Dead battery or something else?

[joes]

Good day All,

Perhaps this is a silly question but I will pose it anyway.

Haven't started the car in about 4 months.  When I tried to start it the other day it was dead.  Battery is about 10 years old so I know I will need to order a new one.  I tried to jump start it with another battery from another vehicle (just to move the car in my garage) but it does not even make a noise?  I thought this would work?  Is it just the battery or perhaps something else?  A fuse, starter etc?

Any advice would be appreciated.
Ty in advance, Joe.

[Pawel66]

Does the electricity get to the car when you connect the other battery? Can you switch on e.g. the parking lights? If not, I would think: the other battery is dead, you connected it in a wrong way, there may be a ground cut off in the car.

[scoot]

If you can't jump start the car then I think you have a bad ground.

[MikeSimon]

If the old battery you are jumping has a dead cell, you may not get power from the the one you are jumping with.

[joes]

Thanks gents.

I should have clarified that I tried jumping with another car that was running so I know the donor battery is working and fully charged.
100% connected it correctly.

Perhaps it's the ground as mentioned by a few members.

Thanks,
Joe

[Iconic]

I've seen batteries "so dead" that you could not jump through them.
If the car was working when you parked it, the odds are very good that you have a very bad battery.
What else could have happened while parked to cause another failure?? Probably nothing.
My opinion: Buy a battery or install one from another car and see if it starts up.
Mark

[joes]

Okay so I received a new batter from MB and installed it.  Problem solved.
Iconic was correct in saying that the battery was so far "dead" that it would not allow me to jump start it.

In doing so I knocked off this little rubber elbow from what looked like an air nipple about 8 inched aft of the battery.  It fell on the ground so I'm not sure if this is where it's suppose to go.  Any info would be appreciated.

Ty

[Cees Klumper]

Looks like it should be connected to a vacuum line, as part of the emissions controls.

[joes]

Thank you Cees.
I agree with that.  Will try and dig deeper to figure out where.
Have a great day.

[Shvegel]

Vacuum line running from the outboard side of the throttle body to one port on that solenoid valve then on to the Ignition distributor.  Your car must be a very late 280 as that valve was an updated version.  It replaced the original metal one at some point near the end of production.  If your ignition has been changes to a 123 unit or any other aftermarket system it is likely no longer in use.  The two white lines in these pictures

[joes]

Ty Shvegel,

That is helpful info.  My car was built in the very last month of production.  Looks like this line was cut off at some point and now just a 2 inch rubber elbow remains.

Thanks again,
Joe