battery sparks and no-start

[Soma576@xxxx]

hey all,

two questions. 

1. i put my battery back in my car yesterday and as i tried to put the 
cables on it, the terminals sparked quite a bit. the ignition was off and i 
have a courtesy light override, so i don't think there should be any draw to 
cause sparking. any ideas? what does this mean?

2. after doing that, i tried to start my car and it wouldn't start. first i 
suspected a low battery. so i put a charger on it and let it charge 
overnight. i came back this morning and the charger was still going at about 
1/2 an amp which should be fully charged, right? well i tried starting it 
again - same thing. 

both times i tried starting it, the starter sounded kind of sluggish, like 
the engine wasn't turning as fast as it should be, even with a confirmed 
fully charged battery. i have been running lots of stereo wires since i 
started it last, mostly in the battery compartment and running wires thru the 
relay compartment (but not doing any splicing or anything, just fishing them 
thru). anyway i have checked all my fuses and they are all good, and the car 
ran 100% perfect when i started it last - i haven't even been in the engine 
bay since then. 

i have 10w40 oil in the engine right now. it has been between -5degF and 
15degF for the last two weeks - it was about 2degF last night when i tried to 
start it. my dad says that it's probably that the oil is so cold and thick 
that it's keeping the engine from turning fast enough. is that really 
possible? 

obviously i know my way around the car but i'm not going to do any 
diagnostics if this is a reasonable cause. i would assume that is 
appropriate since both times i tried starting it, even with a fully charged 
battery, the car turned about 80% as fast as it usually does. probable 
cause? i find it hard to believe but i am not an expert!

Soma576@xxxx
1982 DeLorean DMC-12 VIN#11596
Fargo, ND 58102


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