"poured coke on them"....to clean the battery terminals! Yes, as a "I'm stuck in the middle of no-where, what the heck kinda deal". But that is no way to "clean" a battery terminal. Makes me wonder if there was even anything wrong with your battery. Crapped up connections can produce your problem...you get enough juice to lights and radio, but not enough to crank the engine....same thing going the other way when you try to jump start, it's hard to push juice through crap.

A 2 dollar battery tool is a must for every tool box. The terminal need to be nice and shiny...new metal exposed, not just "clean"....same for the battery cables and grounds. You can't just wipe them off with a rag! I have seen guys install brand new batteries with out cleaning the terminals...you won't get a great connection!

Any time I have an "electrical problem" the first thing I do is a really good cleaning of the connections. BTW, those "no maintenance" batteries...they do need maintenance....check the water level in the cells too.

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Mark
1983 300TD Wagon
Even a broken watch is right twice a day