Wishmaster's87IROC

iTrader: (4)

if its not one thing its another!...anyways,

ok driving along and all of a sudden everything shuts off no power so I coast into a parking lot and heres what Ive got:

I turn the switch to fire the car back up and I get nothing.
The only things working are my interior lights, dash lights, headlights, rear lights, horn and cig lighter. Nothing else.

Underhood light is not on, no brake lights, no radio, no power to roll up the windows, no power to nothing else in the car as far as guages and stuff.

after about an hr I notice the underhood light comes back on so I try the ignition key,,I dont go to crank right off I just turn the key to power and everything is working normal> radio, a-pillar gauges, key buzzer, windows..well I turn the key to crank and everything shuts down again and it hasnt done it since.

SO im thinking there is some kind of module under the dash somewhere close to the steering wheel that is tied to the key ignition that gives KEY'ed power to everything...

where is that?

I know its cant be my key ignition switch......

some told me about some kind of module that gives power to everything and will let the car crank up?


This happened one time before just the other day and I waited like 20 mins and i fired right back up and I never thought about it again. My screw up..

so now what?

My car is sitting in a day care parking lot spot with the windows down and wouldnt you know it, there are calling for rain tonight so I had a friend come get me after sitting there with my car for 3 hrs. So I came home and got my other car and and car cover and went and covered it up.


THere going to love that sight when they get there in the morning for work and people are dropping thier kids off...LOL!

Fullsizewagon

In general there are two power circuits going into the coupe. One of them supplies most of the lighting, and the other supplies ignition, cranking, and accessories. Recovering power and then losing it again as you did when attempting to crank indicates to me a bad contact somewhere. Check the fusible links and their connections down by the starter. If they are ok then check the C100 firewall connector (located behind the fuse box).

Wishmaster's87IROC

iTrader: (4)

it has nothing to do with the starter...Ive checked that....I even removed and had it checked and then put it back on.

what about the little module that someone told me about?
its under the dash somewhere ....its kinda like a little switch of some sort that has a little spring switch that makes connection one way or the other when the key is turned on and off?

he showed it to me when I was at ADvance the other day.

84redta

iTrader: (34)

I had EXACTLY the same issues you are having...it ended up being a fusible link off of my starter. The fusible link that was bad on mine was curcuit A and B (one lead off of the starter stud into fusible link, with two outputs) which controls just about eveyrthing you DON'T have right now. Maybe the link is on it's way out and thats why you have intermittant power. Other than that check your battery connections and if you haven't screwed with any connections before this situation, i would suggest getting a volt meter to check your fusible links underneath. I got an '88 and I'm not positive of that module your speaking of but checking your fusible links for power on each side of the link will be just one more thing to cross off the list.

Toehead

+1 for fusable link down by the starter.

TIMMYS89GTA

iTrader: (28)

well,+2 for fusible link here,it is located about 1-2" past the wire connector on the starter.I believe there are 3 of them on your car.Shouldn't be hard to notice if one is bad.And second,the module/switch you speak of that you saw at advance auto sounds like the ignition switch that is located on top of the steering column.But doesn't sound to me like that is your problem.

84redta

iTrader: (34)

You would assume...mine was PERFECT...yet still fried none the less...althought my link may have been fine...my wire between the link and the starter stud is what melted into a little ball inside of the insulation and obviously broke the connection...but yes there is three

Wishmaster's87IROC

iTrader: (4)

well yeah, it wasnt the Ignition starter switch cause I changed it and it still does the same thing. I will tell you what!...that thing is a nightmare to change and to get to and try to figure out how it comes apart....yeah the directions tell you what to do but it doesnt say anything about getting the cable off the bad switch and moving it to the new one.
ANyways, it didnt make a bit of difference, it did when I first hooked it up cause the key buzzer to buzz and then all the accessories came back on and I was like, YES!!.. but like before as soon as I turn the key..it all went off again...and I spent all day and night changing that thing in the parking lot freezing my *** off! SO I gave up and came back home.

I did check the link right there by the battery and it looked fine. but I guess LOOK is the key word. and I'll have to look for the one by the starter if I can find it....

Heres the switch if anyone ever wants to change one..DONT!...LOL

Toehead

The only way to really be sure is with a multimeter.
Good luck man.

Wishmaster's87IROC

iTrader: (4)

other people are saying its the key switch..and Im like no way...the key switch is machanical and not electrical in anyway..its just got tumblers and then throws the rod to the switch that I just installed.

Toehead

Well, i guess you could manually move the rod to the ignition switch and see if they have any merit!

Althoug, that'd be a pita.

84redta

iTrader: (34)

Yea there is one fusible link by the battery in a junction block, i think thats to your alternator, but the other three are underneath about 3-4 inches from your starter stud, can't miss em, but you do need to be completely underneath the car to see em...you'll need a jack and a piece of card board if the parking lot is dirty or w/e, but grab your multi meter or volt meter before you go underneath! You should get roughly your battery voltage on both sides of the fusible link.

P.S. if you haven't already...there is a junction block underneath your dash on the driver side underneath the kick panel...you will see two rows for places that plugs appear to go into...and inside that plug area are two terminals on each side that go all the way from the top to the bottom...find a piece of wire to connect those two and you'll be able to get your windows up...otherwise you might be able to carry a wire from a BAT terminal in your fuse block to a IGN terminal in your fuse block, and that may work, but i'm not sure, i just know the junction block underneath the kick panel will work to get your windows up!

Wishmaster's87IROC

iTrader: (4)

hey guys, just wanted to update...it was the link down coming off the starter in the black crinkle tube going to the back of the motor...I dont know why it did what it did.....it must have been kinked or something cause when I went to check it and wiggled it....all the lights and fuel pump came on...so I just cranked the car and had a friend follow me home...I'll check it better now that it is home and in the garage.

SO it was a WASTE changing that ignition starter switch....oh well....live and learn!


thanks for the ideas and things to check!

Toehead

Glad to hear it. You probably should replace it though

TIMMYS89GTA

iTrader: (28)

glad you got it home with no problems.

84redta

iTrader: (34)

Yea def replace it, you never know when it'll happen again. Glad to her you got her home tho!

Trickster

Here is a good one for you along the same lines as his problem. Drove my 89 iroc-z to work without any problem, went to lunch without any problem. The fun started when I went to return to work. I put the key in and went to start it, my power antenna went half way and I lost all power. No lights, no nothing anywhere. Got it towed home that night and checked it out next day. Battery was good, had voltage between battery and alternator. No power at pin A4 & G5 at connector C100 on the bulkhead. no voltage at connectors for fusible links at the firewall. Bad fusible links right? ----Wrong!!!!!!!!! By some chance, I decided to pull on the ground wire going from the battery to the engine and the positive cable going from the battery to the starter in case it might have melted. I happened to look up and saw the underhood light on-----wtf!!!!! okay let's see if it cranks, yea--- it did. ran it up on a set of ramps, shut it off and disconnected the battery and checked the starter. Found problem, nut securing the battery cable and fusible links to the starter solenoid had backed off and the large terminal lugs on the cables weren't making contact. Tightened nut down with new lock washer and a little extra torque for good measure. Changed the oil while I was under there and gave it a good lube job.

Wishmaster's87IROC

iTrader: (4)

yeah Ive had that happen too! THeres not alot of threads on them little starter threads to the solenoid...and they will tear up easy as hell too..good thing Ive got a life time warranty hight torque LT1 starter from advance...

Trickster

That is going to be one of my next projects. I just put a new 140 amp powermaster alternators on it after the old one took a royal dump on me. Fortunately I was at home when it did it. Plus I get an employee discount from advance. I also plan to replace the sway bar links with new heavy duty ones.