I recently bought an Econoline 350 from 88, runs on diesel. It's also veggie oil converted, but the system hasn't been used for years. It's also an old ambulance, so it has a bunch of lights and sirens. Both inside and outside.
After I bought the van it was running fine, until Friday. I've been struggling with it since. Here's the story:
On Thursday I'd been working on the interior and I'd had the lights on a lot. In the evening I started the car and let it run for a minute or two to check if it sounded fine. No problems.
Next day: No start. Slow crank from the starter. I assumed the batteries were low. Tried jumpstarting on both batteries, no luck. Checked the batteries, they showed around 11v. I kept trying to get it going, but it went slower.A small amount of white smoke that smelled electric showed up, on the right side. I couldn't properly locate the source. Eventually only the relay was clicking. This is the relay on top of the motor with access from the inside. Goes to starter, maybe other things as well?
I replaced the starter and both batteries.
I got the car going by using a screwdriver on the relay on the right side under the hood. Drove around about an hour. Next day I started it, but didn't drive.
Today it won't start. The starter is barely turning. Checked the batteries, they were 10v, so I took them to Oreillys for charging. These were the yellow optima batteries, so not exactly cheap. When I came back to pick them up, they said the batteries were broken and would not charge.
How can this be? Brand new optima batteries broken from sitting in my van for a day?
I'm checking if the alternator is working tomorrow, but even if it's broken, could it kill new batteries so fast?
Any other suggestions on how to proceed here?
Thanks a lot!