Car wont start. Any help appreciated.

[mauibarber]

Hey everyone,
Went out this morning and the 69 wouldnt start.  I thought it was a dead battery so I charged it and went to work.  Came back put the battery in and nothing.  Checked the battery and its reading 12.9 amps.  I can't get even the radio or dome light to come on.  Where do I start checking?

I figure its a bad ground somewhere but I don't see any other major grounds besides the one off the battery.
-Alex

[Charger1973]

Check your battery cables.

[mauibarber]

Went out to the car again.  Opened the door and the dome light came on and car would start.  Turned off car.

Decided to check cables.  All I did was disconnect negative ground cable on battery.  Then reconnect it and again car was DEAD.  What the heck is going on? 

[Charger1973]

Check the inside of the cables for corrosion.  I had a truck that would do the same thing.  Replaced the negative cable and it was fine after that.  They are cheap enough.. 

[mauibarber]

Played with the battery cables for another 20 min and could not get the car goin again.

Pardon my ignorance but if the ground cable was to blame coulnd't I wiggle it enough and get the dome light to come back on?
If the cable isn't the answer is there anything else I should check that would effect the whole car not coming on?
-Alex

[Charger1973]

I dont know man thats my best guess.  Sometimes cable can go bad and they still look fine on the outside...  Maybe someone else has an idea?   

[mauibarber]

Went out again to check stuff out.  Wiggled wires at or around the bulkhead connector and car had juice again.  What wire in the bulkhead connector supplies current for the entire car?  Could you tell me which letter it is on the diagram below?  When I try to trace the wires back to the battery I can't see anything.

Also, where does the end connector for Bulkhead connector "W" go.  Mine was loose in the car.
http://www.jani-immonen.net/charger/wiring/wiring2.jpg

-Alex

[no318]

It looks like "J" to me is the one that comes from the starter relay "B+" terminal and supplies power through a fuseble link to the connector on the firewall. 

[mauibarber]

Does anybody know where the wire with the rubber cap that come off "W" is supposed to go?

Is it me or is the design of the bulkhead connector kinda sucky? 

[Ghoste]

It's for the brake light warning switch which should be on a little brass valve affair under your master cylinder somewhere.  And yes, the bulkhead connector is a pita.

[Charger_Fan]

If some of the terminals in your bulkhead connector are worn out enough to cause intermittent power outages like that, you may want to try & get that fixed soon. You don't wanna end up like this guy did. It's an inconvienience for now, but that alternative is MUCH worse!

[Brock Samson]

you gonna put them on your site bronzy?.. 

[mopar1]

I believe your problem is very similar to what I went through and is a very easy fix.Your battery has juice but you need a battery connection tool.It eliminates the build up on the battery posts and the inner sides of the connectors.I spent a total of one minute cleaning away the build up.I re connected her and she fired right up. Worth a try for the 3 dollar canadian investment.

  good luck

[mauibarber]

All the wiring in the engine compartment is brand new.  Battery and cables are brand new and clean.

I believe it was a loose wire at the "J" connection of the bulkhead.  Haven't had any problems today.  I got about 500 horses under the hood so its very possible the vibration knocked it loose or something.  There is no burn marks or melted wires anywhere on the bulkhead connector.

Thanks for your help.
-Alex