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Electronics Need help wiring something up? Thinking of adding an electrical component to your car? Need help troubleshooting that wiring glitch?

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Old 05-11-2009, 02:49 PM   #1
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No power, no lights, does not start

Like any other day I tried starting the car today, after I put the key in, about quarter turn the usual beeping noise disappeared, lights went out... and that’s it. No lights anywhere, no dome light, no dash lights, and of course starter doesn’t turn. Car is completely dead. I checked the battery; it’s good (this was easy to eliminate cause when battery is dying at least the dash lights flicker). I checked all the fuses. All good. The strange thing is that when I pulled ACC fuse, car started making the beeping noise again (as when door is open cause mine was), sound then got gargled and disappeared when I put the fuse back in. Any ideas anyone?
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Old 05-11-2009, 03:16 PM   #2
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Re: No power, no lights, does not start

This sounds like an intermittent contact on cables. A very overlooked cause of power loss.
Even though the battery is perfectly fine, either the terminals don't have good contact to the battery posts or to the cables. Actually the contact is so poor, in fact, that it barely feeds the dome light but once you turn the key to turn the ignition on or start, the load exceeds the capacity of the poor contact and it burns out (just like a fuse).
With time, a new contact patch forms between the two surfaces and the cycle repeats.

As a first step, I would check the battery post clamps and cables. If it happens again and the car goes dead, take a test light and start tracing the power from the battery onward. You're bound to find the weakest link.

Hope this helps.
Lou
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Old 05-11-2009, 03:21 PM   #3
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Re: No power, no lights, does not start

I'll try to clean up the connections between the posts and cables first. Thanks!!!
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Old 05-11-2009, 04:10 PM   #4
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Re: No power, no lights, does not start

Cleaned up the posts.. Still nothin. Not even flickering lights... Do you think its the ground or the Positive? Cause ground is short and I can see where on engine block it goes.
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Old 05-11-2009, 05:23 PM   #5
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Re: No power, no lights, does not start

If you still don't have power, you can use a test light to find out which cable it is. (if you don't have a test light, Harbor Freight has it on sale almost every week for 99c - or you can buy it at most car parts stores for $10 or so)

Or just take an old 12V socket with a lightbulb and cut-off wires (got 10 of those at home ) and use it instead.

If it's not the clamps on the battery posts, it could be a bad ground connection on the block, for example. Or bad connection the starter post where the main positive cable goes and splits off into smaller wires that continue into the car's fusebox and ignition switch.

Also, the fusible links on the cables attached to the starter can be broken, try wiggling them a little bit, see if you get electricity.

While tracing this dead connection, it helps to have the park lamps / tail lights on to see the result immediately when you're wiggling wires for example.

Hope this helps.
Lou
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Old 05-11-2009, 05:25 PM   #6
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Re: No power, no lights, does not start

will try this. thanks a lot!!!
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Old 05-13-2009, 01:18 AM   #7
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Re: No power, no lights, does not start

Lou YOU ARE THE MAN!!!! Thanks a lot! It was the cable connection on the pos cable to starter. Thank you very much!!!
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Old 05-13-2009, 01:18 AM
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