Nissan Repair: Nissan Sentra suddenly electrically dead, sentra 4dr, nissan sentra

Question
Hi Von,
My 1987 Nissan Sentra (4dr,carburated)has been very reliable until this incident. I tried to start the car after I parked it for 20 minutes and....Nothing! Not a thing working electrically.
No horn, lights, nothing. I checked the battery teriminals and cleaned them (they were clean and OK but did them anyway)...and I tried jumping the car and still got nothing (no lights or sounds or anything)which really threw me because I can't see how this is possible! The car has never given any indication that it was going to fail. It always used to turn over quickly and start. I checked all the fuses in the car that are accessable under the cover by the drivers side lower dash panel. I saw what looked like (so I am told) fusable links under the hood on the drivers side by the shock tower, but didn't know how to check them, but they didn't looked burnt and look intact on the outside. What is going on?!!! For what it is worth, the key is tight in the ignition and the "clicks" when you rotate the key to start position is tight and feels positive.
Any help you can give me Von would be greatly appreciated....
Thanks again,
Janine

Answer
It sounds like you have a bad battery.  The internals must have fused together.  Go to an autoparts store and have the battery checked.  Now, remember, you might get a battery only to find that the alternator was just putting enough amperage to run the circuits and it ended up killing the battery over a long time.  So, after getting a new battery drive the car to the parts store and have them do a load test on the alternator.  They should be able to just hook up to the battery, while the engine is running, and see what the alternator is putting out.  But, for now, what you have stated points directly to the battery.