Hey folks. My son was driving his car the other day and everything was fine. He got in the turning lane at a stop light, and the vehicle died. Tried to start it again, but nothing happened. Only dash lights that came on were battery and oil. Nothing else. Car has a new battery on it that was replace a couple weeks ago. We thought it might be a dead battery, but battery was reading 12.6v. I checked the connections, but everything looked fine. I even thought maybe my meter was messing up, so I hooked jumper cables from my f150, but nothing changed. I feel that if it was the battery, at least the other dash lights would come on. I am thinking it isn't a starter issue since nothing else works, but I could be wrong. The vehicle can't even be put into neutral. Nothing works. I am not a mechanic, but I am mechanically inclined. I am unsure where to start looking. Could this be a ground issue? Maybe an electrical issue running to the fuse boxes? Any help would be appreciated.

Update: Problem solved. One of the 2 ground wires leaving the negative terminal of the battery was broke. Under and behind the battery. Found it after I pulled it all the way out.

 

Fuses? With your $5 test light

 

I started checking the main fuses, but found no issues. That was why I was wondering if it may be a connection somewhere. I mean nothing else works, so I am guessing nothing is making it to the fuse boxes?

 

It's not the battery. It's not the starter.

Check for power at each of the fuseboxes. If you find one (or more) without, just trace back toward the battery and find the point where your voltmeter reading goes from 0 to battery voltage (the problem lies in between those two spots).

And yes, a bad ground has the same effect as a bad positive cable, so you might start by reading resistance from the negative battery terminal to the chassis and engine block. Alternatively, you can check for any voltage difference (hook the voltmeter up between the battery negative terminal and the chassis / engine block - you shouldn't read more than a small fraction of a volt since they're supposed to be electrically tied together with ground straps).

 

I checked power going to the fuse box under the hood and I have power going to it. I checked the next one in sequence.

Finally found the issue. The battery was grounding to the chasse, but apparently there are 2 ground wires going from the battery. Found the broken wire and fixed it. Thanks for the tips folks!