everything is dead...where to look and for what?

M

Mr. Blues

Member
me again....'71 skylark 350, auto a/c
battery has lots of juice, started fine yesterday...ran great
now everything is dead...no power, no horn lights radio, nothing!
does not crank etc. checked fuses,,, all ok,,,.checked battery ground ok...
positive battery connection ok....I'm not a mechanic but I READ and from what I understand there is a primary circuit for starting and secondary for all the other stuff....are there fusible links or something like that I should check?
where are they located? or what/where else should I check that will restore power? thanks for all replies.
 
Dead?

First verify if your battery is charged up. If you have a volt meter check the voltage across the posts of the battery not the cable clamps. It should read 12 volts approximately. If you do not have a volt meter but do have a test light touch the negative post with the clamp end and touch the positive post with the pointed end. The light should be bright. If you question the brightness do this same test to your everyday car whom you know the battery is good. Then you can verify the battery is charged. If your battery is good then you can move on. Take your tester and go from cable clamp to cable clamp. If your light is bright then you can feel pretty good about your clamps are making connection to your battery. If your test light is dim then connect between the pos. post and the negative cable clamp and then test visa versa. If everything is OK then clamp your tester to the negative clamp and touch the big post on the starter. That should be direct battery voltage. I have experienced in the past where all these tests show good but the vehicle still will not start and I have cleaned the battery posts and the inside of the cable clamps (do not be afraid to make them shinny) and then it would start. It seems as the connections will carry a small amount of amps but not enough to start the car or run the horn. You can use a volt meter the same way as you use the test light for these tests. Do not forget to also consider the battery could be at fault. Disconnect the cable clamps charge it up good and let it set for 24 hours and see if it it still has a charge. To check if you have a draw on the electrical system, make sure all doors are shut, under hood light disconnected.. Connect your positive cable to the battery and with your negative cable disconnected, connect your test light in series, clamp on negative cable and probe on negative post of battery. There should be no draw (light in your tester). Open your car door and the test light should come on. If the light comes on there is a draw and you can usually find that by disconnecting fuses and that will lead you to what circuit and you go from there.

I hope this helps. I know this is long but I do not know of a short way to explain it.
 
Thanks....now it runs...fixed itself after hours of tracing???....go figure....
perhaps temperature sensitive....temps were cooler once
I finally got juice....interior light came on and goon gah...started right up?
Tomorrow I'll check fuse links and try your tips.
 
A dying cell will sometimes do exactly what your battery seems to be doing. They'll be fine on day and seem dead the next. If you have any doubts most auto parts stores will run a free pull-down test to determine how healthy the battery is.
 
thanks for your reply...
turns out it was the CABLE (+) which looked fine
from outward appearance but the insides were funky....
NOW my alternator light has a faint glow which won't go away....
but the alternator is still charging at 14....at least I got it started
 
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