my 91 camaro rs had a dead battery, so i tried to jump it with 3 different cars and 3 different sets of cables. i got the dash lights to come on the second time, but it was still dead. so i went and got a new starter, and tried to get the battery charged. the battery had a bad cell and would not hold a charge, so i put in the new starter and battery. still nothing. i cleaned up the battery terminals, and still nothing. the dash lights dont even come on. what could possibly be wrong?

 

maybe you need a new alternator.

 

if it were the alternator the car would have still started. so i dont think thats the problem.

 

its not even turning over at all?

 

no, the dash lights dont even come on when i turn the key!

 

Sounds like you may have blown a fusible link. Main power that feeds to inside the car goes through a fusible link. If there is a major short, the link is designed to fry before the car's wires do. I used to have a 91, but can't remember if it was on the hot lead coming from the starter, or a wire from the junction block by the battery, or maybe both. Also check the hot lead to the alternator. The link looks like a 3/4"~1" long fat rubber bulge in the wire. If the link is good, you will have power on both sides of it. If you have a test light with a sharp metal point, stick it through the wire casing to touch the wire, and check for power. Otherwise you can use a tiny nail and check with a meter.

 

also, check all the fuses. my dad managed to reverse the polarity on the battery on my car while i was unable to supervise what he was doing. needless to say, it kept blowing the main power fuse until i checked the battery. lights worked, but other stuff didnt.

 

did u clean the connectors on the battery wires? wire brush the heck out of em.

 

I accept with information: The link looks like a 3/4"~1" long fat rubber bulge in the wire. If the link is good, you will have power on both sides of it.

 

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