car wont start

[65popred289]

The car started with no problems in the morning and started right up leaving work at 2. 2 hours later I go and try to start the car up again and nothing. The accesory lights won't come on, no radio, no lights, no juice at all. I just recently tested the battery and it was fine. I'm going to retest the battery again tomorrow, but what could it be? It had no problems starting 2 hours previously. The car is a 65 with a stock 2V 289. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Ronstang]

Check the battery cables really well, especially the gound cable that goes to the block. With bad cables your battery may not recharge properly and eventually they just blow out like a tire and won't carry enough current to make anything function. I suggest testing the battery but even if it is bad it might not be old so look for the cause, not the symptom.

 

[Pakrat]

Although a bad ground is often the culprit, (partticularly that one to the engine block), there is usually enough amperage to power the accesories still, just not the starter. The solenoid could be bad as well and is fairly cheap to replace. I suggest you buy a multi-tester if the ground isn't the problem and follow the directions to test the current between each connection. Otherwise you could replace many good parts chasing down the problem before you get to it.

 

[jesserose17]

I am curious how you test your battery? If you checked it with just a multi-meter, it's not enough. Batteries can get shorted when under load, especially when trying to start engine - I have had it happen to me twice.

 

[69PaleHorse]

Same exact thing happened to me a litttle over a month ago and I posted about it here. Turned out to be bad/missing grounds. I'd start looking there.