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HALP!! wagon won't start!


jonas
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did a valve adjustment on my '84 wagon. got it all back together, fired her up and was pleased with the results. *side note, recommend valve adjustment to everyone. one of the best,easiest, tune-up jobbies for an EA81 that you can do yourself* anyway, now i get NOTHING! no door buzzer, no lights, no clicking of starter, NOTHING. jumpstarting doesn't even work. i suspect my coil but thought i would ask here.

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its what i call the magic wire syndrome. there should be a high current wire going from the positive battery cable into your fusible link block (right guys? not an ea81 owner here) you can try wiggling this wire a bit, and wiggle all your fusible links in the block. i get a total deadwire every once in a while from the same fusible link, but i think my problem is in my block. havent gotten around to fixing that one yet.

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welp i'm just gonna have to take my time and finger this out. checked for loose wires, none to be found. cleaned my grounds for good measure. it's something in the ignition system. hope it's not my ignition switch, i hate those! had the ignition switch go out on my brat with similar symptoms. anyway i can usually figure these things out if i just remain calm and think things thru. time for a beer and some dinner. :drunk:

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okay... youve got NO POWER anywhere in the car?? is that what youre saying?

 

and after writing about half of this, let me apologize in advance if i sound condescending. Ive got no idea how much you know.. yanno?

 

im going to assume that, since its what i can tell from your posts.. if your battery cables are still original, i would try replacing them first. thats about ten bucks for the pair. check all the wires that are coming off of the positive battery terminal.. turn the key to on, and go under the hood, take each wire from the terminal and wiggle every single inch of it. there will be one large wire going to the fusible link block, as well as the HUGE wire going down to the starter. the huge wire powers the starter motor; the big wire going to your fusible link block powers EVERYTHING else. it doesnt look so big anymore, does it? ive had a persistent problem getting that big wire to make a good connection to the fusible link block. im thinking of drilling the block to put a good place to secure the wire into it with a cable lug. anyhow, once youve wiggled all that, then make sure you slide the fusible link terminal plugs up and down a couple times. you won't get shocked by touching these wires, its only 12VDC and youre wearing shoes.

 

If you have a multimeter or a test light, it would ge GREAT to check for voltage on both sides of each fusible link. if youre good that far, then its time to go into the car and pull the shourd off the steering column. at this point, you almost NEED a test light or a multimeter. to use a test light, you clamp the wire end onto a good vehicle chassis ground, and touch the probe end to where you are looking for voltage (try the battery terminal first if in doubt.. you see? the bulb comes on.) Now, once youve removed the plastic shroud around the steering column, look at the backside of the ignition switch. (the cars over 20 years old.. its okay to look at her backside:lol: ) With the key turned to off, check all of the large wires soldered to the back. one should have power. turn the key to on, and check them all again. they should now almost all have power.. one will only get power when you turn the key to start (duh)

 

as far as i know...... if you have power at all the terminals on the back of your keyswitch, guess what, your car works fine. i dont care what you say it works FINE!

 

seriously though, that should about cover it. if your switch is bad, then get a replacement. its a straightforward job, the ignition keylock/switch assembly is in two pieces.. once you take it off the steering coumn (you may have to drill these bolts out-- they arent supposed to be easily removable, or else it would be that easy to steal the car) the switch is removed from the back of the lock with one or two small screws. make sure you bring the old switch along, and the lock as well, to compare to the new switch so you dont get the wrong one. test fit it in the store, and bring the key so you can run it through all positions and make sure its fine. never hurts to save an extra trip to the store.

 

good luck, and enjoy my book on how to bring electricity back into your soob. I'll be at your local mall signing copies sometime soon!!!

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hey no prob. i've got big shoulders i can take it. i do have limited power. i put 2+2 together and came up with this. all my loss is in the ignition. i got everything that you can run w/o having the ign. on. actually i used an '84 ignition switch on my '81 brat that did the same thing but i rememberd too late. so this weekend i'll pop that in and am pretty sure i'kk be good to go. i should have thought more before i posted ty anyway!

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sometimes i start talking, and i just start going into such details that i say screw it, and i write a textbook article.

 

when i do that, i often go back to the top of my post, halfway thru writing it, and include a brief disclaimer saying no, i dont necessarily think you're an idiot :)

 

thats all.

 

no clue on whether its the same or not.. but if they look the same, and seem to have the same switch positions in the same "clock" position, put it into the lock. before you install the lock back onto the steering column, put the key in and make sure it cycles through everything in a manner that seems proper.. ive had issues in the past finding a replacement switch for my datsun 280Z where i had a box of assorted mostly Zcar nissan switches... (theyre almost identical, and probably swappable, to the soobs, and a few other japcars ive seen) I had one that seemed right, thru several different checks.. but i screwed it into the lock and reinstalled the lock, only to find that the key would not turn at all.... DOH

 

good luck, if this doesnt fix the problem then its narrowed down some more. come back and update us.

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