Dead

Battery is a year old. Connections clean and tight. Again no lights, fuel pump, etc.
Will try horn today.
The wiring diagram shows a "circuit breaker" in the circuit (obviously :)).
Does it "reset" or is it a one time deal.
Thanks for the help/suggestions so far.
Paul in CT


As I previously stated it ran perfect in the garage the day before after sitting since last Nov.


3/19 update, found corrosion on the Neg batt cable at the solenoid as V8COOPMAN said I would. I'm 76 and a stubborn Swede who wears tri-focals. It's alive now.
 
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Battery is a year old. Connections clean and tight. Again no lights, fuel pump, etc.
Will try horn today.
The wiring diagram shows a "circuit breaker" in the circuit (obviously :)).
Does it "reset" or is it a one time deal.
Thanks for the help/suggestions so far.
Paul in CT


As I previously stated it ran perfect in the garage the day before after sitting since last Nov.

Circut breaker is for the lights and is supposed to reset after being tripped. See if you have 6volts at your ignition switch entering and leaving switch.
 
If you have an old braided type ground strap they can get corroded and cause problems. Even though the ends may be clean at the battery they can still cause a "no start" issue.
 
Wife and I rocked it back and forth as well as we couuld.
Still have 6.3 volts at the batt and to the sol. Everything else id dead, no lights, elec fuel pump, etc.


Any new thoughts??
Paul in CT


Paul....This is a pretty simple circuit to troubleshoot. And you have one BIG clue already going for you......EVERYTHING is dead! Likely, you have one bad connection that needs cleaning/tightening. I take it that you have a volt meter, as you said you verified 6.3v at the battery. So, lets do a methodical troubleshoot using your volt meter.

Put your meter on the "DC Volts" range. I'm assuming that you are still POS Ground.

1st.....Place POS meter probe on the HEAD next to where it grounds on the engine head bolt (or wherever the ground is connected). Place the NEG probe on the big nut on the solenoid that the NEG battery cable connects to. Your meter should read about 6v. IF it DOES NOT read 6v (and I'd be surprised if it does), we are very close to finding the problem.

IF your meter does NOT read the full 6v during that check, there are only FOUR connections that could cause that problem. I would first clean and tighten the two BATTERY connections, as they are the easiest to R&R. After doing those two battery connections, re-check the original check with voltmeter to determine whether you now have a 6v reading.

IF you STILL do not have 6v reading, I would first disconnect the POS battery cable from the battery. Then, disconnect the NEG battery cable from the SOLENOID post. This is likely the bad/corroded/dirty connection. Clean and wire-brush ALL the wire connectors and the threaded solenoid post. THIS IS THE CONNECTION where the lights, ignition, starter button, horn get their power. Re-connect the wires that you removed and cleaned on that threaded post. Re-connect the NEG battery cable. Now, re-test your very first test with the meter. IF you now have 6v, your problem is solved.

IF you still read less than 6v (or even zero volts), the only suspect point left is the GROUND connection on the engine for the POS battery cable. R&R that connection. Clean/brush as necessary. Re-connect, and measure with meter from that GROUND point to the NEG post on battery. You should see 6v. If so, your problem is solved.

IF you still see any reading much below 6v, then you need to find a better boy than me! But I have faith!! DD







.........
 
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V8COOPMAN
Thank you for the detailed instructions. Will do ! !


Thank you to all the other contributors to my problem.
What's baffling to me is it ran the day before this happened............


Paul in CT
 
V8COOPMAN
Thank you for the detailed instructions. Will do ! !

What's baffling to me is it ran the day before this happened............


Stuff happens! If we lived in a perfect world, these old used cars would keep on ticking forever! Let us know how it turns-out. DD
 
V8COOPMAN
Thank you to all the other contributors to my problem.
What's baffling to me is it ran the day before this happened............
Paul in CT

Not that unusual. When something becomes borderline, it can become like an on/off switch. I it just "good" enough one day and not the next. Don't let that cloud your trouble shooting, step-by-step is the way to go.
 
Thanks JSeery.
Too cold today, tomorrow looks the same. Will run the checks as soon as I can get out there again.
Paul in CT
 
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