Hey, so im driving to work, noticed that my volt warning light came on a couple times for a brief second. also noticed my volt gauge was moving back and forth as if there was a loose connection...then i went over a speed bump pulling into work and the whole car died...no check engine lights, just a dead car, no power whatsoever...as if the battery had been removed...i check my grounds, battery is still plugged in tight. WTH happened? what should i be checking???

Also car is an 88 fiero gt 2.8 v6

Connections. At battery - hot and ground.
Grounds at engine and body.
Fusible links and connections. They're the red wires that connect to the lug, next to the battery. One red wire goes to the battery. One to the alternator.
Two or three go off in different directions to supply juice to the rest of the car.

It's possible that your battery died, but not likely.
Even if it broke in half, it shouldn't have killed the car, unless it dead shorted. I would have expected more drama (and smoke) in that case.

Edit - The heavy red wire goes down along the side of the engine to the starter. If it gets worn through by a belt or pulley, it can short to ground. THAT will kill the car, but is very likely to start a fire at the same time.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 10-28-2013).]

good lord, k i'll check those soon and get back...thanks very much.

If the battery blew up the car would still run for a while....it's not the battery. It's a major connection....did any fuses blow?

You mean in the fuse box? havnt looked, i'll check that too, any other fuzes besides the one inside the car at the fuze box?

I would bet it is a grounding problem

i checked the main ground from my battery to the block...ground is tight and secure...is there another ground that can cause this?

Look at the things in this picture. Those connection posts have to be tight, and check the links for soft spots or breaks

There we go, pics! Where is that exactly? I should mention my c500 connector or whatever that big connector near the battery in the back? is gone, electrician mechanic removed it and connected the 2 parts of the harness together. Where is this pic in the engine harness?

quote Originally posted by 4thfiero: I should mention my c500 is gone,

The battery is just to the left of that picture, but maybe all this stuff is gone too!

Yeah sorry, i had an 86 engine harness connected to an 88 internal harness...2 pins in the c500 are different. So my mechanic just cut it out and connected them together wire for wire. lol. I dont care, i wanna swap the engine later in life, but right now she's dead! I'll look there in 30 min. See if i can see anything. How many main engine grounds are there that i need to check? Just the main ground from the negative battery terminal to the block? What other grounds can kill the power if there not connected?

The junction block where the power is distributed to the rest of the car's systems is located under the passenger side decklid grill, just ahead of the strut tower, on the wall of the engine bay:



There are two large red wires that lead from the battery, one goes to the junction block, the other to the starter solenoid. Since nothing works and it won't crank over either, I doubt there's a problem with either of those two wires because both would have to be disconnected. There is a possibility that your battery terminals are corroded though, so disconnect them and make sure they're cleaned up, and retighten them.

If that doesn't solve the problem then I doubt it's a ground problem because again, both wires (one leading from the battery terminal to block, and the smaller one leading to the underside of the battery tray) would have to be broken for nothing to work. Check them out just the same though, and retighten where the cables attach to the engine and frame.

If that's not the problem, then it's possible that your alternator is toast and you've been running on battery power lately. The batt light should have been on though if that were the case. Have you tried jumping the car yet? If jumping works, then you can bet the problem is with the actual battery.

I just went out and tested the car, I havnt boosted it yet, however! When i turn on the night time interior lights...THEY WORK! i can pop my headlights up and down too and they work...Im thinking the issue lies with my ignition switch??? When i used to turn the car on...my windshield wipers took a pass on me...so i knew something was up, obv right now they dont do that and nothing works when i turn my key, seems the only thing i can do is turn on my interiour lights and pop my headlights.,. Im getting power to the vehicle, Could it be my ignition switch? That the car just 'thinks" i have the keys out and turned off even if i dont?

[This message has been edited by 4thfiero (edited 10-28-2013).]

radio? Inst. panel lights? tail lights on?

I dont have my stereo installed yet, my interiour dash lights are all on, and side lamp markers and tail lights on yes.

You have a lot of conflicting information about a car that has major modifications....it's difficult to imagine what is wrong....I can't see how the ignition switch would kill a moving car going over a speed bump.

well i looked at all the wires where my c500 connector WAS...everything is still connected, grounded, everything there is good, the tech who did that work is a true pro at electrical issues. And what he did worked great for weeks. now suddenly this happenes. Like i said the only glitch i noticed when the car was working was, when i turn the key to the power position...my winshield wipers take a pass at me. So somethings stupid there. If the ignition switch is bad...car wont star yes? And if it fails when your driving, wont the car die?

What you described sounds like a bad connection. Try checking your distributor wires. This could easily be the dizzy

Arn

Hey there! which distributor wires? I noticed everything is plugged in AT my distributor, and i tried wiggling the cables there...didnt get anything, is there something else i can check??

Start with the pickup coil. You can check it with an ohm meter. Then try the module. After that your connections at the coil. If your coil connections get corroded they can dead short In fact the coil is probably the easiest to check first. If you have a spare coil, try plugging it in and trying the engine

Arn

quote Originally posted by 4thfiero: I just went out and tested the car, I havnt boosted it yet, however! When i turn on the night time interior lights...THEY WORK! i can pop my headlights up and down too and they work...Im thinking the issue lies with my ignition switch??? When i used to turn the car on...my windshield wipers took a pass on me...so i knew something was up, obv right now they dont do that and nothing works when i turn my key, seems the only thing i can do is turn on my interiour lights and pop my headlights.,. Im getting power to the vehicle, Could it be my ignition switch? That the car just 'thinks" i have the keys out and turned off even if i dont?

So you've got power, but nothing happens when you turn the ignition switch. Right?

Are you sure your clutch safety switch is functional? Disconnect it, jumper the connector on the wire, and see what happens. (Make sure the the clutch is disengaged and/or the tranny is out of gear!)

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 10-29-2013).]

pick up coil is fine,

And to Patrick, my car doesn't have a neutral safety switch...it never has. Not sure why lol. I think i found the connector that WOULD plug into the neutral saftey switch, but nothing is jumped nor has anything ever been jumped when it WAS working. Anything else?

quote Originally posted by 4thfiero: And to Patrick, my car doesn't have a neutral safety switch...it never has. Not sure why lol. I think i found the connector that WOULD plug into the neutral saftey switch, but nothing is jumped nor has anything ever been jumped when it WAS working.

Your car is a 5-spd, right?

And you're saying you don't have a safety switch connected to your clutch pedal?

And you're saying that the wire that would go to this non-existent switch is not jumpered?

Well, maybe this is at least part of your problem. Something here isn't kosher.

When your car was running, could you crank the motor with the clutch pedal not pressed down (with the tranny out of gear)?

Yes my car is a 5 speed

Yes that's correct, my uncle bought my car brand new back in the 80's, gave it to me a few years ago...NEVER did it have a neutral safety switch, and yes it was never jumped. When the car WAS running, i could crank the motor over without depressing the clutch with the car out of gear np.

quote Originally posted by Gall757:

... x2

Yeah, now that we know more of the story...

Yeah this car has history...but im quite certain its not the switch, ive taken the car to my mechanic, we will see what he says

it was a fusible link...they fixed it

I was just going to say check the fuses.
Which fusible link was it?

ok, maybe i just dont know the correct term, but what is a fusable link?

Wiki Says:

An electrical fusible link is a type of electrical fuse that is constructed simply with a short piece of wire typically four American wire gauge sizes smaller than the wire that is being protected. For example, an AWG 16 fusible link might be used to protect AWG 12 wiring. Electrical fusible links are common in high-current automotive applications. The wire in an electrical fusible link is encased in high-temperature fire-resistant insulation to reduce hazards when the wire melts.