Hi all, I am trying to install a new battery in my 75 and everytime after I hook up the positive, the negative sparks bad. I tried forcing it on hoping it was because everything was kicking back on, but it started smoking from the starter (I imagining, because of the location). The battery before would die unless I had it plugged in. Something was draining it pretty badly. Any ideas why this is happening? I changed the terminals and didn't see any visual fraying of the cables. Thanks!

 

I would start looking at the starter if it begins smoking. Check the solenoid, could be shorting out.
Also look into the voltage regulator. A bad regulator would draw the battery down, but my first step would be making sure the starter isn’t the problem

 

Thank you. I will give that a try.

 

You may have a wire melted by the exhaust down there. Most of the cars power comes from the battery connection at the solonoid. There is a couple of wires there to check.

 

Ok, thanks! I'll need to hoist it up to check out.

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Thank you!

 

Let us know how things work out. Hopefully you find the cause of the problem and if not, we’ll keep working on it till it’s solved

 

I appreciate that! I will be getting under the car this weekend and hopefully, I won't see a melted cable. I'm told it's extremely hard to replace. I'd much rather replace a starter or solenoid!

 

Replacing the battery cables isn’t that hard. Getting underneath the car to do the work is probably the hardest part of the job if you don’t have a floor jack or ramps