Bus Won't Crank, No Lights or Dashboard Gauges

[SmithMS93]

My bus started and ran perfectly several times before I began demolition work on it and cut the wiring to the emergency exits, overhead lights, and speakers. After 3 weeks of demo work and not trying to start the bus, I turned the key in the ignition and I got nothing: no dashboard gauge movement, no lights, and no crank.

I tried to jump start the battery with my truck, but I still got nothing, so I tested it with a multimeter. It reads 0.0 volts when it's hooked up to the battery cables, but if I remove the battery cables it reads around 3 volts.

I'm going to replace the battery today, but there's obviously something else going on since it reads 0 volts the moment I put the battery cables on the posts. Any suggestions?

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Light switches left on or possibly a dead short from a pinched wire. Happens a lot when people screw wall framing into the metal body of the bus and inadvertently run a screw or drill through a wire hidden inside the wall.

You can also try cleaning the battery terminals with a wire brush or pouring Coca-Cola over them. By the way, most skoolies are going to have more than one battery and it doesn't take much for a dead cell in one battery to discharge the other.