yesterday i drove my 69 camaro, ran great, then today, i was going to pull it out to detail it, and it didn't start.

no power at all when i turned the ignition switch, i do have power at battery, no accessories work, so i replaced the ignition switch and that did nothing.

there is power to starter, no power to coil(accessories)

any help would be appreciated.


http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/4/4/13/t_69Camarom_d454d5d.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/4/4/13/f_69Camarom_d454d5d.jpg&srv=img29)

Headlights work? I'm thinking fusable link. The main one is between the positive battery cable at the battery and the junction block on the radiator support. I think there are more near the horn relay and the voltage regulator.

Jeff

no headlights, but not certain what you are referring to.

chris

I think the no headlights confirms it. Behind the battery is a square plastic block with 2 wires on it. One wire from the battery, one going out the other way to power everything up. Check and see if you have power at the junction block.
HTH
Jeff

there is not a junction block.

Double post.

So everything is dead? But you have 12v~ on the battery?

I'd start with the battery terminal connections.

i took the battery out and had it checked at autozone, it had full charge.

nothing is working except for the fan bc it is wired directly to battery with a switch.

i checked it last night, not getting power to the ignition switch.

i did try to jump the soleniod, and still had nothing.

I think the no headlights confirms it. Behind the battery is a square plastic block with 2 wires on it. One wire from the battery, one going out the other way to power everything up. Check and see if you have power at the junction block.
HTH
Jeff



Jeff is most likey right. If there is no juction block they probably just spliced the two wires together. Follow the small wire from the positive side of the battery and check to see if it is corroded anywhere where, especially where it might be spliced.

I hope this helps,
:beers:

Power gets to the inside of the car from that plastic junction block behind the battery, through a wire that runs across the rad support to the screw terminal buss on the horn relay. If there's no wire from the smaller wire on the positive battery cable (which is also a fusible link) to the horn relay, someone has played Bubba with the wiring, or one of the connections at the screw terminal on the horn relay has come loose.

:beers:

While you are in there, you might also want to make sure the wire from the negative battery terminal is going to a solid ground.

the negative is connected on the battery, then grounded to the block..very snug. i traced the positive from the battery to the horn relay, which is mounted on the drivers side, and tested it with a test light, which lite up. so does that mean that the short is between the ignition switch and the horn relay or between the fuse panel and the horn relay.

also, when i tested one of the terminals on the horn relay, it made a strange buzzing sound, and the test light was very dim.

also, if i have power at the alternater, then it must not be the horn relay..correct?

is there possible a negative from the ignition switch that perhaps isn't grounded?

chris

Check to make sure the engine & lighting harness are pluged in nice and tight to the fuse box. When I was a teenager we had an old beater big block 4 speed 65 el camino that somtimes would just loose all power. The fuse box was pretty hammered and you could just give it a kick with your left foot and it would make contact and off you would go. ;)

ha, ill try to push on it and see it that works.

The power lead to the fuse box is a big red wire with a black fusible link, attached to the horn relay. You may have a bad fusible link there.

This is when a wiring diagram comes in handy, but hard telling what might have been changed. The buzzing when you tested that terminal of the horn relay is normal best as This 50 YO brain can recall. Keep following the wire from the batt to horn relay to bulkhead conn to ign sw and see where you loose power. Good luck and let us know .

Jeff

This thread reminds me of a story.
Back in the early 80's my car would lose all electrical power after driving at hiway speed for about 30 minutes. Went on like that all summer. Twice I thought I found the cause, only to still suffer another shutdown. Then I removed the firewall bulkhead plug. There it was. Right from the factory. The ignition's red wire pin was 'pushed' (computer talk) and laying askew. Unbelievable. The car was over 20 years old before it quit working.

i haven't had a chance to seperate the wire loom between the horn relay and fuse panel yet, but will let you know as soon as i do. i read what fred posted, was thinking that i might just replace the fuse panel so that it is modern.

i eventually want to put the edelbrock pro flow xt efi system on the 396, so should i wait to replace the fuse panel then and see if the wire is not making contact for now? i suppose it really doesnt matter huh?

does anyone know where i could get that efi system for a reasonable price? im tired of the rpm range on the tunnel ram/nos set up for the street.

thanks guys, ill keep you posted.

chris

also, does anyone know or have a wiring diagram/picture of the horn relay. id like to make sure that it is connected correctly.

Here's the bottom of the horn relay - the black wire is to the horn button (ground it to pull in the relay coil), the pink/black wire is from the key buzzer switch in the steering column (ground it and the buzzer sounds), and the green wire sends 12V to the horns when the black wire is grounded. The two screw connections are on a common 12V battery power buss (the power distribution center for the car); one is the wire from the battery junction block, the other is the main feed to the inside of the car through the multiple connector on the engine side of the fuse block. :thumbsup:

thanks for the picture.

chris