Fred is dead!

[moparedtn]

I haven't had Fred out in almost a month now (reasons - I'll write a story here soon with details) so today I fire him up and take
a quick ride to town for errands - and he performs as usual.
However, when I came out of the gas station and jump in to crank him up, I got a quick "thunk", followed by silence.
No cranky, no lights on dash, whole damn shooting match went dark.
Never happened before - there's never been so much as a slow crank issue with Fred, ever.

I quickly checked terminals at the battery and such; no dice, all good there (and no shorts indicated upon disconnect/reconnect).
At that point, with no tools and it being hot as hell as usual, I summon a tow and get Fred back to the house...and I'm pissed.
I check the battery out and it's good - 12.6, charger says "fully charged".

I hook the positive back up and go for the old jumping the starter relay trick - and all it does is spark a little between the two
terminals with no starter activation at all, not even a click down there....
Guess I'll be under the car tomorrow to check the starter connections out??
Hell I don't know, electrical stuff ain't my bag.
I do know I can't stand much more bad juju right about now; this ain't helping matters.

Now what?

 

[Dennis H]

Bulkhead Connector. Jiggle and spray. Gently though. Nothing to lose.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Possible starter, possible the cable or trigger wire down the starter got damaged.. Headers? If so possibly the wires got cooked... Sorry for your misfortune... Happens to all of us and yeah, these cars don't care if the timing sucks....

 

[khryslerkid]

Fred's looking for some attention

Does that year have the fusible link?

If you're crawling under it please use jack stands!

 

[1 Wild R/T]

After re-reading Ed's post the "no lights on dash" kinda eliminates the starter...
The "no crank when jumping the relay" eliminates the fusible link...
I think you need to take a hard look at both battery cables... 12.6 at the battery, but what about at the battery post of the starter? How about the battery post of the starter relay?

 

[davek]

Im going with the starter. Hope its an easy fix Ed.

 

[davek]

Are the post clean on the battery and cables?

 

[F4R/T]

If you have no power to the cabin I’d look at the path in, bulk head , fuseable link , follow up to the ammeter. No crank look to the starter circuit and relay, neutral safety switch etc.

 

[RJ Squirrel]

Check the grounds too!

 

[1 Wild R/T]

If you have no power to the cabin I’d look at the path in, bulk head , fuseable link , follow up to the ammeter. No crank look to the starter circuit and relay, neutral safety switch etc.

The no crank when jumping at the relay eliminates basically all the wiring & the bulkhead... So, unless two problems suddenly appeared at the same time we can eliminate a lot of stuff....

 

[Richard Cranium]

 

[chargervert]

I'm going with what is the ten gauge red bulkhead connector for $200 Alex.

 

[Dave6T4]

I had a battery post break or erode inside the case. I shut the car off, and it would not restart. I.called a friend to help me with jumper cables, but it still would do nothing. I was about 5 miles from home, so I had my friend drive me back to my garage, where I pulled the battery from another car. I installed it in my non-operative car, and it started right up. I checked the Specific Gravity of the bum battery, and it was fully charged. I could not get a spark out of it. What really hurt was that it was a $$$ reproduction battery. Last one of those I ever bought.

 

[chargervert]

Fred is alive and well!

 

[moparedtn]

The no crank when jumping at the relay eliminates basically all the wiring & the bulkhead... So, unless two problems suddenly appeared at the same time we can eliminate a lot of stuff....

Now that I've had a chance to cool off and think a little, I remember having a bit of an issue with Fred dipping the drivers'
front tire off into the ditch on my gravel road coming off the ridge prior to the drive into town today.
He did a "bonk" down onto what I thought was the LF suspension at that time.
He would not have been shut off until I arrived at the gas station some time later and that's when the trouble started...

No idea why I didn't think of that sooner. Betting when I get under there tomorrow one will relate to the other, eh?

 

[haywire 440]

Good luck on the triage of Fred. Better keep a good fan handy to keep the sweat out of your eyes!

 

[Pecos Bill]

Imaginary friend?

 

[oldbee]

Well, if “bonk” nailed the starter then something else got boinked too. Good luck.

 

[Mopar Hunter]

I remember having a bit of an issue with Fred dipping the drivers'
front tire off into the ditch on my gravel road coming off the ridge prior to the drive into town today.

I was gonna say it was a loose nut behind the wheel.

 

[Mopar Hunter]

It’s gotta be frustrating.