# Car won't start, possible issues with contactor



## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

Your links are busted.

Did your friend tell you anything about this car? If your primary wires are disconnected and insulated, I would assume it was by him, and not the thieves.


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## oldboy (Jan 10, 2012)

Ziggythewiz said:


> Your links are busted.
> 
> Did your friend tell you anything about this car? If your primary wires are disconnected and insulated, I would assume it was by him, and not the thieves.


He's out of the country and trying to help me fix it haha
and what are these links that you say are busted ?


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

So the question is did he disconnect these cables or not? It should be a pretty easy question regardless of the distance. The distance, of course, is irrelevant anyway since we could be sitting in the same room or other sides of the world and the communication wouldn't change at all.

The links to all your pictures do not work.


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## oldboy (Jan 10, 2012)

Ziggythewiz said:


> So the question is did he disconnect these cables or not? It should be a pretty easy question regardless of the distance. The distance, of course, is irrelevant anyway since we could be sitting in the same room or other sides of the world and the communication wouldn't change at all.
> 
> The links to all your pictures do not work.


Wow...
I totally misread your previous post...
my apologies!

My friend said that he did not disconnect the cables.

http://s1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg551/9gagfan6/
that is the link for the pictures



so I checked the blacks wires on the contactor
http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg551/9gagfan6/IMG_4785.jpg
the two large black cables on the left of the contactor enter the car and connect straight to the battery pack in the back of the car...

Now the black and red wires on the right side...
http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg551/9gagfan6/IMG_4780-1.jpg

they go from the back to the front of the car in the middle as shown
http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg551/9gagfan6/IMG_4794.jpg

what's odd is that the the red and black wires, though they connect to the batteries in the front,
dont connect to anything in the back...
the ends of the black and red wire are covered with blue electrical tape


sorry for the confusion!
I'll be sure to not post replies and threads so soon after waking up next time!
Thanks!


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

Looks familiar...ah...here we are: 
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/help-me-68036p3.html

When we last visited this bug, we were trying to find out if/where the ACC battery was.

It now appears you have two batteries up front acting as ACC. Are these 12V batteries? I've never heard of a bug running more than 12V, so anything not designed for 24V that is connected to that circuit could be malfunctioning and/or fried.


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## oldboy (Jan 10, 2012)

Ziggythewiz said:


> Looks familiar...ah...here we are:
> http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/help-me-68036p3.html
> 
> When we last visited this bug, we were trying to find out if/where the ACC battery was.
> ...


It was working just fine before the batteries were yanked out of it.
and yes, those are both 12 V batteries...
would those black and red wires that run from the front to the back of the car have anythign to do with the car not starting?

or if something is malfunctioning or fried as you say...
how would I go about fixing that?


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

Step one is find out why the AUX batteries are running at 24V

Step 2 follow the cables and document where they go, including everything they are connected to.


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## oldboy (Jan 10, 2012)

Ziggythewiz said:


> Step one is find out why the AUX batteries are running at 24V
> 
> Step 2 follow the cables and document where they go, including everything they are connected to.


Is it possible that the aux system runs on 24 volts because there's a field pack on the motor?
I'm not sure if it's connected it or not...
-says my friend

http://s1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg551/9gagfan6/

and i followed the cables and half the cables lead to the battery pack in the back.
everything looks ok back there

the wires that connect to the two batteries up front come to a dead end in the back...

I've been scared to attach them to anything as i'm a little scared of sparks and explosions

any suggestions?


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

Motor pic's a little too close up, but it looks like the one cable connects the motor to itself, which would likely make it a series motor.

Besides those two cables, are the AUX batteries connected to anything? Do they connect + to AUX devices and - to the car frame?

Don't go connecting anything until you figure out the 24V vs 12V thing. It may be someone thought you needed 2 AUX batteries and intended to put them in parallel instead of series.


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## oldboy (Jan 10, 2012)

The black wire comes out of the car and attaches to the battery.
http://s1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg551/9gagfan6/car/?action=view&current=DSC_0316.jpg

The red wire comes out and attaches to the black unit on the left.
http://s1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg551/9gagfan6/car/?action=view&current=DSC_0318.jpg

Three other wires are connected to the black unit; another red wire and two other orange wires.

The other red wire then attaches to the battery.

One of the orange wire from the black unit
http://s1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg551/9gagfan6/car/?action=view&current=DSC_0318.jpg
http://s1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg551/9gagfan6/car/?action=view&current=DSC_0337.jpg
http://s1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg551/9gagfan6/car/?action=view&current=DSC_0336.jpg

attaches to a the back of a switch that turns on the car.
http://s1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg551/9gagfan6/car/?action=view&current=DSC_0318.jpg
http://s1243.photobucket.com/albums...gagfan6/car/?action=view&current=DSC_0320.jpg

normally the switch is flipped up and the keys in the ignition before the car can go.


and my friend says,
"it is 6x12 x2 = 144 volts
so 6 12v batteries in series x2 parallel.
maybe he's right about the 2 batteries putting them in parallel."

How would I go about putting the AUX batteries in parallel?


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

The one red goes from the battery to the relay (black box) and the other goes...into a hole that leads to the back? or is it connected there?

There's 4 small black wires hooked to the AUX batts, what are those connected to?

Do you really have 14 batteries in there?

To put the AUX in parallel, you'd disconnect any wires that go + to - and then connect + to + and - to -


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## oldboy (Jan 10, 2012)

Ziggythewiz said:


> The one red goes from the battery to the relay (black box) and the other goes...into a hole that leads to the back? or is it connected there?
> 
> There's 4 small black wires hooked to the AUX batts, what are those connected to?
> 
> ...


I believe that those 4 small black wires are for recharging the batteries.


also, the red and black wire go to the back and are not connected to anything back there...

and yes, there are 14 batteries.

How would I go about putting the batteries in parallel...
as in which colored wire goes where 
I apologize for my lack of electrical understanding.


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

You should probably do a bunch of reading on batteries and electrical stuff before proceeding, but 

"To put the AUX in parallel, you'd disconnect any wires that go + to - and then connect + to + and - to -"

would require moving the green wire on one end from one post to another (right now it is connected from + to -). You want it connected from + to + or - to -, and you'll need another similar wire to make the other connection.

You can remove one set of the charging wires.

Your system does not seem to be grounded currently. You will need to connect the large black wire that goes to the back to the car chassis. You can do that either up front or in the rear. Maybe look around to see if there is any logical place back there where it was connected previously. The original location was under the back seat where the battery was.

If you can't find a good spot, you can easily make one. Just find a spot back there with thickish metal and drill a hole. Clean it up good all around. Put a 1 1/2" bolt through it with washers on both sides and fasten it, then connect your black wire on that (along with any other connections back there that are lacking a good connection to ground) with another fastener.


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