Everything is DEAD!
 

A friend has a 2000 Camry 4 Cyl. that stopped on her while she was driving. When I tried to jump start the car there were lots of sparking and the jumper cables got very hot! I suspected a short somewhere so I lifted the battery cables and did a resistance check between them with my meter. It measured a dead short!! I wondered if the alternator may’ve been causing the short but couldn’t figure out how to get the plastic cap off the terminal without breaking it (can you tell that I don’t work on cars?) lol

Any sugguestions on how to get that damn cap off the alternator and what else I may check from here would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks - :)

Are you sure the jumper battery cables were not connected in reverse?

The alt should have one larger diameter wire off by itself having a rubber cap where it attaches to the alt. Peel back the cap from a stud holding the wire to the alt then unbolt the nut on the stud and remove the wire. This will disconnect the alt from the battery.

There are a couple of fusible links (a type of fuse) between the alt and battery. If a dead short at the alt these fusible links would have blown.

Completely dead. Any of the following work?

Head lights.
Dome light.
Horn.
Stop lights.
Radio.

Thanks for the reply! I'm sure the jumper cables were connected correctly. None of the items you mentioned could work if the positive battery cable is measuring a short to "ground", right? :) And as I stated, the cap on the alternator is a hard plastic one that seems to need more than just a pull to get off. It's not the rubber type that can be peeled back. True,the fuse would probably be blown with a shorted alternator so I'll check that. If it's blown I'll still need to get that cap off to remove the wire from the alternator......:o

Does the cap have an opening on the back to allow viewing the nut that attaches the cable to the alt? Can you post a photo?

The positive battery cable is shorted to ground, the battery itself does not have an internal short?

Most all circuits off the battery are fused. A short as you describe should have blown a fuse.

The one circuit that does not have a fuse is the large black/red cable going to the starter solenoid. Disconnect this cable and recheck for shorts. Note: there is also a smaller black/red wire which comes from ign circuit.

Good stuff in this one! I don't recall there being an opening in the back of that cap? It was pouring down rain and the car was outside so my examination wasn't as thorough as it could've been. But I don't think it did. I watched a video on youtube of a mechanic removing that alternator cap on a older Camry and he had to deal with a tab or lock of some sort to get it off. You couldn't really see well what he was doing. And it was the cable that was shorted to ground. I removed it from the battery before I tested it. I'll check the fuses for a clue and the other things you mentioned when I go back to the car tomorrow or the day after. It's a ways from me so I don't have easy access. I'll post back with my findings. Very helpful suggestions. Thank you again!

Great.

Turned out to be a bad starter! I didn't find it, but the shop did ...... Battery is dead too (naturally). $450 total at a local shop (S.F. Bay Area prices). Dealer would've wanted half interest in my house!
Thanks toyo! :-)

Glad to help.