Help! No Power, No lights, No nothing:

[401KVet]

;help I will try to make a long story short, but with all the details. Up until 10/2011 all was good until I broke a bleeder screw on the right rear caliper. I had been having brake issues with soft pedals and the brake light coming on a lot. I would bleed, then good for a week or two, then same thing over again. So I decided to replaced all calipers, lines, etc. with O-ring calipers. Because of money this has been a very slow process. But in the mean time I decided to replaced the CENTER BEZEL and the CENTER SHIFTER CONSOLE. This past September I got all of that back together, except for the two carpet side panels. I ran the car at idle testing everthing to make sure all the gauges were working, ac, cig. lighter etc. etc. When I started and ran the car, just idling for testing, I did notice that the battery seemed a little low from sitting for such a long time. Almost a year. The battery is less than two years old. One of Napa's best. I took it out, charged it up to a full charge, cleaned all of the cables and connections. Started the car up and all still looked good. All gauges working, all lights, power windows, etc. Now fast forward to last week. I peeked in the car and noticed that the clock was not running anymore. I thought maybe the battery may have gone complety dead this time, so today I was going to charge it up again. But thinking this was odd, I hooked up the charger and the charger said the battery was almost fully charged. I have no ligths at all, not even interior lights. The second hand on the clock is not moving as it always is. No ignition at all when turning the key. I then went ahead and pulled the cables off to look at all connections, and all are good and clean, and all was tight. At this point I tend to believe my battery charger that's telling me the battery is good. But I have no juice anywhere. I know this is just a process of elimination, but where do I start? Has anyone had this type of prolbem before?

 

[BigJimZ16]

;help I will try to make a long story short, but with all the details. Up until 10/2011 all was good until I broke a bleeder screw on the right rear caliper. I had been having brake issues with soft pedals and the brake light coming on a lot. I would bleed, then good for a week or two, then same thing over again. So I decided to replaced all calipers, lines, etc. with O-ring calipers. Because of money this has been a very slow process. But in the mean time I decided to replaced the CENTER BEZEL and the CENTER SHIFTER CONSOLE. This past September I got all of that back together, except for the two carpet side panels. I ran the car at idle testing everthing to make sure all the gauges were working, ac, cig. lighter etc. etc. When I started and ran the car, just idling for testing, I did notice that the battery seemed a little low from sitting for such a long time. Almost a year. The battery is less than two years old. One of Napa's best. I took it out, charged it up to a full charge, cleaned all of the cables and connections. Started the car up and all still looked good. All gauges working, all lights, power windows, etc. Now fast forward to last week. I peeked in the car and noticed that the clock was not running anymore. I thought maybe the battery may have gone complety dead this time, so today I was going to charge it up again. But thinking this was odd, I hooked up the charger and the charger said the battery was almost fully charged. I have no ligths at all, not even interior lights. The second hand on the clock is not moving as it always is. No ignition at all when turning the key. I then went ahead and pulled the cables off to look at all connections, and all are good and clean, and all was tight. At this point I tend to believe my battery charger that's telling me the battery is good. But I have no juice anywhere. I know this is just a process of elimination, but where do I start? Has anyone had this type of prolbem before?

My next move would be down to the starter solenoid. I would check my connections down there, I think there's at least one fusable link there to protect the wiring if a short occurs, it could be open or???

 

[TimAT]

To the right of and on the firewall behind the distributor is the upper connection for the starter extension harness. Check that. All the power for the car runs thru it. Both fusible links, the "start" wire to the solenoid, the ground for the heater fan- it's a rectangle 6 way connector.

 

[401KVet]

Thanks. I will try and look at both of those possibilities tomorrow. Thank you... I'll let yall know what I find..

 

[401KVet]

My next move would be down to the starter solenoid. I would check my connections down there, I think there's at least one fusable link there to protect the wiring if a short occurs, it could be open or???

How would you tell if the fusable link is open or bad?

 

[bill81vette]

do you have a voltmeter???
check the continuity of it from one end of the wire to the other.
eg from the end that goes thru the firewall to the where it attaches(If possible).
if its good it will make a beep as long as it is on the wire,if its bad no beep.

 

[SVO]

I would suspect the battery cables. They are made of copper clad aluminum wire and are subject to internal corrosion. Also, check the negative battery cable connection to the frame, as it is exposed to wheel splash in wet weather and such.

 

[401KVet]

Boy do I feel like a idiot. I found the problem. I had a aftermarket stereo installed in the glove box and all new speakers thru the car. To power the stereo they used a brass type of stud, different size threads on both sides on the battery terminal. When I hooked the charger up to check the battery I had nothing. Then making sure all was tight I still had nothing. I pulled all cables off and all still looked clean. Well today I pulled the battery out and the negative side post was coated with that silver looking corrosion that I could not see until I had the battery out. Even with a flashlight I did not see it, and I even had my glasses on. lol So the battery is still fully charged, and the problem was in between the negative side post and the INSIDE of the negative cable. The corrosion was all on the battery terminal. I really should know better by now .lol So here's my next question. I had cleaned all really well just this past September. Can anyone recommend the best thing to use on the terminal so this may not happen again? I know they sell stuff and Walmart and Napa for this type of thing, but I've never used any of it. The corrosion was in between the battery and the inside of the terminal, so it would have to be something that won't break/stop the connection.
Thanks to all for the advice. I'm sure it could have been anyone of the things yall have said.

 

[401KVet]

A update on what was really wrong. As SVO said, recheck the cables. Not only was there corrosion on the negative terminal, the whole cable was bad. I went under the car where it bolts to the frame and it was almost rock hard. Knowing now I was going to replace it, I took it off and cut the cable into about 4 inches from the eye for the frame. It was ate up. All corroded. It was also similar at the battery end. Dats it folks. Thanks to all.