Electrical gremlins, need help!

[R4K 10]

Here's the list of symptoms...

 

* When I open the doors on my pony, I get no dome light.

 

* Engine will not turn over when I try to turn it over via the ignition switch.

 

* If I put the keys in, and turn it on, then go out and start the car up with a remote starter, it starts up just fine.

 

* Even when it's running, I get no tach and no voltage reading on my gauges...BUT, my dome light comes on nice and bright.

 

* I get 12.6V with my multimeter between posts, between cables, and between + cable to alt mount, export brace, or even the bolt on my grounding strap on the firewall.

 

* When I turn on the lights, it dies.

 

* If I try to start it with the remote while the lights are one, it won't start.

 

Anybody?

[bnickel 10,004]

well first off if you have to start it from under the hood you have a bad ignition switch and that could very well be the entire problem. did this just start happening all at once or are some of these problems pre-existing?

[R4K 10]

Well, the ignition switch has sometimes acted lazy, ie...turn to start and there's a delay of 1-2 secs before it kicks in the starter. I've suspected an iginition switch problem for some time, but there's also been some possible charging system issues, and when I charge the battery the problem goes away.

 

I've kind of made a mess of things right now, as I had to pull all the wiring of my Clifford alarm system because it was all bunched up down where the clutch pedal travels. (Remember that scene in Empire Strikes Back where C-3PO is all tangled up in the Millennium Falcon's wiring when he's looking into the hyperdrive? That's what it looked like under my dash!)

 

So now I have to figure out what was being routed through the Clifford and try to get them hooked up to their original sources.

 

On the bright side, I have the wiring diagram.

 

On the down side, when I look at my dash, I'm thinking "Dear God, what have I done?"