wonkapete

My '96 has a battery in it that is only 3 months old. Never had any power or starting issues. Last ran it just two weeks ago. Went to start it tonight and not even a click. Popped the hood and lights didnt come on. Just no sign of life at all. Took the battery out and put it on the charger. It is showing fully charged. I checked the terminals and no sign of corrosion. What could it be??

WW7

Sounds like a fusible link could have blown or bad ground wire..I believe the fuseable link is near the starter. Start from the battery and check for power at the starter with a test light. If you have no power at all it should be easier to find then a intermitent problem..Im no expert, but it didn't seem like anyone else was answering your question.....WW

Paul Workman

Do you have an FSM? If so, follow the troubleshooting tree - shouldn't be too hard to follow.

It could be a fuse, or a fusible link as WW7 suggested. I'd add the interlock switch on the clutch pedal, except that wouldn't cause the other power issues you've observed.

Again, ye ol' FSM and a good digital VOM is your friend...

Keep us posted...

P.

Muffin

Certainly sounds like a fuseable link.

wonkapete

Thanks gentlemen!! Will check it out this weekend. I appreciate the suggestions. Will report my findings!!

lt4obsesses

I had this issue once on my '96. Turned out the negative terminal on the battery cable was stripped. Put a new one on and it's been good since. When it no started, for me everything was normal until I turned the key to start, then the whole thing went black. When I got out, opened the hood, no lights, jiggled the neg. battery cable, hood lights came on and car started. If that terminal isn't in there just right, it will do this. Something to check if you haven't already.

wonkapete

I'm back on the road guys!! Thanks much! Turned out to be the fricken brand new, AC Delco battery!!

I got out the other night and traced as much wiring as I could, to all the grounds, everything looked good. I just wasn't trusting that battery, even though charger said it was fine.

Took it to Autozone. They put it on the tester and said it was dead as a doornail. Guess my charger is jacked up too!

Took it back to the battery place where I bought it. They were a little hesitant with it since it's only a few months old. Started putting it on their tester and the guy made some comment about it's talking to him before he's got it connected. I'm thinking, great, it's gonna work here.

He hooks it up and says.. hmmmm.. ok.. never seen that message in all my years working here. He said the machine told him, "internal battery issue - replace battery". He said he wasn't even sure what that meant, but he apologized and he swapped it out.

I get home and it fires up with no issues. Strange!!!

lt4obsesses

And then there's that...new parts aren't always good parts. Glad you got it worked out.

fredd1

Had a similar problem a couple of years ago. Bought a new ProStart battery from Pepboys and it cranked just fine for about a year, then wouldn't hold a charge. I took it back to Pepboys and they exchanged it with a new Bosch for 12 dollars since the ProStart had a 2 year full replacement warrantee. The Bosch held up for about a month and then had the same issue holding a charge. I checked the alternator and metered the wiring for leakage but couldn't find any problems so I returned the battery to PepBoys, they checked it on their tester and it read internal short so they replaced it for free. Haven't had a problem since. Strange to have two bad ones in a row like that though.

Sweet 90

Maybe not. Most chargers can't / won't charge a completely dead battery. Try it out again on your new battery.