Anyone know whats happening here???
I put the battery in, then i have power, but if i try to turn anything on OR crank the car, POOF, no power... I have to then disconnect the battery, and reconnect it...

Then all over again, same result, time after time...

Any ideas???

 

You say you have power when the battery is "re-connected", how do you know this if you get nothing when you turn something on or try to start? Are you saying the "dummy" lights are working but nothing else? Then when you draw on the battery even they go out?

 

I had this exact same problem. I replaced the bad battery (one of the cells was bad) and it fixed the problem. Go to a parts store and have your battery tested. Most do it for free.

 

check and make sure the cables are clean and tight at not only the battery but also on the ground point on the strut tower and the ground point at the upper left bellhousing bolt. you may also want to check the positive connection on the starter as well..just for good measure

 

yep. happened to me too. it was a bad connection at the battery post. i replaced the connection on the battery cable and cleaned everything up and it never happened again

 

That might be the battery. Try a new battery, or one that you know is good.

 

Corroded or loose high-current contact somewhere, or a bad cell in the battery.

 

After checking the Fusable links, (good) BRAND NEW BATTERY (which is why i didnt check the battery).

The lights would pop up, i had all electrical power (including AC blower, gauge dummy lights, turn signals, radio, brake lights etc. etc...) Then i would turn the key to "START" and lose all power..

after some calling around to some people, we decided the starter was hung and causing a large enough power draw to kill all electrical systems but NOT blow the link.

After a couple whacks with the BFH the starter broke loose and Viola! Problem solved...

Frozen starter was the culprit!

Thanks for the responses!

 

There's no fusible link on the main motor feed for the starter; Positive battery cable goes direct from the battery to the starter solenoid and into the starter motor brushes & windings. The fuse link is for the solenoid winding only.

So, you had a dead short thru the starter windings, due to the stalled starter. Good thing you didn't hold it in "start" for long, or you would have either melted something or cooked off the battery!