New old truck trouble

[serrano2782]

Hi all, Just picked up a 1970 chevy c-10 and everything was running great for a week. Now it wont start. I replace the battery and still no start. When I turn the key theres no crank or anything. Any ideas what my problem is?

[Coley]

...does the truck have any electrical power?
Lets start here:
Do your lights work? does the radio, heater and turn signals work when the ignition switch is on?
Do you have an electrical tester and basic tools and testing skills?
Coley

[serrano2782]

Just changed the battey but no the headlights arent turning on

[Coley]

Originally Posted by serrano2782

Just changed the battey but no the headlights arent turning on

does anything work...with the ignition switch turned on? (signals, heater, radio?)

Coley

[hamjet]

Also while you're at it check the small wire from the + battery cable to the small block on the pass. fender to see if its broken...

[serrano2782]

No

[FRANKENSTEINC10]

make sure you didn't pull any wires loose with your feet from the fuse box or accidentally cut break any. your lights should come on with out the key so you have a break in connection somewhere.

[imjeff]

Time to begin building a healthy foundation for your electrical system. Make sure you have a good ground from your battery to your engine and good ground straps from the engine to the body (ground straps sometimes get removed over time). To make sure your battery ground is good, replace it with an oversized one and make sure there is good contact (no rust or paint). I would replace the pos. cable at the same time with as big of one as you can get. I usually convert to side terminals during this ritual, but since you have a new battery, go with what you have. Don't just replace terminal ends because those wires often corrode and break in the sheath. I'm assuming this will give you power to the starter solinoid and a clean place to start. I usually convert to a ford solinoid to cut off any heat related starting problems, but that doesn't sound like your issue.

Jeff

[Coley]

Serrano, you need to start with a very good visual and physical testing of connections starting at the battery and moving to not only the ignition switch (under the dash) but to the main electrical fuse box as mentioned above. Do not just lift the hood with one hand and look in....that isn't going to cut it.
Time to get some work clothes on!!....LOL
Now, again....do you have an electrical tester and are you familiar with testing connection points on a 12 volt system?
Are you familiar with how to test for 'continuity' with the same electrical tester?

[serrano2782]

Never done any type of electrical work myself. Im going to check out the cords today and work from there. Im sure some may need to be replaced

[Coley]

Originally Posted by serrano2782

Never done any type of electrical work myself. Im going to check out the cords today and work from there. Im sure some may need to be replaced

No worries....if you are extremely thorough....and carefully and fully inspect the main wiring runs you will probably find the point of fault....so start with that.
Most of these no power/no start issues are pretty minor in complexity or cost...they just need to be found to be fixed.
C.

[serrano2782]

Thanks for all your help

[Hugh Mongus]

Did you make sure the new battery had charge? New batterys aren't always charged.

Also, as mentioned before, make sure the little red wire from your positive terminal on the battery to the junction block on your fender is connected, clean, and tight. Nothing will work if that wire is not connected properly.

[Thundarr]

Could be lots of things but check the ground strap first.
Do you have access to voltmeter?
You can get one at any hardware or auto parts store for as low as $10.

If so, this is how you do it. Set the voltmeter to DC 12v or 50v mode, Measure the volts across the pos and neg terminals of the battery to make sure your new battery isn't already dead. If the needle moves, its still good. Now, touch the positive probe to the positive terminal of the battery and then touch the negative probe to any bare metal on the engine block. If the needle jumps, you have a bad ground strap. Then, replace ground strap.