A strange experience from someone new to the forum. I have a 1981 wtih about 34k miles on it.

Tried to start the car this morning, it turned over as normal but didn't quite start. (This sometimes happens...no big deal.) It is worth noting that I have been driving it all week, without any sign of trouble.

Go to turn the key again, and the ENTIRE electrical system is out. It's like the battery completely driained in the 1 second between the first start attempt and the second attempt. It's not even a slow, weak battery turnover, just completely dead. All electrical, fused, unfused, ignition etc...just not powered.

What I have done:

1) Battery has 12.3 volts.
2) Chasis electrical fuses all seem to be in tact.
3) Cables from the battery are in good shape and connected well to the battery.

Now here is the WEIRD part. I'm performing all of the above simple diagnositcs and then I go to eat dinner. Leaving the hood and doors open, which will become key in a minute.

When I return to continue my work after dinner (30 minutes or so), the hood light and interior light are on, bright as ever, no problem. I'm a little weirded out by this, and figure maybe it "corrected itself". Which I know isn't really possilbe, but it causes me to wonder if I bumped a loose connection during my initial inspection. So I figured I'd try to start it just to see what happens. I turn the key, totally dead and the two lights that were on (interior and hood) go out.

I'm currently waiting to see if they will come back on in 30 minutes, so I thought I would ask the experts here if this is a familar story to anyone.

Any thoughts, direction?

 

Check your battery ground at the battery and where it conncets to the body.

 

exact thing happened to me, the battery ground was a bit corroded on the frame. Fixed that, then a week later the pos terminal-end on the battery crumbled in my hand when I twisted it a little. Now I carry a couple bolt-on battery-cable-end things cause I figure it'll happen again.

 

Keep in mind that corrosion can happen from the inside out. Even if the cables appear to be fine underneath the insulator it can be pretty rough. This means just replacing the cable ends may not be enough. Think of breathing through a straw. Not so bad when your sitting still but impossible when running. Your wiring can power the little things i.e. interior lights but when it goes to move the starter, it just cant flow enough to get it going. I know this may sound weird but if you have a set of decent jumper cables , try using them as an extra set of cables. Just clamp one to the starter and the other to the frame. My guess it will fire right up. My .02
Justin

 

you got a corroded cale end somewhere. pull them alloff and check them over carefully, both ends, its there

 

Agree with the above. You might also want to check the insides of the battery terminals and the battery where they touch. A thin layer of corrosion makes a great insulator.

 

A common problem with the '80 thru '82's is the starter harness that has a 8 pin connector (large) by the evaporator box. Check (wiggle) the 2 connector halves while watching the under-hood light. If it flickers, take the connector apart and clean /replace the offending wire terminals. It is usually the heavy red wire. The housing will usually be melted where the break-down has occured.

 

Thanks for the help. It was the battery grounding at the battery. The terminal was corroded.

Purring like a kitten this morning!