No electrical power at all! Need help...

[JChalfan]

I was driving my dad's '90 GT tonight which I have been borrowing, parked it for about an hour, and then he went to drive it home, and the car has absolutely no electrical power. No headlights, tail lights, dash lights, and of course won't even try to start.

I wasn't there when he tried to start it, but I think he said it had power for just a second, then he turned the key to start it, and everything went out.

I have suspected for some time that the positive battery cable is corroded internally. The starter kinda struggled at first when you turned the key, even with a new battery.

What could have happened tonight? Is there a fusible link that handles ALL power to the whole car?

Any suggestions would be great, we had to leave it in the parking lot over night, and are going to work on it in the morning.

Thanks a lot.

Jeff

 

[stang&2Birds]

That's very common with bad battery connections. They get "salted & corroded" and they can't conduct anymore. Sometimes, you'll get a little power (radio), but as soon as you ask for any more current, there's too much resistance and the car voltage goes to zero.

It could be a bad battery cable connection at the battery (Pos or neg). Or, many times, where the neg cable connects to the block.

Get a volt meter or a lighted voltage checker and check the *tops* of the battery. If that voltage stays good, then it's the cables. Then, try
o Pos at battery top,
o Neg at good engine ground,


If the battery is low, the battery may have gotten an internal short. That also happens.

 

[JChalfan]

stang&2birds, thanks for the suggestions, I definitely will take a look at the battery cables tomorrow.

If that was the only problem though, I would think the radio and maybe lights would still work. That's why I was thinking maybe a fusible link or something blew.

I was also thinking the battery could have had an internal short. I've had that happen in the past, but this is a pretty new battery, only a couple months old.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Jeff

 

[HISSIN50]

Nope, if the battery terminals/connections have an issue, nothing at all has power.

Sometimes just 'scoochying' the terminals around will reachieve continuity. That tells you where the issue is.

Good luck.

 

[JChalfan]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm probably going to take a look at it in an hour or so, I'll post my results.

Jeff

 

[JChalfan]

Installed a new positive battery cable and cleaned the terminals, and it's workin great!

Jeff

 

[jrichker]

First lession in Automobile Electrics: clean shiny connections and wires are a must. Glad to hear that it was something simple.