86 Tbird electrical problem some things work some don't (only drive during daylight)

October 14, 2012, 02:04:55 PM

FIXED!!!!
TheFoeYouKnow thanks for your post it made me look a second time at the fusible links that just kept testing good. Well the genious that designed this particular piece of the wire harness decided it would not only be special to run the harness under the battery, but to include a connector there as well. When I gave it a tug three wires just fell out of the connector. Cut, Solder, and heat shrink tubing.
Hello everyone
I bought this car in 1995 with 52,000 miles on it, and just turned 150K it has the 5.0 engine with AOD
Long story short it sat in the driveway for a few months, but started every two weeks or so. Some things work some don't. Re-seated all the fuses in the fuse block which made it possible to start with the key,,,, Re-seated the headlight switch with no change......still have some "minor" glitches..Hoping it's a loose connection somewhere

Question is where to start,,, heading under the car to clean starter and ground...
Just finished checking fusible links OK

DOES WORK...
Fuse 1,2,5,10,14,18

Directionals front and back
Brake lights with cyclops
hazard lights
power windows
Wipers
horn

DOESNT WORK
Fuse 4,6,8,12,13,15,17

Clock
power door locks
Power mirrors
power seats
odometer does not show numbers (digital) but does light up
Headlights high or low beam
dome lights ( center and spots)
driving lights

fusible links checked out, and tested the fuses with a test light the ones that didn't work mentioned before have no power at the fuse block. The chilton wiring diagram isn't very helpful. they seem to have left out quite a lot. the lighting circuits aren't on the diagram at all.

spent some time on it and concluded all good to firewall, My neighbor who is a mechanic by trade came over and stuck his head in for a look. the high low directional switch on the column was what we found to be a problem. when the arm was pulled back (flash to pass) the battery/voltage light would go out and the fuel pump would run, when released light would come back on and the fuel pump would stop.......now there is some power to ignition but that curcuit is now dead. I took the switch from the column apart cleaned all connections made sure females were tight reassembled with no change

86 Tbird electrical problem some things work some don't (only drive during daylight)

Reply #1 – October 14, 2012, 08:07:02 PM

Have you checked the ignition switch on the lower steering coluum?

86 Tbird electrical problem some things work some don't (only drive during daylight)

Reply #2 – October 15, 2012, 07:15:26 AM

13 and 15 get power from the light switch, 6 and 17 each have different power sources, so double check that these aren't simply blown since they both come from the ignition switch (if the switch was the problem other fuses wouldn't work also). 4 and 8 send power to the light switch, so they would be the reason 13 and 15 are dead. Scratch 13 and 15 off the problem list, they're a symptom of 4 and 8. 12 is (or is supposed to be) a circuit breaker, so that's probably good. With everything but 6 and 17, you're dealing with a single constant power circuit that feeds your fuses. If you chase black/orange through the firewall you'll probably find that fuse link B (Orange) is open. Replace it with an inline maxi fuse holder and fuse it at 20-25 amps. Hope this helps.