Good Battery - No Power 1970 Chrysler 300

[Waggy]

Well, I thought I would take the 300 for a run in the sun! I hate Chrysler electrical! The radio works, but when I turn the key on to start, sounds like the starter starts to engage and then I lose TOTAL power to the car. Radio, lights, nothing works. I disconnect the battery and reconnect, then all is fine as long as I do not want to start the car.



When I had the halogen light issue, someone told me there was something in the car that would turn the power off if there was too much of a current draw, but I never figured out where or what he was talking about. I went back to the old lights and things were good.

Earlier, when I was replacing the radio, I noticed if I removed all of the fuses in the fuse box inside the car, and connected the wires to the positive battery post, the fused wire had current going through it. I noted it, to look at later.

I think I have a power problem as the switch on the radio, the power window relay, the speaker and the power driver seat either went or was not connected.

I have had a shop convert the car to run Halogen lights on their own circuit and relay.



Any ideas?

 

[Big_John]

It could be a few things.

First thing I would check is all the connections at the battery, grounds and starter. I'd do a voltage drop test to check the battery cables.

Explained here:

It might also be the ignition switch or the dash wiring. Simplest way to check is to jumper the starter relay across the battery connection to the starter solenoid connection.

 

[Big_John]

Oh.. and it could also be the fusible link too. You could temporally jumper across that... but just to test.

 

[Ironwolf]

And it always could be ,,,,,,

That pesky bulkhead fuse block connector.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

First thing to check when that happens in my experience are the connections to the battery posts. Remove, clean well, reinstall and tighten. It's almost always the posts are dirty and the terminals are slightly loose.

Check the negative connection to the block.

Check the connections to the starter relay and starter terminal.

 

[Turboomni]

I had a similar problem and eventually found the connectors for the fusible link were rather loose and dirty. Let us know what you find out and good luck.

 

[65sporty]

The guy's have given you some good places to start, PLEASE report back with your findings

 

[Waggy]

And it always could be ,,,,,,

That pesky bulkhead fuse block connector.

 

[Waggy]

What and where is the bulkhead fuse block? Are you talking about the fuse block in the car or should I be looking into the connection of the fuse box through the firewall?

 

[Big_John]

What and where is the bulkhead fuse block? Are you talking about the fuse block in the car or should I be looking into the connection of the fuse box through the firewall?

Before you tear into that, jumper the starter relay as I suggested above. That bypasses all the wiring into the firewall, under the dash etc.

While there could be a problem with the connections to the fuse block, you want to be sure that the problem is not under the hood.

What he is talking about is the connections that go through the firewall. They are prone to corrosion and loosening. It would be the first place to look after you've done some basic diagnosis. I use a product called Deoxit to clean them if needed.

 

[Waggy]

It could be a few things.

First thing I would check is all the connections at the battery, grounds and starter. I'd do a voltage drop test to check the battery cables.

Explained here:

It might also be the ignition switch or the dash wiring. Simplest way to check is to jumper the starter relay across the battery connection to the starter solenoid connection.

 

[Waggy]

Great video, thanks!

 

[Ironwolf]

What and where is the bulkhead fuse block? Are you talking about the fuse block in the car or should I be looking into the connection of the fuse box through the firewall?

Yes in the engine bay...... see some pictures below.

 

[thrashingcows]

SOunds like a bad connection in the starter system....those starter pull a lot of amps, and if there is a weak positive, or negative connection at the battery, block, frame/firewall, starter etc....it will arc out and not want to roll over.

I never tighten my battery cables, just snug enough to keep them in place, but loose enough that if I have an electrical issue, or melt down (which is why I do this now) you can quickly pop the hood and pull one of the battery cables off. With the looser connections I some times have a hard time getting a tight and clean connection, usually after removing the battery or cables for some reason, and when I got to start the vehicle it will arc at the battery terminal and I will loose most of the power to the vehicle. Remove, clean, and re-adjust and try again...eventually I get it in the sweet spot and I have no more issues.

 

[Waggy]

I am thinking there is a starter relay problem. I do not understand it, but all the power for the car seems to go through the starter relay. As soon as the starter clicks, the total car loses power for ever. The only way to get power back to my lights, radio etc is to disconnect the battery, then all is fine until I try to start again. I would have expected the starter to drain the power while it was trying to start and then I stopped trying to start it, the radio would be back on. I put the volt meter across the battery and turned the key, there was a constant 12.76 volts, before, during and after I turned the key and lost the power to the car. I connected the volt meter to the positive on the battery and the other end to the top bolt on the starter relay and there was no volts, I tried again to the lower bolt and there was 12.68. I repeated it with the fuse wire disconnected and in both cases the voltage was 12.69

Will keep looking, atleast it is easy to create the problem. I just turn the key on, hear a click and then mo power unless I disconnect one of the two smaller wires that I assume goes to the solenoid, then there is no click and no lost of power. It seems like the starter is drawing power and kicking out a breaker, but just where?

 

[Waggy]

SOunds like a bad connection in the starter system....those starter pull a lot of amps, and if there is a weak positive, or negative connection at the battery, block, frame/firewall, starter etc....it will arc out and not want to roll over.

I never tighten my battery cables, just snug enough to keep them in place, but loose enough that if I have an electrical issue, or melt down (which is why I do this now) you can quickly pop the hood and pull one of the battery cables off. With the looser connections I some times have a hard time getting a tight and clean connection, usually after removing the battery or cables for some reason, and when I got to start the vehicle it will arc at the battery terminal and I will loose most of the power to the vehicle. Remove, clean, and re-adjust and try again...eventually I get it in the sweet spot and I have no more issues.

But would that take out all the car's power like someone has removed the battery?

 

[thrashingcows]

Yup it sure could....I know on my wagon it kills all the power to the entire car. Adjust the terminals and try again...then "snap"...which is the arc, then no power. Eventually I get it right and everything is good to go.

But if you haven't cleaned all the connections from the battery, to the starter, to the block and body do that first....especially the grounds, super important to keeping these old wiring systems in good functioning condition. I redo all my grounds, and battery connections every year or two....remove and sand connections and wire ends to clean bare metal, then a dab of di-electric grease and re-install.

 

[Big_John]

See the two connections on the starter relay? Without turning the key or doing anything else, stick an old screwdriver between them. If the engine doesn't turn over or does the same thing as before, it's a bad connection/cable at the battery, starter, or ground.

 

[ceebuddy]

I once had this issue. As it turned out, the copper strands of the plus cable where they end in the clamp of the terminal for the battery were all corroded green. I could turn on the lights, etc. but the draw of current of the starter motor was too much - no cranking, everything dead.

A cleanup of the cable strands was all it took to get everything back to normal.

 

[Snotty]

I had a similar experience, and checked all of the things mentioned above. Took the car to my mechanic buddy and he put a volt reader on the starter. It was drawing too much voltage. He looked at me and said, "Replace the starter." Problem was fixed. Prior to doing so I went through two voltage regulators - and two tows home.