Virbius is dead and tried to take me with it!

[Reptile]

Virbius, my 87 LX-i hatch that I have put my heart and soul into attempting to bring back from the grave is no more. Here is what happened.

I took it out to get some lunch just prior to going to work, it ran fine and there was no signs anything was amiss. Then an hour latter I tried to start it to go to work, there was a brief flash of electrical life and then nothing. I tried to jumpstart it and it melted my battery cables! I was able to kick them off of the battery with my boots just prior to them literally bursting into flames! This car is dead; my step-father is charging the battery now and is attempting to get it to run so I can use it as a trade in within the next couple of days. I am getting rid of Virbius, I do not want to but I do not have a choice. I have a heart condition and if it had somehow shocked me it could have killed me nearly instantly with that kind of electrical power. I have done everything in my power to resurrect this car and bring it back from the grave, but this is something I cannot overlook like all of the other minor problems.

This topic will give you an idea of all I have done to keep this car up to this point.

http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63550

Here is a link to my garage with a lot of pics of the car.

http://www.3geez.com/forum/vbpicgallery.php?do=view&g=54

Here are pics of the battery cables.

http://img352.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1333kz7.jpg

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/919/img1334ru6.jpg

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/7586/img1335cz9.jpg

http://img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1336kj0.jpg

[AccordEpicenter]

do NOT try to install a new or charged battery into this car, and do NOT try to jump start it again, it obviously has a serious short circuit somewhere, you need to start checking your battery cables and fuse block area, its grounding out somewhere


edit: youre not gonna die from 12v even with a heart condition. You could lick your fingers and put each hand on a terminal of the battery and i doubt youd feel anything at all.

[russiankid]

That is sad to hear, but good thing you are ok. If you swapped the engine harness and cabin harness you could have probably fixed the electrical issue.

[Civic Accord Honda]

:(

[Reptile]

That is sad to hear, but good thing you are ok. If you swapped the engine harness and cabin harness you could have probably fixed the electrical issue.

Yeah, for how much?

[russiankid]

Yeah, for how much?

Well if you do it yourself it would be mostly the time.

[RamThis]

Yep 12V battery wont kill you, or even hurt you really. I've been burned by a few that shorted out, even saw one explode and take the front of a John Deere tractor clean off when I worked for JD as a mechanic, but they dont put out the voltage needed to hurt you.

I drop batteries into equipment all the time, holding the top posts. It takes much more conductivity than a human body for a 12V car battery to flow any energy. We have too much resistance lol.

You definitely have a really bad short somewhre if it's bad enough to melt the cables going to the battery. It's probably a simple fix, but if you are sick of the car, maybe it's a sign that it's time to move on?

[Reptile]

After the battery was charge my step-father drove it around and said there was nothing wrong with it. I am going to take it to get a new battery tomorrow and drive it around and see if it will strand me someplace close to home. Depending upon how this goes is how I will make my decision.

I am sick of putting money (by the thousands) into this car just to watch the next thing either disintegrate or explode in my face. It was fun for a while and I was learning a lot of new things but now it has gotten old. I am going to do one of two things very shortly with this car.

1. Mothball it for the next 9-12 months and come back at a latter date when I have more money to fight with it.

2. Trash it.

I do not care if it has no rust or how rare it is anymore. This thing is beginning to piss me off and for the second time now has actually made me truly afraid for my life. The first instance was when the brakes magically disappeared on me on a couple of occasions, once even while I was 100 miles away from home on the highway and had to drive it back home all that way with no brakes. The second time was today.

I just have not decided which path I will choose, but I do know that I am putting a stop-loss on this car at least for the time being.

[1ajs]

ok you love this car???

wana solve yer problems? its time to take the car apart replace the eltrical clean it up do rust proofing give her the love and tlc to keep her going another 20 years

[86nlife2go]

sell it man, use money as down payment for somethin else. I don't think you'd have a problem sellin it as long as you were honest about the problem.

[Civic Accord Honda]

u sure u dident hook the battery cables up backwards? or there was a short or cut in the wires? cuz if a chraged battery worded no problem then it sounds like something was worng with the cables vs the car

[LX-incredible]

u sure u dident hook the battery cables up backwards? or there was a short or cut in the wires? cuz if a chraged battery worded no problem then it sounds like something was worng with the cables vs the car

I agree, no need to junk a car for a $20 or $30 cable or something grounding out the starter connection. If it was anything else it would take out a fuse. Maybe you should just get one of those 8 or 9 grand hundais and let them deal with the repairs for the 100k. If you can't handle changing a battery cable or other simple shit like that, you shouldn't be buying anything without a warranty.

[cubert]

I agree, no need to junk a car for a $20 or $30 cable or something grounding out the starter connection. If it was anything else it would take out a fuse. Maybe you should just get one of those 8 or 9 grand hundais and let them deal with the repairs for the 100k. If you can't handle changing a battery cable or other simple shit like that, you shouldn't be buying anything without a warranty.

or maybe its more of a case of not wanting to hunt down problems on a 500 dollar car?



I say sell it and never look back...

[GraniteLXI]

Damn, that does sound scary... but it seems you have hit the end of your line as far as you can deal with it. Everyone on here is just trying to say that like most older cars it needs time, dedication, and in most cases a bit of money (thus why I have a DD and my 3gee isnt used constantly) But anyway I hope it turns out to be a simple problem if you decide to take a stab at it, good luck man

[jigga89SEi]

After the battery was charge my step-father drove it around and said there was nothing wrong with it. I am going to take it to get a new battery tomorrow and drive it around and see if it will strand me someplace close to home. Depending upon how this goes is how I will make my decision.

I am sick of putting money (by the thousands) into this car just to watch the next thing either disintegrate or explode in my face. It was fun for a while and I was learning a lot of new things but now it has gotten old. I am going to do one of two things very shortly with this car.

1. Mothball it for the next 9-12 months and come back at a latter date when I have more money to fight with it.

2. Trash it.

I do not care if it has no rust or how rare it is anymore. This thing is beginning to piss me off and for the second time now has actually made me truly afraid for my life. The first instance was when the brakes magically disappeared on me on a couple of occasions, once even while I was 100 miles away from home on the highway and had to drive it back home all that way with no brakes. The second time was today.

I just have not decided which path I will choose, but I do know that I am putting a stop-loss on this car at least for the time being.


Sorry for your troubles..

But do keep in mind, you have a car that is 21 years old.. alot of things are gonna need fixed or replaced.. I went through the same thing with my accord.. I finally decided to rip the car apart and replace everything.. that is the only way to not have to fix something everyother day, although just as, if not more expensive...

[stat1K]

umm isn't it amperage that hurts you not voltage? and it's the alternator you have to worry about not the battery... and wiring is a sinch just takes a longggggg time.

[RamThis]

umm isn't it amperage that hurts you not voltage? and it's the alternator you have to worry about not the battery... and wiring is a sinch just takes a longggggg time.

Yep amperage is like torque to an engine. It's the grunt. It's the killer. You can be hit by a 10,000 volt line, but if it doesnt have any amps behind it, you'll just get a good shock and a tingly feeling for a few minutes.

But voltage can be a killer too. Usually lower voltages are the ones to watch out for, but we're talking AC, not DC. 110 AC will kill you MUCH quicker than 220. Why? Because 110 will constrict your muscles and make you hold on, and if you end up constricting your hand around the power source, you slowly die fighting. Knew an old boy who's friend was found dead under his trailer house, still convulsing after hours, from grabbing a hot 110 lead under the house bare handed. He thrashed and kicked and bloodied himself until he died. When they found him, he was very hot, blood coming from his eyes and nose and mouth, etc. Not a pretty picture to come upon.

220, will usually blow you backa way from it. My dad got hit by a 220 line years ago working on a stove. It threw him across the kitchen and into the cabinets on the other side. Mom heard a loud buzz, then a SNAP, and then a crash as dad flew back from the reaction and hit the cabinets. Blackened his fingers lol. But he lived to tell the tale!!

[Reptile]

Ok, the mechanic figured out what it was. The ECM computer under the drivers’ seat is dead. $850.00 to fix, though I could possibly get the part and do it myself and save $100-150 provided there is no programming of any kind required.

What do you guys think I should do? Getting rid of the car really will not make me happy, but it certainly is not a daily driver at this point. Hell it barely even runs as it stands now.

[Vanilla Sky]

Man, a computer isn't hard to replace. Pull the driver's seat (4 bolts), and the computer sits right there.

[stat1K]

and 850 rofl fuck that... go to a junk yard and buy one for 50 even if it's shit you can get 16 more? it's 3 plugs and 4 bolts....

[stat1K]

oh and programming rofl... guy is pullin your chain. there is no programming that he could / would do in this instance... i find it hard to believe the computer would make it short like this.