So, after unloading it from the trailer, what do you do ?
The first job is to scrape off all the loose and rising flakes of paint, and wash the mould away. This is a psychological step which prepares you mentally for the long hard path ahead.
The next step is to see what works. Despite the temptation to rush in and turn the key, it always pays to go in step by step cautiously. I'll explain why as we go along.
I start off with a battery with only the earth lead connected, and a test lamp made from an indicator bulb with two wires attached. Putting the leads across the battery first makes sure that the lamp does actually light when placed across a charged battery.
Then, with everything switched off, putting the lead between the battery positive terminal and positive lead shows whether any dead shorts exist that would set the car ablaze if the fully-charged battery were to be connected in. No light is a good sign.
An aside - the reason for using a high-wattage bulb instead of a small multimeter or test light dates back to my time on the trawlers when I spent a long time searching for a switchboard fault, convinced by my clever test meter that there was voltage beyond the main circuit breaker. There was indeed voltage, a trickle of about 50 microamps through a failed fuse, but enough to show a full 415 volts on the test meter. A car indicator bulb draws a healthy 1.8 amps, more than enough to snuff the tiny current that might trickle through a corroded cartridge fuse, and will also limit that current to 1.8 amps should there be a dead short just inside the wing or behind the dashboard.
Playing with switches shows that
The horns work
only one front sidelight works
all headlamps work on both main and dip
none of the rear lights work
This is absolutely normal for a car in this condition
