I have a 70 Chevelle with a 350. I went to start the car yesturday morning and it wouldn't start. When I turned the key the idiot lights came on for two seconds then, went off. The car had no power. The radio and the dome light did not come on either. The car wont start and makes no sounds at all. I've checked the battery, alternator, checked all grounds, and the wire from the battery to the starter. All checked good. What else can I check??

I believe the car has a little pigtail wire on the positive battery cable that goes to a terminal behind the battery. That circuit is the one that supplies the major part of the power for the car. Check the connection, it has a crimp connection as well as the connection on the terminal behind the battery.

Moose What a great name!

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Wally
www.muncie4speed.com (http://www.muncie4speed.com)
Gold #67
2001 Chevy Silverado LT
67 Malibu "Small Block" second owner
90 SS454
71 Malibu "Small Block"

check the small wire from the + terminal of the battery to the junction block on the radiator support. All power to the car goes through this wire. If it is burnt and feels broken, it is a fusable link that got burned for some reason. Check that first and then we will go from there.

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Dave (NY)
70 chevelle ss396 conv
66 chevelle ss396 hdp/conv
72 chevelle
55 chevy prostreet
69/71 camaros
61 impala bubbletop
TC member #493

Moose--If all the other suggestions fail, something else you might look at is the starter solenoid (mounted on the starter). It carries power from your battery cable thru the system. I've had similar symptoms that ended up being an internal break in the solenoid. I believe if you jump across the terminal on the solenoid where the battery cable connects to the start terminal on the solenoid, you should be able to get the starter to "bump" (I used a screw driver, being careful not to touch it to anything else. However, turning on the ignition did not energize the ignition system. All the non-ignition switched stuff should work with the key off. This is assuming that you don't have power to the fuse panel at all from your description. Also, another possibility is a battery ground or other ground failure, such as between engine & battery, etc. I use a jumper cable to connect from the battery ground post to the engine, & move on to other ground points to see if it makes a difference. Hope some or any part of this helps or spurs some more thought from someone else. Good Luck.

moose also check the horn relay on the left side of the core support.i know this sounds stupid.but i had this problem with a 67 that i had years ago.if all else fails this might be it.

Thank you everyone for your help. It did end up being a bad ground to the engine. I had a ground from the battery to the alternator bracket. I read it out with my multimeter and it read good. Some reason I guess it wasn't good enough. When I did what Odie said with the jumper cables it worked. Again thank you very much!