'84 Flat-Four Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I wanted to post this and see what everyone has to say... I think I may be overthinking/overlooking things... So I bought the 84 GL from Brown_Muscle (apparently GooBaroo's old Soob)... ran fine for a few weeks. Yesterday, I went to turn the key, and nothing happened. No dash lights, no starter clicking, no cranking... zippo, zilch... Put a full charge on the battery... still nothing. I jumped the terminals on the starter solenoid and got it to turn; then went straight 12V to the solenoid and got it to turn... so then I take a ohm-meter to the coil, way off specs... so I need a new coil, right? I just feel like I'm missing something... could the above symptoms be caused by a bad ignition switch and here I am about to buy a new coil for no reason? Electricity is not my thing, so all this metering is new to me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naru Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 1. Maybe,but ,it sounds more like a bad fusible link.(Small wire fuses located in a plastic box near the battery) 2.Probably,coils are fairly robust.Did you have spark after hotwiring? How far out of spec? You need to remove wires before measuring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'84 Flat-Four Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 I did check the links, but not sure what i'm lookin for. When they blow is it obvious? Burn-marks, melting...? They seem ok, and i wiggled them around to make sure the connections were good. Low end of the specs for primary, and zero resistance on the secondary. I did not have juice flowing when i tested the resistance. In terms of sparks after hotwiring,... no i did not. I'm in there now checking for anything loose or disconnected going to the switch (steering column); I have a weird feeling its the ign switch... but not sure how to test this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naru Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Maybe not,Best check is w/voltmeter.Confirm 12v on both sides w/key on. Zero isn`t going to work if correct.Won`t prevent the motor from turning though. Same principle applies to testing the switch.Confirm 12V in and 12V out by measuring as close as possible to the switch while under load. Look for 12V at coil + w/key on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'84 Flat-Four Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 will do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'84 Flat-Four Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 so i have juice,... key on,... voltmeter read zero at + & - at coil. ?????? At the risk of sounding like a total moron,... how do i test the switch? aside from exposing the column, where do i put my leads? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 (edited) One known issue with the EA-81 vehicles is the connector for the ignition switch. The main battery feed wire can burn the terminal ends in the connector. Pull the trim panel under the steering column, look for a Pink colored connector on the wires coming from the steering column, (6 place connector with 5 wires on each side). Look closly at the White wire, (main battery feed), and where it is in the connector. If it's faulty or atleast going bad, the connector will be discolored. One other problem I've had myself. Corroded terminal(s) under the fusable link box. You'll have to unbolt the box to see the bottom of it. Also, check you battery terminals and the cables, check both ends of the cables. Edited February 27, 2009 by TomRhere needed to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naru Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 so i have juice,... key on,... voltmeter read zero at + & - at coil. ??????At the risk of sounding like a total moron,... how do i test the switch? aside from exposing the column, where do i put my leads?[/quote Look for 12V on at least on side of fuse#3(ECM).This will verify integrity of the relevant FL and almost confirm 12V going into the switch. Check the ignition portion of the switch by looking for 12V at any of fuses 13-16 w/key on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'84 Flat-Four Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 i'm on it! wrastling with the column panel. Thanks naru & TomRhere. I'll let you know what i discover... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naru Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Once you find that connector,ignition output is on the black wire,starter BW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'84 Flat-Four Posted February 28, 2009 Author Share Posted February 28, 2009 I zero volts at my switch Pink connector looks good. Get this... water comes pouring out of the ECM... I mean pouring out... I unplugged it and the middle terminals were corroded as heck. I am presuming that it is shot. But does this explain it, or is this cascading of pine barren tea unrelated, i just happen to find it...? (goobaroo... you got me! I think theres video of when this may have happened...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naru Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Shorted ECM might have blown the FL.Got power at fuse#3? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'84 Flat-Four Posted February 28, 2009 Author Share Posted February 28, 2009 i don't have juice at the ignition switch or the female terminal for the ignition switch (engine-side); i don't have juice at Fl (in fact voltmeter went into negative-wrong way); but i have 12V on the starter & solenoid... ignition switch shot & ecm shot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naru Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 i don't have juice at the ignition switch or the female terminal for the ignition switch (engine-side);i don't have juice at Fl (in fact voltmeter went into negative-wrong way); but i have 12V on the starter & solenoid... ignition switch shot & ecm shot? Has to be the FL or wiring if no volts at the engine side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 There's a small wire from the battery + to the fusable link box, that is the main feed for the vehicle, thru the different links. Main battery + cable is for starter power only. Check to make sure that the small wire is plugged into link box. (plugs into the side) Check for voltage on both ends of the links, they can burn but not destroy the insulation on them. Put your meter - lead on the battery -, meter + lead to each link end, should have voltage on both ends. Un-bolt the link box, flip it over and check for corroded terminals, broken wires. Had that problem on my old '86 BRAT. Here's a link to the electrical layout, May help you understand things a bit easier. http://mshoup.us/docs/fsm/EA81/83/Chapter15-Electrical_System.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'84 Flat-Four Posted February 28, 2009 Author Share Posted February 28, 2009 Thanks for the advice guys... it started to rain last nite. I'm back at it this morning... will check below FL for corrosion & test for juice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'84 Flat-Four Posted February 28, 2009 Author Share Posted February 28, 2009 YOU GUYS ROCK!!! My Soob is alive! FL was the culprit. did exactly what you said, but funny thing was nothing was evident at first inspection. Contacts looked good, but I cleaned them anyway since I was in there; When I looked at the FL for white wire from battery, there was a very slight discoloration on the underside of the loop portion of the FL. It wasn't melted or burned out, just discolored-whitish, where it should hae been red... Had to take it out and inspect by itself to find this. So I switched FLs (white FL put in black FL spot) and she woke up. Are FLs easy to come by? Should I replace my ECM? Could the ECM still be working, even after marinating in pine barren stew? I am off to JY to pull a ECM just in case. There's an 84 GL wagon and I'm pretty sure its ECM is still there. Might as well pull its FLs if still there too... Once again, thanks a ton guys! USMB saved my Soob! I was really doubting myself and second-guessing my decision to revive this girl. I owe it to you guys for keeping me looking and troubleshooting. Good learning experience for me in terms of persistence and frustration. I know,... blah, blah, blah, just another FL story,... but seriously,... I never would have inspected as thoroughly as I did were it not for USMB... Off to the JY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Congrats!!!!! Glad to hear she's up and running.... Don't think FLs are available new anymore, so yeah JY is your friend there. As for the ECM, hard to say if it'll go south on you or not. Time will tell on that one. I would grab one if there's one to be found, just to have on hand. I can't say if they're year specific or not, don't know. You could pull yours out and flush it good with some contact cleaner, couldn't hurt.. Let it dry out good before returning power to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'84 Flat-Four Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 No ecm(s) at JY... hmmmm. I guess these don't last too long at the JY. I saw online that a rebuilt ecm will set me back 300 big ones... wow:eek: The funny thing is it seems like my ecm IS working. I brought it overnight to get it some dry hot air... must have done the trick. Didn't think of the contact cleaner though... good idea! Would it be an electronic contact cleaner? What about brake cleaner - since it leaves no residue (its what i got on-hand)... would you use this on electronics? Grabbed all the FLs I could find, bout six... enough to throw extras in the glove box. I did read that red, green and black FLs are all different in terms of melting points (voltage resistance), so I was careful to find the correct match-ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman18 Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Also make sure the correct color FL's are in there spots, the different colors are different sized FL's, just like having the right size fuse in it's spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 If the ECU still works that would be pretty amazing I think. Don't use brake cleaner to clean it with. Contact cleaner is ok. If you haven't opened the box yet I suggest you do that and make sure there isn't any corrosion on the board or water left inside it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brown_Muscle Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 I'm glad you got is running again! This is such a great site. Dont hesitate to shoot me an email or call if you need any more info or any help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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