My 1972 Ford Thunderbird has no power, no electricity even after I've replaced it with a brand new battery and installed a new alternator???

Asked by Pauly_1972_ Jun 28, 2014 at 05:17 AM about the 1972 Ford Thunderbird

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My first encounter of this problem
was when I tried to turn On the
ignition. There was no power at all. I
couldn't even turn on my headlights
or sound the horn. So I called for a
jump start service and the moment
he placed the cable, the hood lights
came back on and we were able to
start the car. But when he unhook
one of the jumper cable line, it just
died again. He suggested to change
the alternator and so I did just that.
Installed a brand new alternator into
my '72. I even replace it with a brand
new battery. Then I tried to turn it on
again it would work. No life at all
from car. What should I do?? Any
advise would be helpful. Thank You!

3 Answers
201,065

dandyoun answered 10 years ago

Sounds like bad/dirty negative battery connections on the frame and motor.

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201,065

dandyoun answered 10 years ago

With it working with a jump start i am almost positive that it just a connection issue somewhere. I would also tighten and clean both battery connections on battery. If the connections are old and tightened all the way they can go I would replace them. Also look for corrosion on the wires to the terminals. For giggles you can take the jumper cables and only connect the negative cable to your battery and the other end of negative to good metal on the motor. If power then is restored the problem is with the negative battery connections either on battery or frame/motor.

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15,935

Larry answered 10 years ago

I found on my 65 that the cable was only making contact with one tiny wire within the whole cable! It looked good and when I tried to move it, it still held but was not heavy enough to let power pass. I would advise you to check your battery cables (pos and neg) by taking them off the care and do a good inspection.

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