If i was there I could help, electrical issues are a bitch on-line.

Those breakers have some heavy wire on them, and both the breakers and the wiring are too damn big for most audio accessories. It MIGHT BE that the PO used these breakers to "protect" (wrongly) some possibly major circuit. If so, and you accidentally knocked one of these breakers out, you will have an "open" circuit.

That aside, I am inclined to think that your battery might just be toast. A battery with an internal short can be very difficult if not impossible to jump start.

 

I just bought a new battery and put it in. I attempted to start it. I heard a click, and saw a puff smoke come from the battery terminals, and now the battery has no juice.

 

I think you're going to have to find someone local to help you. You have fried another battery, so there is some serious power drain. You could hurt yourself.

That being said, you said it is the lower fuse, what does that run on a '68? And when you hooked up that new battery, did you leave that fuse out?

Just FYI, if you're experiencing this type of problem, don't try to hook up a new battery without first insuring no current is flowing.

 

either a battery has gone south, or the cables are no damn good. Check those cables CLOSE, and at BOTH ENDS. I thinking the chances are you will find your issue here.

Some of the parts store cables are,,, well,,, ****...

 

A dead short on that fuse circuit would blow the fuse before it would instantaneously take the battery out - there's something else going on here. You need to take the circuit apart - start by removing the cable off of the starter side of the relay. Dress (clean) both end's of the negative battery cable up and clean the battery end of the pos. cable (if you have those bolt on cable end replacements -throw them away and get new cables). Go into the car and turn the key to run (don't go to start) and make sure all of your interior lights and gauges work. if that's OK go to start with the key and listen for the starter relay to click. If that's OK, I suggest you do 2 things, 1st rotate the engine by hand and make sure it isn't seized, if OK, pull the starter and using jumper cables, hook the neg cable to the starter housing and the other end to known good battery ground. Place the pos terminal on the known good battery and momentarily connect the other end to the starter terminal- it should turn - if OK, put it back in the car hook it up and the engine should turn over.

 

All of the battery cables are in good shape. I've thrown in the towel and had it towed to a shop. I'll let you know what the problem was once they figure it out.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

 

Use a meter to check the battery cables for heavy resistance in them using your Ohm meter, disconnect the battery and check each cable end to end. If you get above about .05v or so the cable has too much resistance in it.

 

JMD, you were right. I got the mustang back this morning the cables were junk (although they looked to be in good shape). $70 bucks in parts and labor, not the end of the world. I'm just glad the new battery wasn't toast, and the car is running again.

 

Good deal! it is all too often the "simple things" that keep us from enjoying our cars....

I have seen too many problems with these cheap Chinese cables. The problems include...

1. More insulation than wire.

2. Substandard/impure copper.

3. Poor alloy ends that are poorly crimped/soldered, which leads to #4....

4. All but invisible corrosion between terminals and copper that impedes current flow.


With these, you can have cables that look great, but fail to get the job done.

When I have a car that exhibits the same symptoms as yours, I will grab a cable about a foot away from its attachment and pull while working the cable in a circular motion, this will usually either "force a connection", or the cable separates from the terminal, either way you find the problem.