There are two large spade style connectors coming from the fuse box in the wire bundle on the left side of the passenger foot well. I found significant corrosion in these connectors and was surprised they actually still conducted. The wires are white and white with a red stripe and provide power to the fuse panel.

OK, went out this AM and just for grins put my charger on the battery. The charger showed a full charge, but now the lights work, and the starter solenoid clicked like mad when turned to start, just like a dead battery would do when charging. I checked all my ground connections and they were all making good contact (not with a meter), so now I'm really puzzled could it really be the battery even when it shows good voltage, its about 2 years old? Could it be the alternator suddenly gone bad, I've noticed the gauge kinds flickering on the + side, but yesterday was steady right in the middle?

Edited July 18, 201311 yr by mjr45

Try another battery charger.

Your battery might be at the end of it's lifespan. It might have voltage, but be lacking the amperage to actually power anything. My guess is it might be a combination of some sketchy corroded connections & a battery that can't flow the needed current.

Or a bad battery charger.

I had the charger hooked up for about 2 hours and still no joy, the starter solenoid clicks and lights work with the charger in place but stone cold dead without it. I know the charger is good because its been trickle charging my deep cycle battery's for 2 days and brought the charge up on them. I think you're right Captain, it has voltage but no amps, which matbe why it'll run the dome lamp and nothing else.

Edited July 18, 201311 yr by mjr45

If your lights came back and the the starter got back up to click level, I would go back to Post #2. Check the connection between the wire end and the clamp also, odds are you have aftermarket clamps on corroded wire ends.

bad battery

bad battery

Could you try and jump start it?

I mean use jumper cables and another battery.

Edited July 19, 201311 yr by siteunseen

Put a meter on the battery and try to start. I bet she drops below 10v. Get a new battery

I've had batteries in the past that have showed good voltage but lacked any meaningful amperage. I believe it has to do with broken plates at the terminal post. With a broken plate there is no way for the current to make its way through the battery. Since there is no path to ground a charger that has starting capability may not remedy the problem.

Edited July 19, 201311 yr by Gary in NJ

Thanks for all the replies, I spoke to my son who does electrical stuff on aircraft and according to him, battery's can show good volts but as soon as a load is applied the voltage drops way down, which would cause whats happening, and that when on the charger, it probably doesn't put out enough amps to turn the starter. So I'll be buying a new battery and will let everyone know what happens. I hate electrical crap!

Batteries, like every other part of an electrical circuit has internal resistance. When current flow through a resistor, a voltage drop occurs according to Ohm's Law, Voltage = Current x Resistance.

With no current flow, there is no voltage drop. Once you apply a load, current flows and voltage at the terminals drops. As you increase current, say by adding the load of a starter, the internal voltage drop can increase dramatically.

In Florida, batteries typically last 24-36 months due to heat and your failure mode is typical. How do we get around this? We buy the best battery that WalMart carries, and when they fail, get a free replacement under warranty. The replacement battery comes with a new warranty.

Edited July 19, 201311 yr by djwarner