no electrical power

[Jim Branham]

As I was leaving from work today the GT turned over half a turn and stopped, nothing. No electric inside at all. I put a voltmeter onto the starter and had 12v. Could this be the infamous ampmeter burnout problem? Nothing that I can tell has juice inside the car. Could it be those wires that get corroded at the back of the fuse block? I read a post about that being the cause of some car problems. Any help would be appreciated. I think I'm coming down with the flu, I feel like I've been run over by a truck, the kitchen sink is clogged, the car won't start, had to walk home. Thank God it's only a few blocks. I'm not fooling with the car tonight, It'll be safe enough at work for the night and I hope I'll be up to fixing it tomorrow. Boy, when it rains it pours. I am going to bed, tomorrow will be a better day, or Sunday.

[namba209]

Opel Dave, I have a 12 gauge wire with insulated alligator clips on each end just for that use. Also could be a fusible link that went south. The starter spun then everything quit. It could even be a loose/corroded terminal on the battery. Trons are a PIA sometimes.

Ron

[opeldean]

do you have the destec wiring diagram....

see if any of the central nuts in the fuse box have power...

this is a good place to start

then trace your ways backwards via the destec diagram

[Jim Branham]

Well nothing changed overnight with the GT, dead as a doornail still. I put jumpers on it from another battery and still nothing on the inside. Not even an arc when I hooked up the cables with the ignition on. No Draw at all. So I tried grounding on the m/c bolts and it arced as I connected, checked the gauges- ignition was on,everything was ALIVE! It cranked over and started right up. The car had been cranking over slow before, but it always cranked slow so I didn't think much about it. It always started right up. The battery connections are solid as a rock but I guess the ground has gone kaput! I did read 12v on the starter, I guess the ground was good enough untill a load was put on it and then everything died out. The connections look good, not corroded up and tight, but ... It seems odd that I could read 12v at the starter but it wouldn't power anything on the inside, not even the lights on the radio, how much current could that draw? I'll redo the ground connection and see if the problem re-occurs. Any ideas about if there is something else going on here?

[namba209]

Jim, check both ends of the ground cable, both at the batter and where it bolts to the frame rail and on the engine. There could be corrosion under the terminals that you can't see. My electrics instructor at A & P school charged a lot of bucks to sort out Tron problems on aircraft and almost always found a bad ground was the culprit. He always taught if there is a problem make sure all ground conections were good and clean. Once the ground is taken out of the equation, if the problem still exists, you've cut the trouble shooting in half. HTH.

Ron

[opeldean]

Jim:I had the same problem and I did not know what to do...
1)do you have power to the 4 nuts in the fusebox..start here first

2)I hired a mechanic to start my car.I took a photo that may be helpful to you

(only 1 nut had power..and that was the nut that had a red/ white power wire coming from the starter to the fusebox.the rest of my fuse box was dead..I had nothing. he(craig vaughn) thinks
there is a fuse/link on the hidden side of the fusebox..anyway ..
he installled the temporary FUSED 50 amp yellow jump wire that you see pictured..I am going to solder in an inline fise today and start to replace the ccause of my problem..a bad igniton switch...
wish us both luck)

[DESTEC]

Jim B.,

Even if your Amp gauge is not working it will pass current because it has a 40A meter shunt inside it (a large brass bar).

Grounds are a bugger: I once took a starter motor to the shop twice swearinng it had to be bad; because I measures 12V at the solenoid but it would not do anything but click.

I cleaned the batter posts too. But it took many hours to discover that my red cable was the kind you add the connector to when your old connector rots away: IT had high resistance and would measure 12V but not pass much current.

How many ways can (2) wires beguile you--I ask.
(many).

Ampacity is the word.

Don't forget the engine ground strap, too.

JJ

[opeldean]

JJ;
1)how is power transfered between the 4 central nuts of the fuse box

2)why is a jumper between the bottom right (red/white wire )nut to the left bottom needed for me to get power to my amp gauges

the destec diagram shows a balck line connecting the nuts...is this a fuse..wire..is it replacable ...I cant see it

thanks jj .I wouldn't AS lost w/o your knowledge....

[DESTEC]

I am going try this from memory because I do not have my wiring diagram in from of me. But here goes:


From the battery to one nut; across the bar to nut 2.

then up the Amp Gauge terminal B (battery) thru the
Amp gauge out on termianl L (Load side) then down to nut 3;
across the bar and join input from the alternator.

This forms your 12V bus. Which goes everywhere Beware the headlights are NOT fused.

I can ellucidae more later if you need me to and read my chart.

JJ

[DESTEC]

I will print a blow up copy of that part of the circuit and put it up maybe later today.

Gotta go build more Tail Light Sets.

JJ

[Gary]

Originally posted by DESTEC Jim B., Don't forget the engine ground strap, too. JJ

Very important..... Passenger side of the block to the frame rail. It will cause all kinds of problems if it is missing as there is no clean path back to the battery. Rubber motor mounts, etc are great insulators.

[DESTEC]

hope this picture makes it.

It is a section of my drawing that took 2 winters in Seattle and 1 summer in California (on and off) to draw.

I use signal flow arrows throughout to aid in troubleshooting. Arrows pont from battery to loads.

JJ

[opeldean]

what does this line represent and where is it at?
thanks JJ

[houserc]

As far as I know, it's NOT meant to blow. It's not fused or otherwise a sacrificial wire.

[opeldean]

houserc..mine is blown.I think it happened when the steering colunm smoked by the key area..I guess its the electrical part of the ignition...I bought a part at Oreilly tonight..the guy said it will fit..I will see soon.

right now a jumper wire completes the circuit in my car..I bought a fuse to solder in

[namba209]

Bucky, I just checked the fuse panel on my 72 GT, that black solid line is a piece of brass strap that goes between the two nuts and the fuse to the left of the nuts. Looking at the fuse panel, it is the two nuts toward the rear of the car. That piece of brass is what we call in electrical language a "buss bar", it is designed to allow full current, not fused, to go from one connection to another or allow full current to go to multiple terminals. HTH.

Ron

[DESTEC]

Well if you blow that link; you'll blow lots more.

NO, it is just at the former mentioned; it is a buss bar; just a tie point for wires. I think I will make it look like a buss bar on my drawing, Vs an electrical representation.


Hope that helps.

jj