it was going to be a short goodbye, BUT.......

[KenD]

Well, guys, it has been years that I have been on this forum and you have all helped me tremendously in fixing my car and overcoming the fears that come with fixing a car such as "what if i can't put it back together again!?!?!" LOL.

In any case, I was going to come on here and say a quick goodbye and good luck. The 94 STS has now been parked in favour of a Dodge Grand Caravan. With a growing family and the wife nagging there's no more room in here Toyota Rav4, there was not much choice in the matter if you know what i mean. So, I washed my little money pit and parked it by the extra garage till I could pull out the boat and park it in there.

Now the snow has melted and I am ready to swap the boat and car and low and behold, I go to start the car and I have NO POWER. NONE, NADA, NILCH. Dash does not even light up. Battery is fully charged and the car was working great right up to parking it over a month ago. I had even gone into the car by using the keyless remote about a week afterwards so i know that it was working then. I unhooked the battery and put it back on yesterday after letting it sit the night and still nothing.

I'm at a loss at where to start. I checked a few fuses under the hood and they all looked good. If someone could give me a starting point that would be great.

Almost gone, but not yet.

[BodybyFisher]

My impression is that the car has sat for awhile?

Hmm, my first thought would have been the positive cable, did you check it for corrosion and tightness?

Then check the relay center, reset the relays, especially the starter relay

If it has sat for awhile, don't assume that the battery is 100%, it might be enough for lights but not enough to start her

What do you plan to do with the Caddy?, keep me in mind, I'd give her a good home. I believe that we all come back to Caddy, once we drive something else. Right now I am driving my wife's Monte Carlo and believe me its painful, I think I have screwed up the transmission driving it like a Northstar...

Sad to see you go Ken, you took care of her well, maybe we can help you one last time.

[BodybyFisher]

Also check codes. I trust you don't think this is Security system related?

[KenD]

My impression is that the car has sat for awhile?

Hmm, my first thought would have been the positive cable, did you check it for corrosion and tightness?

Then check the relay center, reset the relays, especially the starter relay

If it has sat for awhile, don't assume that the battery is 100%, it might be enough for lights but not enough to start her

What do you plan to do with the Caddy?, keep me in mind, I'd give her a good home. I believe that we all come back to Caddy, once we drive something else. Right now I am driving my wife's Monte Carlo and believe me its painful, I think I have screwed up the transmission driving it like a Northstar...

Sad to see you go Ken, you took care of her well, maybe we can help you one last time.

Hey BBF! Problem is that I have no power to anything. Battery is fully charged as when i put it on my charger it reads 100%. I double check my charger to see if it was broken by putting my boat battery on it as I know that loses charge over the winter and it right away went to 70% and the charging light went on. I would love to be able to check the codes, but can't. It was about 10pm last night and I was just finishing doing the front brakes on the wife's (now mine) RAV so I figured i'd plop the battery in the caddy to see if having it out overnight would help but I got the same result of no power. And when i mean no power, i mean it's lights out, nothing, not even a chime or interior lights.

I will check the positive cable again although when i do place the negative side mount contact on the batt to screw it on, i would usually get a spark, but I got nothing there either.

How do I reset the relays?

as for what i am doing with it, i was just going to store it. It doesn't owe me anything so I was going to put it away for a rainy day project. It is still running slightly rough, but it probably just needs a good cleaning or a new coil (which i have but haven't had time to screw around with swapping them out). I just replaced the rad, alternator, front and rear brakes of course all with the help or y'all. But if I can't get any juice to it, I don't know how long the wife will let me keep it around. And yes, I'm whipped.

[BodybyFisher]

Take your positive cable apart and clean it, it certainly sounds like a positive cable to me.

Hmm, I'd check that battery for sure, take it to a shop for a load test to be sure

When I say reset I mean pull them (Relays and MAXIFUSES) out and reinstall them, that will 'reseat' them and clean the contacts of any oxidation corrosion. However, given that you have NO power at all, I can not think of a relay or FUSE that will cut out all power, Ill check the FSM, maybe a MAXIFUSE can cause NO power at all.

Check the battery out and the positive cable for the hell of it...

One more thing, as you know, the positive cable breaks into two wires, one goes to the starter and one to the relay center. Remove the negative battery cable, and clean the connection at the relay center by R&Ring it. Its connected by a single 10mm nut.

Whipped

[BodybyFisher]

One more thing, check the grounds

[BSchlossmann]

With having no power what so ever, I would take a volt meter and check the voltage across the battery and then check the positive side of the battery to a ground anywhere on the engine or frame.

It sounds as though you either have a bad ground or a poor power connection. As previously recommended, take the connections off the battery and give them a good cleaning. There also exists a possibilty that one or both of these cables a corroded out from the inside. This means that from the outside it looks good but can't carry any current.

Lastly, have the squirrels decided to take up residence in your engine compartment and choose the cable(s) for a snack.

[KenD]

With having no power what so ever, I would take a volt meter and check the voltage across the battery and then check the positive side of the battery to a ground anywhere on the engine or frame.

It sounds as though you either have a bad ground or a poor power connection. As previously recommended, take the connections off the battery and give them a good cleaning. There also exists a possibilty that one or both of these cables a corroded out from the inside. This means that from the outside it looks good but can't carry any current.

Lastly, have the squirrels decided to take up residence in your engine compartment and choose the cable(s) for a snack.

I'll take the cables apart again and clean them up and reconnect. I did a quick once over last night with my trouble light checking my negative cable(s) to ground as well as my positive cables but it was dark and it was quick. As for the squirrels, that has certainly crossed my mind. I have a couple acres just outside the city and yes, the squirrels do like my yard very much as well as skunks and the voles that have left some nice little holes in my septic field (poor suckas, lol)

Everything is leaning me toward my positive cable now that i've thrown this out in the open. I'll take my volt meter and do some random testing along the line.

thx guys.

[BodybyFisher]

Here is the 96 Starting Circuit Schematic, note the BATT1 (50A fuse) and BATT2 (30A fuse), definately R&R them and test them with an ohm meter to eliminate the possibility

,

[BodybyFisher]

The two grounds showing G100 and G105 are located as follows:

G100 - RH front corner of Engine Compartment, on Upper Radiator Support

G105 - RH front corner of Engine, near Generator

(you are going to miss us Ken, )

[KenD]

Thanks for the schematic. I'll pull the two maxi fuses and clean them off and reinsert first before probing. i did check the initial ground G105 and although the nut is a bit 'rusty' it's been like that for as long as i can remember. I'll look for the other one by the rad support. I'm pretty sure with the ammunition you guys gave me I can find the problem.

Any yes, i will miss you all. I've been on a Dodge discussion forum and it is no where near as informative and responsive as this one is. No comparison at all.

I guess i can't write myself off as of yet as i need to isolate this problem and when I do i'll be sure to post my findings.

Ken

[KenD]

well, it's the darn battery. swapped it out for the one in my Z71 as they are the same side post mounts and the car started right away. Don't know why it won't take a charge though. Battery is only about 6 months old at best....

Thanks for all the helpful insight! This site is truly one of a kind!!!

I'll still be kicking around here every once and a while.

Cheers!

Ken

[Texas Jim]

Ken,

Glad you found the problem.

Don't be a stranger around here.

[BodybyFisher]

Glad you found the problem Ken. That is the worst kind of problem, battery is six months old, so its unlikely the problem and its overlooked.....

Remember to keep the Caddy's battery charged it will die if the car sits, Mike

[JimD]

well, it's the darn battery. swapped it out for the one in my Z71 as they are the same side post mounts and the car started right away. Don't know why it won't take a charge though. Battery is only about 6 months old at best....

Cast this lesson in concrete in your memory bank.

Battery condition is NOT related to battery age. You can buy a useless battery off-the-shelf at a parts store.

That's why I sing the "battery load test" song every time I stumble on a starting problem. The primary purpose of the battery is to crank the engine!

[adallak]

well, it's the darn battery. swapped it out for the one in my Z71 as they are the same side post mounts and the car started right away. Don't know why it won't take a charge though. Battery is only about 6 months old at best....

Cast this lesson in concrete in your memory bank.

Battery condition is NOT related to battery age. You can buy a useless battery off-the-shelf at a parts store.

That's why I sing the "battery load test" song every time I stumble on a starting problem. The primary purpose of the battery is to crank the engine!

That's what I say when I buy a battery - I do not care of the voltage it shows. Could you please LOAD TEST IT? Thank you! Now I have got a battery load tester just for leas than $20 from Harbor Freight.