fmshaw1971

I decided to run Seafoam through my engine to clean it out. Of course I went out to an abandoned parking lot to do it because it makes hellacious smoke. So I am out there pouring it in my car and everything is going fine. I wait 5 minutes and go to crank my car. Immediately the power dies and I realize that I have blown the 60 amp fuse that I have running to my relocated battery in the trunk. The added strain on the starter is what blew the fuse I assume. So there I am in the middle of nowhere and I have no spare fuse.

It looks like it's going to rain so I get the bright idea of running a big paperclip in place of the fuse. This works fine to roll up my windows. I am thinking what the hell so I decide to try and crank the car. Bad move! Of course the paperclip melts and burns through my jacket that I was using to insulate it. DOH! Then I get the bright idea to use a nickle. This works and I am able to crank the car so it spews smoke for like the next 20 minutes.

I go buy a new 100 amp fuse and install it, but the damn thing blows too. This is puzzling because the engine should have been back to normal then and I have no idea why a 40 amp more powerful fuse blew this time. Once again I am running with a nickle for a fuse until I can go out and get another fuse tomorrow.

My question is, what amp rating should I use for a battery? I thought 60 was enough and it worked fine for a month. Do I need something more powerful? If I ran a 200 amp fuse would that protect my battery from short circuiting?

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97 EGP Base 5spd Prelude. Engine: DC short ram, DC SS headers, AEM pulleys, Random High flow cat, Mugen sport exhaust, Apexi VAFC. Suspension: Tein SS, Tanabe front lower tie, Neuspeed front upper strut, Neuspeed rear sway, Tanabe rear upper strut, DC rear lower tie, 17X7.5 5Zigen Typhoons with 215/40/17 Goodyear F1 GS-D3s. Other: Bride Ergo II, Spoon oil cap, Magnecor wires, relocated Odyssey 680 battery, Denso iridiums, Mugen pedals, Mugen lugnuts, shortened shifter w/ Momo airleather, Rotora slotted rotors and Endless NA-Y pads, Goodridge SS lines.

 

natcc99

OH NO - that's horrible.
I'm sorry you had to go through all that.

Was it possible to push start the car?
My buddy had an old bug once with a dead starter. He would always park on a hill so that he could roll the car to start it.
Once, he made me push it - that wasn't fun.

Anyways sorry - can't help you with your fuse question.
Best of luck to you.

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Ludatic

even though the 100amp blew, you still shouldn't've replaced it with a higher rating

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J_V_K

SOunds to me you have a short somewhere

Wraith

Yeah, probably a short. If you keep upping the amperage on the fuse it'll probably just keep blowing. You shouldn't have to upgrade the fuse unless you are adding more drain to the circuit. So, how does seafoam work?

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fmshaw1971

I looked for any evidence of a short but I could find none. All I did to add the Seafoam was take off the breather hose that goes to the intake and put it in a bottle of Seafoam. Everything else stayed the same on my car which worked fine with a 60 amp fuse. I'll check under the area where I laid the bottle when it was being emptied, but I can't imagine how a short could have appeared. I am going to try another 60 amp fuse and see if it will work now.

BTW, the Seafoam blew out crap for 20 minutes straight. The engine seems a little smoother now. The reason I did it was to clean out my engine because I got a CEL 67. I am hoping it won't come back now.

I seriously doubt that the car would have push started with all the Seafoam in there. With the nickle in place, I had to crank it for a good 30 seconds before it finally kicked over.

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97 EGP Base 5spd Prelude. Engine: DC short ram, DC SS headers, AEM pulleys, Random High flow cat, Mugen sport exhaust, Apexi VAFC. Suspension: Tein SS, Tanabe front lower tie, Neuspeed front upper strut, Neuspeed rear sway, Tanabe rear upper strut, DC rear lower tie, 17X7.5 5Zigen Typhoons with 215/40/17 Goodyear F1 GS-D3s. Other: Bride Ergo II, Spoon oil cap, Magnecor wires, relocated Odyssey 680 battery, Denso iridiums, Mugen pedals, Mugen lugnuts, shortened shifter w/ Momo airleather, Rotora slotted rotors and Endless NA-Y pads, Goodridge SS lines.

Hobie1113

sounds like the kind of luck I have with my lude.

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1996 Nissan 240SX SE

paulyg

You might have messed up the fuse holder due to sticking paperclips and nickels in there. The paperclip and nickel has probably deposited some of itself on the contacts, causing higher resistance, thusly the starter now has to draw more amps to overcome the resistance between it and the battery. I would repace the fuse holder itself before doing anything else!

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Paul
1990 Mazda Miata - #181 STS2
1999 Crystal Blue Base - Retired to Daily Driver

fmshaw1971

Hmm, I didn't think about that. Good point! The damn fuse holder cost a fortune so I don't think I'll replace it, but I will clean the contacts with a Dremel. Thanks!

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97 EGP Base 5spd Prelude. Engine: DC short ram, DC SS headers, AEM pulleys, Random High flow cat, Mugen sport exhaust, Apexi VAFC. Suspension: Tein SS, Tanabe front lower tie, Neuspeed front upper strut, Neuspeed rear sway, Tanabe rear upper strut, DC rear lower tie, 17X7.5 5Zigen Typhoons with 215/40/17 Goodyear F1 GS-D3s. Other: Bride Ergo II, Spoon oil cap, Magnecor wires, relocated Odyssey 680 battery, Denso iridiums, Mugen pedals, Mugen lugnuts, shortened shifter w/ Momo airleather, Rotora slotted rotors and Endless NA-Y pads, Goodridge SS lines.

crashandburn

I'm surprised that a 60 amp fuse ever worked. The 5th gen starter is rated at 1.6kW so it should take well over 100A to crank your engine.

Also, higher resistance results in lower current draw, not higher. I = V / R

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fmshaw1971

Hmm, that will teach me to do my own independent research before attempting it. I read a write up and that guy used a 60 so I did also. I am thinking a 150 would still blow if there was a short somewhere and save my battery and starter from damage.

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97 EGP Base 5spd Prelude. Engine: DC short ram, DC SS headers, AEM pulleys, Random High flow cat, Mugen sport exhaust, Apexi VAFC. Suspension: Tein SS, Tanabe front lower tie, Neuspeed front upper strut, Neuspeed rear sway, Tanabe rear upper strut, DC rear lower tie, 17X7.5 5Zigen Typhoons with 215/40/17 Goodyear F1 GS-D3s. Other: Bride Ergo II, Spoon oil cap, Magnecor wires, relocated Odyssey 680 battery, Denso iridiums, Mugen pedals, Mugen lugnuts, shortened shifter w/ Momo airleather, Rotora slotted rotors and Endless NA-Y pads, Goodridge SS lines.

MugenPoweredLude

not to whore up your thread but, whats Seafoam???

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2005 EVO VIII-SOLD/R.I.P.
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fmshaw1971

^^^^ Here ya go SeaFoam

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97 EGP Base 5spd Prelude. Engine: DC short ram, DC SS headers, AEM pulleys, Random High flow cat, Mugen sport exhaust, Apexi VAFC. Suspension: Tein SS, Tanabe front lower tie, Neuspeed front upper strut, Neuspeed rear sway, Tanabe rear upper strut, DC rear lower tie, 17X7.5 5Zigen Typhoons with 215/40/17 Goodyear F1 GS-D3s. Other: Bride Ergo II, Spoon oil cap, Magnecor wires, relocated Odyssey 680 battery, Denso iridiums, Mugen pedals, Mugen lugnuts, shortened shifter w/ Momo airleather, Rotora slotted rotors and Endless NA-Y pads, Goodridge SS lines.