No Power

[69 R/T]

I had my bone stock 69 RT sitting in the garage with the negative cable disconnected and the battery tender on it for a few months. The car was restored about 23 years ago, always garaged and it's got all new reproduction wiring harnesses on it. Today I decided to fire it up, so I disconnected the battery tender, connected the negative cable, the interior lights came on, but as soon as I turned the key everything went black.... no electric power. I can't find my multimeter to check anything properly but I did have a test light and I put the test light on the starter relay that feeds the fusible link and it's hot. It was dark in the garage so I may have missed, but I tried to put the tip of my test light in the slot for the fusible link and it did not light up. So I'm assuming it's the fusible link? If that's the case, why? What would cause a fusible link to pop if that's what it is? Thanks guys!!!

 

[khryslerkid]

Probably the battery terminals or ground. Double check these.

 

[69 R/T]

Probably the battery terminals or ground. Double check these.

I did, and they're clean and secure. the lug on the starter relay was hot, so there's power to there.

 

[R413]

When you hit the key and the lights went off. This is a classic case of the battery posts and cable ends need to be cleaned. They can flow the minimal power for the lights, bit when the 250+ amps for the starter is called for they cannot Provide the power.

there is power to light a test light but not turn the starter.

clean them and report back.

I’m gonna start handing these out for the holidays!
Battery Terminal Cleaner

 

[Aron Gleason]

Twist the battery cable's. Sometimes thats all it needs

 

[Aron Gleason]

When you hit the key and the lights went off. This is a classic case of the battery posts and cable ends need to be cleaned. They can flow the minimal power for the lights, bit when the 250+ amps for the starter is called for they cannot Provide the power.

there is power to light a test light but not turn the starter.

clean them and report back.

I’m gonna start handing these out for the holidays!
Battery Terminal Cle

When you hit the key and the lights went off. This is a classic case of the battery posts and cable ends need to be cleaned. They can flow the minimal power for the lights, bit when the 250+ amps for the starter is called for they cannot Provide the power.

there is power to light a test light but not turn the starter.

clean them and report back.

I’m gonna start handing these out for the holidays!
Battery Terminal Cleaner

View attachment 1372949

I'll take one. Should I PM you my address lol

 

[Jerry Hall]

It could be the battery, battery tender or not, they do go bad. I keep a cheap load tester around for just that.

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

Also how Hot was the lug on the starter? Can be shorted out also.

 

[dadsbee]

I'll go with a sulphated battery that's useless due to lack of use and leaving a tender on it full time.

 

[PlymCrazy]

This literally just happened to me about 2 weeks ago. Not on a 69 R/T, but on my 4-wheeler. Had it on the tender the last couple months and just brought it out to get it ready for plowing this winter. Turned the key and the dash lit up as usual. However the fuel pump sounded very different. Headlights lit up. But the moment I hit the start button everything went black. The battery wouldn't even take a charge after that. Replaced the battery. Ran it several times since. Problem solved.

 

[69 R/T]

When you hit the key and the lights went off. This is a classic case of the battery posts and cable ends need to be cleaned. They can flow the minimal power for the lights, bit when the 250+ amps for the starter is called for they cannot Provide the power.

there is power to light a test light but not turn the starter.

clean them and report back.

I’m gonna start handing these out for the holidays!
Battery Terminal Cleaner

View attachment 1372949

 

[69 R/T]

I can't find my multimeter to check battery voltage, but the lights won't even come on when I open the door. Maybe it is the battery, I just assumed fusible link. Lots of good suggestions to try!

 

[khryslerkid]

It could be the battery, battery tender or not, they do go bad. I keep a cheap load tester around for just that.

I was thinking this also.

A coworker had a tender on his Corvette, hit the starter and the battery blew up. Exploded into pieces soaking the whole engine bay with acid. Apparently it was a constant voltage unit.

The only tender I've used was for the jell battery I had in my Harley. If it wasn't used that battery would go dead. I've never used one on the Exide battery in my '62 and I've never had to charge it in the last three years. I just leave the negative cable disconnected when not in use.

 

[dadsbee]

Yep.. I've cautioned it many times here on deaf ears. Leaving tenders and battery chargers hooked up constantly is fine until they go rogue on you, boil a battery partial dry and turn it into a hydrogen bomb. A friend of mines newer Challenger that he left a tender on...

 

[PlymCrazy]

Yep.. I've cautioned it many times here on deaf ears. Leaving tenders and battery chargers hooked up constantly is fine until they go rogue on you, boil a battery partial dry and turn it into a hydrogen bomb. A friend of mines newer Challenger that he left a tender on...
View attachment 1373054

What???? First I've heard of this phenomenon. Do tell....please

 

[PlymCrazy]

15 years that battery was in that (4) wheeler. Bought it new in May 2007. Never ran the battery dead. I put the tender on it "for the heck of it" a couple months back as the ATV was just sitting. And a couple weeks ago kapoof. It was a Harbor Freight cheap tend. Paid like $10 for it.

In the cars I have a disconnect on the negative of each. They get disconnected each time I park them as I'm uncertain of the age of the wiring in them. I have (3) Battery Tender Jrs (750ma) I use on the cars when in storage, and (2) cheap Harbor Freights tenders I use on the bike and tractor.

 

[dadsbee]

What???? First I've heard of this phenomenon. Do tell....please

I just quickly googled "boiling batteries turns them into hydrogen"... as I need to get to work. My buddy above pulled the charger clip off to supply the "spark". Here's the blurb..
"More often than not, if you overcharge your car battery, it simply dies; that’s how manufacturers nowadays intended to fix human error. However, older batteries have more dramatic side effects. As a car battery overcharges, the sulfuric acid and distilled water mix starts to boil. The heat and pressure of this boiling acid/water mix will start to make the battery casing swell; in some cases, the heat of the mix will start to melt the plastic casing, which, in fairness, is the best case scenario for this context, because the alternatives aren’t any better.

If the boiling acid/water mix isn’t a problem enough, flammable hydrogen gas can start building up inside the battery’s fuel cells. This gas can either swell up the casing or start seeping out through small fissures. Once the hydrogen makes contact with oxygen, you’re basically sitting inside a sitting time-bomb, where the smallest electrical spark can ignite the gas and explode the battery, sending toxic lead-laced shrapnel everywhere, not to mention spew out a spray of caustic sulfuric acid."

 

[Aron Gleason]

It was my understanding that the deltran battery tender stopped charging the battery once its fully charged, and only maintains it when needed..

 

[R413]

Battery tenders are not a good thing, they do fail and cause $$ damage. It’s an inexpensive device made in China, what could go wrong? Think about it, plug it in and forget it for months at a time? Many do this without a problem, they do have a low failure rate overall, but I don’t want or need that in my garage.

What happens when the automatic shut off fails and causes a problem? Read the paperwork, their liability is limited to repair or replacement of the charger only. Gee thanks!

If the battery needs charged from sitting then charge them for a few hours, and the lower amps the better when charging. I use 2 amps.

 

[Aron Gleason]

Battery tenders are not a good thing, they do fail and cause $$ damage. It’s an inexpensive device made in China, what could go wrong? Think about it, plug it in and forget it for months at a time? Many do this without a problem, they do have a low failure rate overall, but I don’t want or need that in my garage.

What happens when the automatic shut off fails and causes a problem? Read the paperwork, theor liability is limited to repair or replacement of the charger only. Gee thanks!

If the battery needs charged from sitting then charge them for a few hours, and the lower amps the better when charging. I use 2 amps.

Good to know that