1956 no power, new battery

[NickZ]

Installed new battery. Nothing. No dome light, ignition, headlights. Nothing. Took it back to Napa to confirm it was good, which it is. I hooked up my portable battery jumper and the car had everything, even started. I'm a little lost as to why or what to check.

 

[cokefirst]

bad connection at the battery cable when installing the battery.

 

[sre]

Are the battery terminals clean? How old are the cables? How about ground to car? Hot wire to connection at starter solonoid? The cable inside the end connection could be bad?

 

[NickZ]

Are the battery terminals clean? How old are the cables? How about ground to car? Hot wire to connection at starter solonoid? The cable inside the end connection could be bad?

It’s actually my dad's car. It’s in pristine condition. Looks brand new under the hood, as do the battery cables. He drove it 12-13 months ago. It does seem like a ground issue. I’ll double check all of that tomorrow. Thanks for the reply.

 

[cokefirst]

It has nothing to do with looking clean. If you put a battery cable on the battery, you need to scrape the inside if the battery cable. They can get a thin layer of corrosion that will not allow the cable to make a good connection. Every time you change a battery, you should use a tool to clean the inside of the cable to make sure it makes a good connection.

It’s actually my dad's car. It’s in pristine condition. Looks brand new under the hood, as do the battery cables. He drove it 12-13 months ago. It does seem like a ground issue. I’ll double check all of that tomorrow. Thanks for the reply

 

[biddle]

Your title "1956 thunderbird battery issue" has been updated. As noted in your post, you do not have a battery issue.

 

[dmsfrr]

The other end of the Negative battery cable should have a clean solid connection directly to the engine block or head. Photo 1
There should also be a large sized Ground cable from the rear of the engine to the firewall. Photo 2. .. All connections must be clean & tight.
Photo 3, a bad example of a Ground cable.