Re: 405 battery cable replacement (help)

Frank DeWitt (frank@lbpinc.com)
Sat, 26 Jun 1999 12:19:28 -0400

I bet you have a bad ground between the battery and the car. I would
change this first. Get a new cable and run it from the battery - to the
engine (find a nice big bolt) then run from the engine to the car with
another new cable. It's easy and it won't hurt. Then if you need to you
can replace the battery cable to the starter.

At 03:02 AM 6/26/1999 -0700, Trygve D Oye wrote:
>Well, since the insurance company is closed for the weekend I can relax
>and look to the starter problem I seem to now have. I've had a very
>anemic starter for some time now, but it has always gotten the job done.
>My car has become famous among my friends who all wait in anticipation for
>the sound of the starter--sort of like a really slow tire shop lug wrench.
>Lately, it has become apparent that the starting system always works when
>the car is cold, or not had a chance to reach operating temp. It seems
>that the hotter the car is allowed to become, the lower my chance of
>getting it to start again becomes. I've concluded this by several tests.
>If I try to start the car while it's hot I seem to have symptoms similar
>to a dead battery (starter slows to an eventual halt), but if I let it
>sit a while, it will start (although with different levels of performance
>depending on the temp of the engine).
>
>Here is what I wonder. Could the starter cable be corroded internally to
>the point where they contract enough when cold to maintain their ability
>to carry the current and as the temp increases, the cable expands and
>separates inside? Far fetched? I thought that I heard postings of such a
>problem previously. I really don't know what to do. I can hardly find
>the starter on the 1.9 liter engine let alone get a good look at it, as it
>is well covered by the intake manifold. Has anyone worked on the 405
>starter before? Is it very difficult? I can't find my Haynes manual, so
>I can't read up on it. I talked to a Peugeot specialty shop and was told
>around $650 for the replacement of the starter--outrageous! This is why I
>want to start with the wire theory.
>
>I also wonder if the poor level of electricity available at the starter
>may be connected to the apparently low level of electricity available in
>the cabin--the cabin lights and clock that dim with the turn signal and
>brake lights, the spastic power seat belts. If I press up on the power
>window switch with the window already up, thus laboring the motor, the
>SEAT BELT starts freaking out--threatening to hit you upside the head on
>your way in, or out of the car.
>
>Could it be that i just need to replace the main power leads from the
>battery. If so, how do I do that with this starter location? HELP?
>
>-Thanks!
>
>-Trygve Oye
>Seattle, WA
>
>'89 405 S
>
>
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Frank DeWitt | mailto:frank@lbpinc.com
Mechanical Design | Phone: 716 624 3052
LBP INC. | Fax 716 624 1038
2365 Cox Rd. |
Bloomfield NY 14469 |Web http://www.lbpinc.com