Hello everyone... I'm hoping to narrow down my electrical issue. I have a '55 Pontiac Starchief, and as I put a new battery in the car it receives no power... the lights, horn, blinkers, etc. just plain don't work at all. The battery happens to be BRAND NEW, and all of the fuses seems to be OK. For the record, it's probably been 2 years since the car has been started, much less had a battery with power put to it's terminals.
2 years?? Unless you have a cat, the wires have probably been feeding mice Pretty simple, just use a continuity checker, and make your way from the battery to the regulator, the horn relay, and then the ignition switch.
heh... in retrospect (even though "I" do have two cats) I took a quick peak under the hood and realized that my positive battery terminal/cable goes directly to the starter. There doesn't seem to be any other divertion of the power cable beforehand,,, So, my initial thought is that the starter solenoid must be bad?
There's probably a #10 wire going from the starter to the Bat terminal of the Voltage Regulator. Without that, you won't have lights or ignition.
clean & tighten the connections at the solenoid ,Like Max said you have a power wire coming from the starter
Check the ground connection on the block. That is down low on drivers side and in an area that gets lots of oil/dirt. Make sure the connections at the battery are cleaned up. With a voltage meter, check voltage across neg and pos to be sure battery is good. Then check for voltage at the starter with the red and black on the negative post. follow the wire from solenoid to voltage regulator checking voltage at both ends. Here's where the rest of the car's electricity starts.
Check new battery with voltmeter. Then check two big battery cables to see if they aren't damaged. Check and make sure connections are tight. Then check the 10 gauge wire going from battery or battery terminal of solenoid to voltage regulator or horn relay. IOW'S check in a systematic manner the wiring after the battery checks ok.
Thanks for all of the replies fella's... So, I spent some time with the car and my cheapo voltmeter. Not ignoring the fact that my new battery has been sitting around awhile and that is was originally intended for my Toyota Corolla, when I test it tonight it was reading about 7 volts or so. I decided to skip crawling under the car to check at the starter since it was 10pm and I;m currently by myself (would hate to get crushed under the car without anyone to help!) but when I checked the voltage at the regulator, with the negative sitting on the neg. battery terminal, it was reading some volts however there was a drop of about 2 volts... sorta. It fluctuated a bit. Commencing inside the car I started testing at the fuse block/panel area. Unfortunately I didn't get any readings except for 1 particular fuse, but again it had another drop of a volt of two. I then decided to hook up a battery charger to the battery, however It didnt seem to charge and each time I checked the voltage at the battery it started reading less and less. However, disregarding the fact that my battery may not be the shining new example of a 12 volt box that i think it is, are there any other suggestions on chasing down my issues? I would think that even with a couple volts I would get some headlights, a horn, a domelight or SOMETHING letting me know that the car is getting power?
7 volts is not enough to get a dome light to go, if you are in a 12 V system. You need to disconnect your battery, and slow charge it for the night. Test the battery in the AM before you try troubleshooting, or just take out the one in your daily. The size of the battery matters as well, an older car needs more cranking amps. Trying solve your problem with a dead battery is like trying to get laid with a limp ****. I'm not trying to be an ***hole by saying this, but these posts come up all the time. If you have a local library, wander through and there will be books about auto electrical basics, have a look at one. For you to see it in person is alot easier than us trying to explain it over the puter. I always buy a proper service manual for cars I am not familiar with (not the chilton or haynes, but those will give you the basics) .
Get a good battery first. Without a good power source, all your other tests are pointless. As stated before, plenty of "brand new" batteries are junk by the time they get installed. If your battery only reads 7 volts, and won't take a charge, it's trash, no matter how new it is. Also, get a decent multimeter. They can be had for about 35 bux at Sears. You could spend hours chasing a ghost with a ****ty meter.
^^^ These guys are right, without ai least 9 volts you won't get anything to happen. Also, a good ****ogy for DC power is that it "flows" like water. Follow the "pipes" or wires from the source (after you charge the battery) and you will find your issue. Good luck.
Make sure (after getting a new battery and decent voltmeter) that grounds are good first. The negative battery cable should go to a CLEAN-NON PAINTED-NO RUST area on the engine block and should use a star washer under the bolt head, then tightened at a reasonable torque. Then check the ground straps that go to the frame and firewall. By having good grounds you will eliminate that from your checklist and save time.
From what I've read so far, I would call someone to help. I don't think you have enough skills to be working on cars, or electrical systems. Take the battery to Autozone and they can check it, and charge it if it is any good.
Yeah dude... You'll get nothing with 7 Volts. maxspeedracing is absolutely right on. Autozone can do a load-test on the battery for you. As far as the needed skills, that will come with good books and experience Good luck!
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