The "NO" Sho! no lights no power no nothing

[mylena]

I've exhausted all my resources and I've come to you for help. 94 Sho(5spd)was parked in the driveway the last time it was driven. When we went out, it wouldn't start, no power anywhere.

We replaced the battery, the starter twice (just in case the first one was defective), the positive battery cable, checked all grounds and even replaced the "V" cable from the starter to the alternator and starter to underhood fuse box. Nothing! No fuses are blown. Everything seems intact.

Where do we go from here? This car has been sitting for 4 months now. There is hot going into the starter from the positive battery cable, but it seems as though nothing is coming out anywhere. Are there relays that could be causing this, or could it even be the ignition? This one has everybody I know stumped. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[shojuan]

I'm not sure the 94 is the same but on my 89 there is a starter relay on the driver's side fender area near the airbox.

 

[projectSHO89]

Need to clarify several things:

1) You state that there is no power anywhere. Please confirm that NOTHING electrical in the car works (lights, horn, ANYTHING). This is important as it will point to the fault. If there is no power ANYWHERE, you have power distribution problem or an open ground.

2) Have you used a meter or test lamp to check for any voltages ANYWHERE in the car? It sounds like you've just been swapping parts that might seem logical at the time, but with a simple piece of test equipment and the electical diagrams, this problem can be diagnosed inside of 10 minutes by simple troubleshooting techniques.

3) The "midwest" is a big place. If you give a more exact location, you might find someone in your vicinity who can help hands on.

4) Have you tested the battery negative cable and its connection to ground for high reistance or an open?

Steve

 

[mylena]

1) Ok, I confirm NOTHING in the car works, not a bulb is even dim, not a horn or a hum. Dead as a doornail.

2) Yes, I have used both. The only place the test light will light up is where the positive battery cable connects to the terminal on the starter. No other connection will light it. I am not sure what the readings should be on the meter, but here is what it read:

Battery from post to post and cable to cable
12.41V

Positive bolt on starter terminal to ground
12.41V

Other terminal on starter to ground
0.00 V

Firewall fuse box
0.00V

Voltage readings are with meter set on 20V, it made no difference where I set it on the zero readings, it never changed.

3) Wichita, KS

4) Negative cable looked kinda shabby, but cleaned up well. End to end it reads
0.00 ohms.

Also, the original starter on the car did have something wrong with it. It tested bad when we took it in and the solenoid seemed loose. That is why we got a new one. (The new one was tested before we ever brought it home to make sure it was good.)
The red/light blue wire that clips on the tab on the top of the solenoid had the coating (melted?) off of it about 4 inches. That cable as well as the V cable from the starter have both been replaced with ones from a salvage car. I don't know I guess the replacements could have something wrong with them, as well. Or it shorted and blew something else. This car also has an oil leak and has had an antifreeze leak at the back of the motor somewhere near the firewall. (don't know if that could've done anything)

 

[SHOZ123]

If you have an ohm meter check from the negative battery post to the engine block. Should be under .5 ohm.

 

[projectSHO89]

This may help, I hope. I have not inspected the physical layout of the cables that feed the starter and the rest of the car in your model. I have only worked on this circuit "hands-on" on my 89 and I know the physical layout of the starter, solenoid, and cable is different than on the 94.

On my 89, it is possible when installing the cables/wires to the solenoid (fender-mounted) to install the wire that suppplies the whole rest of the car onto the wrong relay terminal. This will result in the exact symptom you have on your 94 - no power anywhere except to that one terminal on the starter relay.

Inspect the following on your car. Someone who has a model wired the same as yours may chime in with exact information to fill in details that I don't have.

From the positive terminal of the battery, there will be one or more cables. One very large one will go directly to the starter motor. If there are no other wires connected at the terminal of battery, there has to be one or more additional wires that connect to that starter terminal. One of them must connect electrically to the output of the alternator, there must be another electrical connection to the fuse box and another electrical connection to a pair of fusible links.

If there is another cable/wire that connects to the positive battery terminal, trace that back to make sure there are no opens.

The whole point of this is that the following points are to be electrically connected: battery positive terminal, starter main terminal, engine compartment fuse box, alternator output terminal.

Do verify the proper ground connection from the battery negative terminal to the engine block.

The smaller "S" terminal of the starter only gets power when the clutch pedal is depressed and the ignition switch is turned to "START".

Good luck. Sorry, but there are limits to what I can determine only from the schematic. You will have to do a physical inspection. Do be on the lookout for the lack of any other wire running from the battery positive terminal or the Starter. I suspect one might have gotten misplaced (the one that supplies the rest of the car).

Steve

 

[mylena]

The wiring to the starter is hooked up correctly. The positive cable from the battery goes to the larger post on the outside bolt furthest from the starter itself (the solenoid is on the starter), it is the larger of the two bolts on the solenoid. Right? If I reverse them, with the hot on the wrong side, (I only did it for a second with the cable to the fuse box NOT connected), and I get a complete circuit. The starter engages with power to the wrong side and a ground. It also burnt a little spot on my battery post and shot sparks. By the way when this problem first started months ago, we thought we had it reversed (but didn't) rant and changed it around and the starter engaged constantly (like this time), but the other cable was also hooked up and we had full power in the car, dome lights and everything. It completed the circuit backwards but not the way it's supposed to?!?!? I don't get it.

I am by no means a mechanic, but logic tells me either NO power is getting to the fuse box/ignition at all for some reason (this is the cable I replaced and still the same result) or further down in the car something is not grounding.

I have checked the ohms from negative post to block and get 0.00 ohms at the ground strap on top, and somewhat erratic readings elsewhere on the block.

Is there more than one engine ground strap? One towards the bottom of the motor, and could it cause this? OR did they possibly give us the wrong starter (it looked identical) and could that cause this?

Thank you