Electrical Mess?

[stallrocket]

I have a 95 Legacy Wagon that decided to die on me. After having no problems, I got no crank one morning. To make a long story short, I replaced the battery, then the alternator. After a jump, I let the car run for about 2 hours. I took it for a ride around the block and lost all power.

 

I jumped it again, but when I put the key in the ignition I go between losing all dash lights including the door open light and a start every 25 times I try. Do I have some kind of a short in the ignition system? The battery is fully charged yet I get nothing most of the time once I turn the key. Its almost as if turning the key kills all power.

 

Thanks.

[gbhrps]

Check the simple things first. There could be quite a bit of corrosion on the leads going to your starter and/or starter selenoid to almost totally insulate any juice to the starter. The selenoid may have a dead short. The starter itself could have a dead short on one side of the armature, and is stuck at that point of its rotation, rendering it inoperative. Could one of your main cables be grounding/shorting itself out? Check for bad fuses or fusible links indicating the cable in question. That's where I would look for the obvious DIY snooping. If it doesn't rear its ugly head, you'll need the help of a professional. Maybe someone else can jump in with other ideas. Good Luck!

[Cougar]

The symtoms you describe indicate there is a bad connection in the main power buss to the accessories somewhere, not a short. Make sure that the smaller wire to the positive side of the battery is making good connection. Check the fusible links for a bad connection. The problem may be in the ignition switch connector. You will have to remove the cover over the steering column to check that. Do that if you don't find any trouble in the other areas.