Expert: Robert Summers - 10/21/2007

Question
First of all, thank you for your website.I have a 1983 scottsdale chevy 1/2 truck with a 305. Several months ago, the truck wouldn't start. I replaced the battery. It was okay for about a week. Than the same problem, it would'nt start. I took the battery back, and replaced it with another new one. Again, it was okay for about two weeks. Then, yep, it did it again. This time, I had the alternator checked. I was told it was bad, so I replaced IT and the battery. Everything was fine for about two weeks, then it did it again. I took the truck to a mechanic friend. He ended up repairing some wire going from the starter to the battery, and he told me to replace the battery and alternator so we could start from scratch, which I did. It is doing it AGAIN!! Please HELP!!

Answer
Hi jesse, I take it that it keeps killing the battery. sounds like a short to ground. on the firewall of the truck there is a plastic block with live power on it check it for a short or corrosion.also check to see that the wires going to the starter are on correctly and not pointed toward the block and maybe touching. or maybe touching the bottom of the exhaust manifold. hope that helps