Spencer57 Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 (edited) I'm hoping someone on here can help me. I have a 1963 Buick Special base 4 Dr. 6 cyl. with no power to ANYTHING with the battery fully charged. replaced both battery cables and it was working fine for months before. Just now it won't do anything. Headlights do not come on, nothing lights up at all. When this started, I had turned the key and it gave a slight jump to the starter, then everything went black. I have had a power to ground short somewhere in the system since I bought it a year ago. I have to disconnect both battery cables to prevent drain. If I leave the positive cable connected, the interior light will come on with the negative cable disconnected. If you can give me some advice, I would appreciate it. Edited May 25 by Spencer57 adding details. (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron65 Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 (edited) I had this problem recently with my '65 Skylark; I turned the key to start it and everything went dead. The battery read 12.6 volts on the multimeter, but as soon as I put a load on it, it dove straight to zero. Something must have shorted internally, but a new battery solved the problem. If you don't have a load tester, you may want to take it to the parts store to have them test it. It's a good place to start, anyway. Edited May 25 by Aaron65 (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer57 Posted May 25 Author Share Posted May 25 Thank you Aaron65 for such a fast reply, I will try that. I really miss driving that old car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 57 minutes ago, Spencer57 said: If I leave the positive cable connected, the interior light will come on with the negative cable disconnected. How is that possible...? Is there another battery hidden somewhere? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 36 minutes ago, EmTee said: How is that possible...? Is there another battery hidden somewhere? Agree with this statement. Normally one would disconnect the positive cable and leave the ground wire connected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 Do you have this book? You need it as it has wiring diagrams (along with other service procedures for your baby Buick). Same book the Buick dealer mechanics used to service them when new. There's an all series 1963 Buick body manual too. Original print copies if at all possible. I'm not 100% familiar with the Buick's wiring, but first place I'd look (armed with the wiring diagram of course) is the starter motor and solenoid wiring. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer57 Posted May 25 Author Share Posted May 25 3 hours ago, Spencer57 said: I'm hoping someone on here can help me. I have a 1963 Buick Special base 4 Dr. 6 cyl. with no power to ANYTHING with the battery fully charged. replaced both battery cables and it was working fine for months before. Just now it won't do anything. Headlights do not come on, nothing lights up at all. When this started, I had turned the key and it gave a slight jump to the starter, then everything went black. I have had a power to ground short somewhere in the system since I bought it a year ago. I have to disconnect both battery cables to prevent drain. If I leave the positive cable connected, the interior light will come on with the negative cable disconnected. If you can give me some advice, I would appreciate it. No extra battery. If I leave the positive connected, but not the negative, the dome light will sometimes come on. I was always taught to disconnect the negative BEFORE the positive, it that wrong? I'm going to try jumping it with the Cadillac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 You can buy your book here. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p4432023.m570.l1313&_nkw=1963+buick+skylark+service+manual&_sacat=0 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer57 Posted May 25 Author Share Posted May 25 Thanks for your time in searching for that, but I have that book. I'm not a mechanic per se. I'll try to figure out that diagram. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted May 25 Share Posted May 25 I had a '63 Skylark wagon. It had an electrical gremlin and it turned out to be the red positive wire that went through the dash on the drivers side going to the fuse box got skinned and corroded. It caused a high resistance in the wire. After I tracked it down and did a wire repair, car fixed. My symptoms were the car would start/run in the start position using the key. As soon as the key was put in the run position the car/engine would turn off. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldtech Posted May 26 Share Posted May 26 In the 70's, as I recall GM had a trick where if some fuse failed ( I forget which one) the dome light would come on . Anyone remember this? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted May 26 Share Posted May 26 6 hours ago, Spencer57 said: the interior light will come on with the negative cable disconnected. Sorry, this cannot happen! Electrons require a complete circuit to flow, electricity 101. But, you say it does, so with the negative cable disconnected, what else is connected to the negative terminal of the battery? Does the dome light stay on overnight, or just dims out like a modern car?❓ Or, is someone pranking you?❓ Again, no complete circuit, NO current can possibly flow. Look for a hidden connection. 5 hours ago, Larry Schramm said: Normally one would disconnect the positive cable and leave the ground wire connected. On a positive ground car, sure, but on a negative ground car you should disconnect the negative terminal first, so the tools do not touch the positive terminal and the chassis at the same time while turning nuts/etc. and make BIG sparks! Safety first, especially around a hydrogen and oxygen mixture! And, a voltmeter will make short work of diagnosing why it does not start/headlamps do not work, etc. First, measure voltage of the actual battery posts. Then have someone turn key while you are still reading the voltage on the posts. I said posts, NOT terminals! If the voltage stays high (~12) while key is turned to start, then start moving moving to terminals, then to the other end of cables. Etc. Etc. Etc. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer57 Posted May 26 Author Share Posted May 26 2 hours ago, Oldtech said: In the 70's, as I recall GM had a trick where if some fuse failed ( I forget which one) the dome light would come on . Anyone remember this? All the fuses (there aren't many) are OK. But thanks for the input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer57 Posted May 26 Author Share Posted May 26 Thank you, Frank DuVal, I have a voltmeter and will try that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer57 Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 On 5/25/2024 at 11:06 PM, Spencer57 said: Thank you, Frank DuVal, I have a voltmeter and will try that. Well, now I feel stupid, (more stupid than usual), while using the voltmeter, I checked the battery cables and it turns out there was some kind of defect in the negative cable that I put on new last year. Put the new one on and VROOM, started right up. Still have a short to find and someone in Toledo Ohio that works on Classic car brakes. Thanks to everyone for your help. I'm sure I'll be back again. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 No need to feel stupid, happens to all of us now and then. No one expects new parts to be defective, but sometimes they are!😉 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer57 Posted May 31 Author Share Posted May 31 Thanks Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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