Changed battery cables now car wont start?

[Bradley Ambriati]

Okay so when i bought this car it would start right up with no problem. And then one day I took it to the carwash rinsed it off and then it wouldn't start but the lights still work. Wiggled the battery cables and eventually got it to come on. So I figured the cables were junk but before getting new cables I had the battery checked and was told the battery was bad so I got a new one. Still with the old cables the car would start but if it didn't I could play around with the cables and it would start eventually. This past Saturday I started the car up and it fired up on the first turn then the following day I decided to change the cables just to have some fresh new ones and bolted the cables back in the same place I pulled the old ones off of but now the car won't start and none of the lights work? What could have gone wrong?

 

[LukeZ]

Try checking for a short somewhere? If you take the positive cable off the battery and scrape the contact across the positive terminal on the battery and it sparks, then something is drawing power and you have a short (make sure the hood light is disconnected, headlamps are off, the doors are closed, etc).

Its easiest to do this in the dark, or a garage with the lights off.

 

[ed1948]

-won't start - does it crank but not start or nothing when you turn the key?
-is the battery charged or flat/dead? Can you test with a voltmeter or test light?
-were the connections clean(shiny clean) and tight?
If the battery is good and the cables are new I suspect a loose or dirty connection since nothing else was done.

 

[Bradley Ambriati]

-won't start - does it crank but not start or nothing when you turn the key?
-is the battery charged or flat/dead? Can you test with a voltmeter or test light?
-were the connections clean(shiny clean) and tight?
If the battery is good and the cables are new I suspect a loose or dirty connection since nothing else was done.

Battery is 100% and i wiped the connections down last night after i took them off and put them back on. Only things its a tight fitand hard to see down where the connection is at on the starter. Everything is tight and tried to different connection clamps and nothing (including the previous ones that worked before i changed the cables)
Only other difference was my seconday ground was a little short ao i changed that with a 12 gauge when my original one was 14 i believe of that has anything to do with it.

 

[Bradley Ambriati]

But no it doesnt start,crank, click, literally nothing at all

 

[Ribbedroof]

Did you get both fuse links back on the large starter solenoid terminal? That would account for no power inside the car.

It is also possible that handling them broke one or both internally, had that happen on my wagon during a starter change.

 

[Bradley Ambriati]

Did you get both fuse links back on the large starter solenoid terminal? That would account for no power inside the car.

It is also possible that handling them broke one or both internally, had that happen on my wagon during a starter change.

I never messed with the fuse links.
I thought about trying to ground somewhere other than the alternator.
Im gonna play around with it when i get home

 

[pontiacgp]

If the car won't turn over and you have no lights sounds like you left one of the fusible link wires off

 

[Ribbedroof]

Should have been two large gauge wires (red, usually faded to sort of an orange color) attached to the starter solenoid where the battery cable attaches. These are the fusible links or fuse links. They get brittle with age, especially given that they live close to a lot of heat. They may look good outside but be broken inside the insulation. Quick check is to give them a pull, if they stretch, they're done.

I moved mine up away from all the heat and used a remote start relay mounted to the inside of the fender to avoid heat issues and make things a little easier to work on.

 

[Bradley Ambriati]

Should have been two large gauge wires (red, usually faded to sort of an orange color) attached to the starter solenoid where the battery cable attaches. These are the fusible links or fuse links. They get brittle with age, especially given that they live close to a lot of heat. They may look good outside but be broken inside the insulation. Quick check is to give them a pull, if they stretch, they're done.

I moved mine up away from all the heat and used a remote start relay mounted to the inside of the fender to avoid heat issues and make things a little easier to work on.

Only thing on mine is the secondary ground going to the frame and the other smaller red wire going from the battery to the ignition switch or wherever it goes lol.
But it was set up this same exact way before i even bought the car and it used to start up fine.
Am i missing something?