Slick 60's

Something can be firmly attached but still not make good contact.

I drove home for lunch yesterday and the truck was running a bit "odd". It got cold here yesterday so I figured it was just some choke issue. When I got back in the truck to go back to work though, I turned the key "on" and the heater blower came on for about 3 seconds then went off. Everything on the dash was dead. No headlights. Nothing. I went through a mental checklist: battery? alternator? lock cylinder? fuse? wiring?

Battery had 12.8 volts. Took it down to the store and had it tested. It was good. Hooked it to the charger and it showed it had full charge. So, I turned the key to "on" and turned on the headlights. Everything started working for 4 or 5 seconds then went dead again. I left everything in the "on" position and just started tugging on all the wires under the dash a little to see if it was maybe a short or broken wire. Nothing.

Got under the hood and started jiggling wires. Still nothing.

I tugged on the positive and negative battery cables where they attached to the solenoid and block respectively. Where the negative cable attached to the block I saw tiny sparks. What the heck? The bolt was really tight to the block. Definitely not a "bad connection". Jiggle it again, and more tiny little sparks. Then I looked and the headlights were on now. I pulled it apart and wire wheeled all the rust off the block and the thick washer and reassembled. It started right up and purred like a kitten.

So, just because something is well attached physically, doesn't mean it's well attached electrically. I'm sure none of that is news to anyone here, but I'm still learning.

Yes ... I have seen that too
Doesn't seem possible that rust can build up underneath
But it does ....
Whenever I attach electric cables , I try to
Grind a shiny surface on cable end , and the surface both
Then I put some grease on there (whatever I have on hand)

At least you persisted & found it !

Glad you found it!
This is IMHO also why one should inspect old battery cables to insure they are of the proper gauge and just because they have insulation on the outside doesn't mean that they are not corroded somewhat on the inside. This goes for most old wiring inn general. Electrical stuff has always been my weak point in working on this stuff and I'm not proud of it!

slick4x4 wrote:Then I put some grease on there (whatever I have on hand)

Dialectric grease? Does that inhibit the rust at all?

No ... I'll just use any kind of grease
Out of a grease gun ....
Bearing grease ...

It's one of those things that ..

It may not help....

But it sure doesn't hurt

Was the boss ticked off when you didn't make it back after lunch? Tom

I actually called my coworker to come and pick me up and bring me back and he obliged . This truck has been my daily driver for a while now, and I’ve helped probably half a dozen people with jump starts and such in the parking lot. Its always funny to see my old truck jump starting a Lexus. Lol. One lady the other day had a new Nissan Rogue and the drivers door just wouldn’t open. You hit the little button on the handle and it just beeped 3 times and wouldn’t release. She was too big to crawl overt the center console from the passenger side so she had to get towed. For a freakin door sensor! Gimme an old car any day over that.