Olds enthusiasts, I need you assistance again. My 71 Cutlass will not start! I was driving fine all day when I return home I shut it off in the driveway for about 5 minutes, when I tried starting it nothing happen. I have recently put in a new battery, alternator, and belts. I check my coil and I have 12.6 volts. But when I turn the key I get nothing, the radio does not illuminate. I have no power at all. Can anyone tell me where to start troubleshooting next?

 

Does the engine crank ? Have you checked the ballast resistor. If it is not cranking need to check the starter . and the starter solinoid to ensure they are working.

 

try hot-wiring it, and work your way up...

 

Since you've got no power, you have to look in places that ALL the power goes through, which pretty much leaves you with the battery terminals, the cables from the battery to the engine and to the starter, the ground strap from the engine to the firewall, and the thick red wire from the starter to the terminal block on the horn relay.

Check your battery terminals and cable ends first - there can be no corrosion.
Use a battery terminal brush on the terminals and the clamps - the mating surfaces must be SHINY, not dull grey.

If that doesn't do it, check the other ends of the cables and continue on from there.

Other possibilities include a dead short in the starter or maybe the starter solenoid, which would draw your power down with the key in the START position.

- Eric

 

Clean your battery terminals if it does not crank. If it still does not crank see if you have battery volts at the starter S terminal while someone turns the key to start. If you do then whack the starter with a BFH acouple of times while someone turns the key to start.

 

My 72 recently did something very similar. Although my car has a lot of custom wiring and our exact problems probably aren't the same, there is a lot of good information on what to check in the thread I started.

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...mid-drive.html

MDchanic and oldcutlass above were very helpful.

 

Look closely at the horn relay to make sure the wires are good.

 

Thanks for all the help, it was as simple as the ground from the battery having a bad connection

 

Glad its fixed!