruiser stern drive on a cabin cruiser and later on my motorcycle, but when I list it as a probable cause for a starter problem. I get the blank look because I can't explain why it happens, just that it happens.
Leroy

 

[mopacman]

when a battery gets week it has a lower voltage. This makes the starter turn slower and the amp draw to go up. The high amperage burns the contacts in the solenoide till they burn together and stick. I hope this helps Larry

 

[LeRoi]

Well it makes sense except that all I had to do both times is change the battery to fix the problem. I didn't have to replace the starter or the solenoid.
Maybe the high amp draw combined with the low voltage keeps the solenoid engaged until you disconnect the battery or burn something up.
Leroy

 

[jgh]

20051128

Not trying to be a smarty-aleck, but I'd have an extinguisher made for grease fires around so you don't have to take the risk of putting water on such a fire and having another problem /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif. Maybe some of the professional/volunteer professsional firemen on here could elaborate on this, as in what type fire extg to have, etc.

I just recall always hearing in science classes that putting plain water on a grease fire can make things much worse, not to mention shorting things out, etc.

Just 2 or 3¢ worth,

J

 

[MikeD74T]

Using water on oil/grease fires is acceptable unless you have a pool of liquid that is greater than 212 degrees, ie a pot of cooking oil on a stove. In that case the oil is usually much hotter 350-400 degrees. When hit with water, the water sinks then rapidly turns to steam violently displacing the flaming liquid. A grease (semi solid) or lube oil fire is put out by cooling the material below it's flash point eliminating the flammable vapors. This is readily done with water with less liklyhood of reflash and less contamination than dry chemical agents. you just have to have enough water, which is the limiting factor with water extinguishers. Then also there's the freezing problem. In annual training I use water to extinguish 16' square pits filled with 4" of fuel oil.