1987- A wire from the starter sol. rubbed against the big hot wire and made contact- car tried startin itself so I had the batt disconnected for a while. Well- I tried jumping it: As soon as I connected the cables, the int. lights started flashing... (I would guess a short somewhere to a relay, as it flashed in a sort of pattern?) I ignored the problem and tried to start the car anyway (stupid I know). The instant the key hit the start position I lost power to EVERYTHING- I am currently testing a group of in-line splice type fuses but they all seem ok- these are located by the battery, after a power distribution block looking part.

Does anyone know if there is a main batt fuse located somewhere else on the car? I have a fuse box located in the pass. door well but it doesn't contain any large fuses or relays. Also, all fuses in this box seem to be ok.
Thank you to anyone that can help!

 

There's some fusible links by the starter. You may have blown one. One of the fusible links and wires feed the main harnesses that operate the vehicle ignition etc. A wiring diagram from a factory service manual is helpful. Check the leads by the starter.

Art

 

You've got a poor connection at the battery.

 

 

Thanks guys-
Fuseable links all look good-
I took the battery in to be tested and it comes back as deeply discharged. Usually you trickle charge a battery that is deeply discharged. When I hooked up mine the guage on the charger started bouncing just like the lights in the car were flashing...
I used some dielectric grease on the batt connections in the spring and I was told it made it corrode faster...
Replacing tomorrow

 

ok- new battery didn't work- lookin for more fuses.....

 

Another place to look is the actual ignition switch. This is the switch that is at the base of the column. Being a 1987, this switch has been on and off 1000's of times. Eventually the contacts wear causing high resistance which is almost like an open circuit. Being that one of the wires was grounded could have sent a lot of current through the switch causing it to go bad. One way to test the switch is to disconnect the positive battery cable from the battery. Use an ohmeter and measure the resistance between the positive battery cable, once it's disconnected, and the brown wire that connects to the alternator connector. Unplug the connector from the alternator first. The resistance should be around 10 ohms. If it isn't, rock the key in the ignition cylinder and see if the resistance changes. If it remains high and looks like it is slowly dropping then the ignition switch could be bad. I know this is a longshot but a lot of the primary circuits that run the car run through the ignition switch. It's very easy to test and takes very little time to do. Good luck.

Art

 

You guys are gonna kill me- after going multimeter crazy, I found that the bolt that holds all the wires on the distribution block was loose- no power past the battery- only to the starter (not the solenoid) Also, flashing lights were due to the alarm going off (audio was disconnected durring some work done while she was parked) when that bolt was bumped and power briefly made it to the car... thanks everyone for the help though!

 

wow, you really lucked out. I'm suprised you didn't either blow one of your fusible links or melt wires. Good to hear that is all that was wrong.