78RedShark

I just started her up...it was running fine for about ten minutes in my garage...then I went to turn the lights on, they popped up then DEAD. The car stopped. I turned the ignition off...then tried to turn it on again and nothing.

I noticed that the dome light was still on, cuz i had the door open...but it wouldn't start. Battery gauge is at zero. I tried to give it a boost, but nothing doing. I'm assuming that the battery is dead...which is odd because it's rather new...and when I store it I disconnect the battery cables.

Could it be the alternator? How can I check?

Please help! :sad: Thanks!

Casper

Sounds like you've got a short. Could be a dead short within the battery or the cable. Might be the voltage regulator. At least this post will put you back to the top.


[Modified by Casper, 12:25 PM 1/5/2002]

Casper

Hasn't been too much activity here today. Do any of your idiot lights work? Does your alt. light come on when you turn the key to the on position, not all the way, just to the on position?

MasterDave

The newer computerized cars will be 'off' with a dead cell or weak batt, but not yours I don't think. This I think is the old firewall junction box gremlin again. :eek: Your junction box should be under the steering column, mine ('64) has two. The big red wire is the culprit. Wiggle, hold or push on the wire and have someone try to start it. If she goes then your connection at the box is bad. It can be cleaned and widened out sometimes and it might work again, but for me the cure-all was to simply hard wire it. No problems now for over 2 years. :cheers:

jerryp58

Don't rule out the battery because it it new. I've had a couple of batteries go completely dead while less than 1 year old.

I consider myself a very poor electrical diagnostician, but I read a thread the other day that I thought made a lot of troubleshooting sense. It said to remove some of the fuses in the suspected problem areas. Maybe you could remove the fuse for your lights and see what happens, yes?

But, I've just read your post again and you say you "then tried to turn it on again and nothing". Do you mean absolutely nothing? You may want to check out the connections on the starter and the starter seleniod.

Just some thoughts, hope they help.

78RedShark

I mean absolutely nothing happens when I turn the ignition key. No alternator light, no dome light, no ignition noise nor any buzzing sound...NOTHING.

In the summer I changed the starter...so it's rather new as well. I'll check the fuses...a buddy of mine here mentioned it might be the alternator...and that when I started it today it was running all on battery. But I've never experienced problems with the alternator before.

I'm gonna try recharging the battery and see if she starts...then bring it to my mechanic and see if it's an alternator problem. Might also be the battery cables?

Any of you or others know how to check if it is an alternator issue?

Thanks again all.

ZR1 Chaser

I have a dollar that says the alternator is bad. We must remember these are Chevy's just like your moms old station wagon. So let's not make this rocket science go for the simple first. What is the old saying... KISS... Keep it simple son. Batteries and alternators get replaced quite often. These are 24 year old cars. Don't mean to sound nasty. But if you don't have to fix a bunch of stuff why go BIG. Start small and go from there. Any auto parts store will check parts for nothing. Do you have a lot of buildup on the battery cables ? Good luck and I'm sure it is minor. I too had to replace my battery after only a couple weeks.


:D

Drache

>I mean absolutely nothing happens when I turn the ignition key. No alternator light, no dome light, no ignition noise nor any buzzing sound...NOTHING.

Happened to me not too long ago, the only thing electrical that worked was the horn. Assuming that your battery and alternator checks out okay... it might be a fusible link. I can't find a '78-specific wiring diagram, but on my '71 there are fusible links (at least) at the starter solenoid, at the key warning buzzer, and at the alternator. There could also be one at the battery positive terminal.

A fusible link will be a short (5"-ish) piece of wire right at the terminal connection, sometimes with a rubber tab on one end. Its insulation will probably be a different color than that of the wire it is connected to, and it may have a softer feel. If one is blown, its insulation may be charred, missing, or just bubbled and soft. The wire underneath may appear to be intact. You can get a replacement link (making sure it's for GM and the same color) at the auto parts store, and splice it right in place of the bad one. I replaced all of them that I could find when I had this problem, and she started right up.

If that is the problem, there is an electrical problem that caused the link/s to blow that needs immediate attention.

What I did to help isolate the problem was to run a jumper cable and a remote starter switch from the battery positive terminal to the solenoid, bypassing the car wiring. This allowed the starter to spin, showing me that the problem was in the wiring and not in the battery or starter.

In high school I had a '68 Olds 442 that, after I replaced the starter, had a similar problem. It turned out to be just a connection on the solenoid working itself loose and shorting.

Good luck! And keep a fire extinguisher nearby :eek:

kenincanada

I dont know if this help but the first thing I did to my 79 when I jacked it up was to change the ground cable out of the BATT. box. Major corrosion that could not be seen till it was disconected. clean contact area of frame really well.You would not want to do this on the side of the road.

JB

I'm betting it's the battery. Just yesterday I got the same symptoms. Not even solinoid clicking. Battery was only 10 months old, so I checked everything else first, tried to jump start it (that got me solinoid clicking, but didn't turn the engine over), then ran the battery over to Autozone to get it checked. Dead as a mackeral--bad cell. Cold weather can push a marginal battery over the edge, too.

JB

'78SA

rhoeven

Had same thing happening to my '81 2 days ago.
Turned out to be corroded battery/cable terminal on the +side of the battery.
Cleaned connections , put some Vaseline (petroleum jelly) on the battery terminals and tightened everything. Runs like a champ again :)

Hope this helps.

Roger

78RedShark

Thanks for your help guys! Thank God it's snowing here today, or else I'd really be upset that I couldn't do some hot laps!

:cheers:

78RedShark

NEWSFLASH! I think I'm losing it.

I figured out the problem. Last night, on a hunch, I took a look at the positive cable attached to the battery. Usually, in the winter whenever I'm not using the vette I detach this positive cable from the battery to save juice. Well, on Saturday when I had this problem and the vette went dead, I probably didn't completely tighten the positive cable back onto the battery...hence it wouldn't even catch when attempting to ignite.

All I had to do was tighten the bloody cable..no alternator problem, no battery problem, no cable or fuse problem. What a bonehead I was!

Ah well, at least it saves me time and $...thanks anyways all!


[Modified by 78RedShark, 2:02 PM 1/9/2002]


[Modified by 78RedShark, 2:02 PM 1/9/2002]

Drache

Are you sure you're not me? :lol:

Glad it was so easy :yesnod:

I found some Swedish quick-disconnect battery cable terminals, called "Ojop Quick Power," at a RV supply site. They snap on and off the top battery lugs with a spring lever. I wonder if they might make disconnecting and reconnecting the battery a lot easier, and provide a sure visual clue of whether or not it is connected.