You just bought a new Die Hard battery but didn't try it installed? Man, you must really love that old battery.

Get it out of there, get the new one in, and give it a shot. At this point you're trying too hard with everything else when it's common knowledge that car batteries have a limited shelf life. Eliminate the obvious before making extra work.

 

**edit: dup post**

 

To all those who insisted it is the battery despite my misgivings, I salute you. The reason I was a bit skeptical was that even with a dead battery you should be able to jump the car. I have done it all my life. This morning I disconnected the terminals and connected the in-car battery to the battery charger. Once again the needle did not move one bit. No self-respecting battery would refuse charge. So it had to go, but that wasn't all. The battery terminals still had corrosion on them despite vigorous brushing. So I took them out and soaked them in .....Lime Away. Worked great. Went back out, put in the new battery and voila, it came to life.

 

I love a happy ending.....

 

Go with the simple things first. 4 posts in this thread said to replace the battery. I would have said the same thing. Glad you finally listened and didnt throw a ton of money at it chasing something else....

 

In the end it wasn't just the battery. Had I left the terminals the way they were a new battery would not have started the car either. If there is advice to be given is in this order. 1) clean the battery posts, 2) clean the terminals, 3) change the battery.

 

You know I never thought about soaking them in CLR or such. I just peeled my postive side off the other day and brushed it down removing 90% of the corrosion. Maybe I'll try this.