I love when I am all set on fixing one thing and cause another problem -:mad: Here is my newbie issue - I was in the process of confirming that a squeal from the engine was indeed the waterpump so I loosened the alternator, removed belt and returned alternator to its original mark. I turned the ignition key and nothing happens, no click, no starter - nothing. The battery has plenty of juice, the headlights and all accessories work. The only thing I could think of is when I moved the alternator forward I touched the ground screw on the alternator shield and caused a short? I have not been able to figure out this one yet. Any ideas/suggestions will be helpful. Thanks

Exactly what I thought, you've blown a fuse. Check fuse box in floor board.

Touching the alternator ground lug would not cause a shorty however touching the positive lug would cause an internal short, shorting out the diodes.

Touching the alternator ground lug would not cause a shorty however touching the positive lug would cause an internal short, shorting out the diodes.

But even that would not take out the battery... not without a lot of smoke and burning wires.

Do you have any power to the car?
radio? headlights?

Could it be possible that a fusible link shorted out??

Do you have it in park. Move the shifter back and forth while trying to start it.

I love when I am all set on fixing one thing and cause another problem -:mad: Here is my newbie issue - I was in the process of confirming that a squeal from the engine was indeed the waterpump so I loosened the alternator, removed belt and returned alternator to its original mark. I turned the ignition key and nothing happens, no click, no starter - nothing. The battery has plenty of juice, the headlights and all accessories work. The only thing I could think of is when I moved the alternator forward I touched the ground screw on the alternator shield and caused a short? I have not been able to figure out this one yet. Any ideas/suggestions will be helpful. Thanks

I didn't see the year of the car, but is it possible it's older(which means there's really a generator not an alternator), maybe the external voltage regulator is bad.
Just thinking old school :)
If the car is fairly new, I would vote for the diode pack. you can take your alternator to a parts store and they can check it for you.

THANKS all for your quick replies, since it was late last night and I was pissed at myself (since every car manual/forum thread states - disconnect negative cable from battery - do I ever listen?) Keep the suggestions coming, I will be leaving work as early as possible and trying all the suggestions, I really want this fixed so I can continue what I originally set out to accomplish.

Could it be possible that a fusible link shorted out??
But even that would not take out the battery... not without a lot of smoke and burning wires.

Do you have any power to the car?
radio? headlights?

Yes, lights, radio, turn signals all work just fine

Touching the alternator ground lug would not cause a shorty however touching the positive lug would cause an internal short, shorting out the diodes.

Pretty sure that I did not make a connection with the positive.

Exactly what I thought, you've blown a fuse. Check fuse box in floor board.

Will be checking one by one,

Do you have it in park. Move the shifter back and forth while trying to start it.

It's a manual.

I didn't see the year of the car, but is it possible it's older(which means there's really a generator not an alternator), maybe the external voltage regulator is bad.
Just thinking old school :)
If the car is fairly new, I would vote for the diode pack. you can take your alternator to a parts store and they can check it for you.

Thanks Budly, it's a 69.

If everything else works, but you don't even get a click when you turn the key, I'd say it is competely unrelated, and is probably the neutral safety switch, or something in the starter wiring.

Sure you have 12volts? Good clean connections at the battery? Good grounds? Do you have, or have access to a voltmeter? It is going to be hard to solve this without one. If you are not familiar with automoive eletric basics I would strongly suggest finding the help of someone that does. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but wierd electrical issues can be hard for even a seasoned pro to figure out. That squeal could have been you alternator failing, or trying to charge a bad battery. Headlights pull less than 20 amps. A starter pulls around 200. I've seen headlights shine bright, but hit the starter and nothing. Could be as simple as a bad connection, or could be a internal short in the battery, or a bad starter solenoid etc etc. See, what I am getting at? Let us know the latest!

Lateshow23, Got your car runnin yet?

Thanks Chuck for your suggestions/ideas, I do have a voltmeter and I will be using it. I agree that electrical issues are tough, and I don't like the idea of throwing parts at a problem when you haven't pinpointed the cause.

Speed - Due to work and their constant need for TPS reports, I haven't had a chance to work on the car and it looks like Saturday will be the ideal day to spend "quality time" working on it. I will definetly post the cause and solution to this problem.

Sorry for my lack of follow up, been pretty busy with work and family. The electrical problem was caused by wires going to the the starter, I replaced and shielded and good as new. I still have the original squeel but at least it's starting just fine. Will post noise issue on engine troubleshooting folder. Thanks all.