Battery Dead and Won’t Jump Start

Hello Austin, I have a 1975 Chevrolet nova and I replaced the battery a week ago. When I go to start it nothing works and the connections to the battery are fine, today I tried to jump start it and the same thing happened, nothing.  Before I put in this battery it would jump start with the old one too.

Today I also checked the fuses and I didn’t see anything wrong. But I cant take it anywhere because I’m painting it right now but I don’t want to mess up my new engine by not starting it

thanks
Shane

Hey Shane

Cool, a 75 Nova!

I would try doing this simple test and see what you can narrow down. This is a pretty simple electrical system so hopefully it will be easy to identify and inexpensive to repair.

1. If the headlights are bright, check the starter motor. Follow the red battery cable down under the vehicle and make sure the connections are good and tight at the starter motor AND on the battery. Double check those battery cable connections, make sure they are tight and clean!!

You can sometimes lightly tap on the starter motor with a rubber hammer or a block of wood AS someone hold the ignition key down. This can help kick start a weak starter motor. If the starter works, then you need a new one.

Also make sure the electrical system is properly grounded. Most older vehicles either grounded the battery to a fender or to the alternator bracket. Follow the large black negative battery cable and make sure the connections are clean and tight.

Lack of a ground wire could be your issue, and you can easily add another ground from the battery to any bare metal surface under the hood just to rule out a ground fault type of problem.

Here is a good video on cleaning the ground cables, double check yours

If the headlights are not bright or not working at all either, you have a loose battery cable connection, or there might be a fuse link in the battery cable somewhere.

I would follow the red battery cable around and any other cables that are connected to the battery and look for a plastic fuse holder that would hold a glass fuse. Make sure all fuses are good inside the vehicle and any inline fuses you might have are in good condition.

Regardless your vehicle age, if the battery will not jump start you either have a ground or battery cable connection problem, a starter motor problem and NOT a battery problem or a wiring or security system problem.

Start with the battery, and follow the cables.

Please share this with your friends,

Austin Davis