Turn the key and everything shuts off

[Doat]

This morning I did my usual routine before work and remote started my car to warm it up but the alarm went off so I disarmed it then went to start the car up and when I turned the key there was a click and all of the lights shut off. I tried jumping it and after 5 min of it hooked up it struggled to come on but it finally did. I drove it to get a new battery and the same thing happened I checked all of the cables and then the car started but would not idle unless my foot was on the gas. Now it will not start at all and sometimes if I reconnect the battery I get power again but shuts off when I attempt to start it.

Any ideas? I tried searching but nothing helped.

 

[hvyman]

Check the little wire on the battery positive terminal. Pull back the insulation and it will prolly only have a strand hanging on.

 

[Doat]

That wire does look old

 

[hvyman]

Slice back the insulation.

Without that wire nothing will have power.

 

[Doat]

Does it matter if the positive cable has one connection at the block?

 

[MightyAl]

Negative should be connected to the block. Positive main wire should got to the starter.

 

[Doat]

Yea but when I follow the positive cable it splits off to the block and to the starter what I am asking is if it's okay if the positive cable just goes straight to the starter.

 

[ask92]

The positive on the battery should go only to the starter(heavy gauge wire) and to the fuse box(Medium gauge wire). If it is going anywhere else its most likely something aftermarket.

 

[hvyman]

The positive cable is supposed to go to the starter and the the ground goes to the block.

Then there is the little wire which powers the fuse box which powers everything including the signal wire to tell the starter to start.

 

[Doat]

So the positive cable has 3 wires, starter, ground, and fuse box. Seems I need to find another place to get the cables from.

 

[hvyman]

No positive has 2.

Ground has ground.

Battery has 2 posts. Positive and ground.

 

[Doat]

I mean when the cables split off, like I know there are only 2 cables 1 for positive and other for negative lol but I followed them and the negative grounds to the chassis next to the fuse box and the rest of it goes under the fuse box but the positive I see it goes to the fuse box, then I followed another to the block and one into the abyss under the motor to the starter. I assume it's bad to connect just the positive terminal to the starter?

 

[hvyman]

No. The cable that goes to the black and starter is tied together and has 2 big wires. 1 goes from battery to starter. Other goes from ground post to block.

If you ground out the positive post when the ground post is ground your going to short out the battery and the wires will prolly catch on fire.

 

[Doat]

Welp I started with just cleaning the connectors in the terminal with sand paper and tried starting it up and voila she fired right up I turned it off and on a few times and it's perfect. Thank you all for the help you guys are awesome.