No electrical power

[DHY2RR]

69 Road Runner with stock ammeter gauge. Car running great until I went to start it today and got one "click" then nothing. No headlights etc. Battery OK and have power to fuseable link (engine side) however No power from fuseable link to firewall connection. Tried to short out starter solenoid in order to cheat the system and see if the starter would engage. I get a few clicks at the starter. Question: is my starter bad (would this cause me to have no power inside the car?) If its my ammeter and that's all there is, why is my shorting out solenoid trick no working? If I was to bypass the ammeter with a short fix, would that be enough to engage the starter? Any ideas would be appreciated. thanks

 

[Tony Tee]

Check the battery connections first.

 

[RemCharger]

Check the battery connections first.

1 good twisty each!

 

[dan juhasz]

check all battery connections where they start and where they end

 

[DHY2RR]

Had a Mopar friend drop by and we tried to boost the RR but still no action. He had a battery tester with the Load button and it shows the battery (which is 8 years old) is charged but when the Load button was pushed it went below the weak reading. I don't know why the battery boost from the other car didn't work but am going out tomorrow and buying a new battery to see if that does anything. Thanks for your replies

 

[DHY2RR]

We also removed the battery cables and cleaned them and the battery posts. We also re-checked the bulk head connections and they are clean and no sign of any heat damage. At one point, the headlights did come on but went off again. I have a week until next show.

 

[RemCharger]

Can't go wrong with replacing an ancient dead battery.

 

[dan juhasz]

Had a Mopar friend drop by and we tried to boost the RR but still no action. He had a battery tester with the Load button and it shows the battery (which is 8 years old) is charged but when the Load button was pushed it went below the weak reading. I don't know why the battery boost from the other car didn't work but am going out tomorrow and buying a new battery to see if that does anything. Thanks for your replies

It’s likely the battery but make sure you check the other ends of the battery cables. Where it grounds to the engine and the positive lug on the starter, clean and tight. Also a voltage drop test in the cables themselves might be in order.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Did you fix the fuse able link or take a fused wire and by-pass it? You power into none out.

 

[DHY2RR]

Can't go wrong with replacing an ancient dead battery.

Had battery tested under load and NO GOOD. Bought a new battery and all is good now. I've had bad batteries before and the basic clicking sounded indicating a weak battery and had some lights but this is a first.
Thanks for the replies

 

[copper67sat]

Glad you got it fixed. Battery likely had a dead cell. I've had the exact same thing - battery charges and shows full, but fails under load. The heat in FL kills most batteries in about 5 years and usually in the way you describe. In my experience, the only way to jump it is to bypass the dead battery.