2000 Chevy S10 4cyl automatic...will not start, no electricity at all, turn key nothing..
Truck started and ran fine yesterday..went to store and when I came out 5 minutes later, absolutely nothing happens when I turn key...not even a dome light. It has a new battery and starter. Is this possibly due to ignition switch or neutral safety switch? It has been cold here...was around zero degrees F when it happened and truck had not warmed up yet.
I have tried moving shifter into different gears moving key back and forth, but no change.
Basics Pull the battery terminals and clean them. put a meter on the battery and measure its voltage. Batteries have been known to fail five minutes after leaving the store. Measure the voltage with a load on like the head lights turned on. Bus bars have been known to crack in batteries, read good with no load and as soon as one hits, nada. If it has two cables on the pos terminal, pull the bolt out and the spacer between the cables and make sure everything is clean.
Try this. You'll need an assistant. Open the hood. Locate the positive battery terminal. Have the assistant turn the key to start. Instruct the assistant to release the key if ANYTHING happens at anytime during this exercise. While the assistant is holding the key to start. Reach to the positive terminal, (MAKE SURE THAT YOUR HANDS AND ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU VALUE ARE OUT OF THE WAY OF ANYTHING THAT MIGHT MOVE) and wiggle the wires attached to it. It might start, it might just click, or it might turn over without starting. Any of the three indicate that your positive battery terminals on the cable are corroded. If it is, you can replace the cable or you can clean the cable. Cleaning it is not simple. You must cut away the boot that insulates the two cables that are there. You then seperate the terminal stack, that being the thru bolt the starter cable terminal, the lead washer, then the body cable terminal. You may notice some green, and/or white gunky powder. If the green gunk goes down into the twisted part of the cable, just replace it, cuz it will be corrided again in short order. Green is copper corrosion, white is lead corrosion. The cause of this is battery acid leaking on this terminal stack, which is composed of a cadmium plated bolt, a tin plated copper terminal, then a lead washer followed by another tin plated copper terminal. This combined with current flow, is a prime recipe for corrosion. If you have to replace the cable, consider changing to a top post battery and eliminate the problem.
Had the same thing happen to my 01 after going to the grocery store, nothing,nada,no crank,nuttin. Popped the hood wiggled the positive cable and the whole cable lug came out of the battery and then all the electrolyte started pouring out. This happened about a year and a half old, I had to walk across the street to Walmart and buy a battery to get home. Then clean up up all the electrolyte spillage. Not quite professional grade in my opinion....
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