rade95

Hi fellow rotary enthusiasts,

I desperately need some help. I have a 1984 GSL-SE. I accidentally shortened the alternator + (the thick white/red wire) to the ground, for a fraction of a second, with battery connected. There was a spark and after that the car would not crank. It appears like the starter motor died. I checked all the fuses including the engine fuse and all 5 fuse links in the engine trunk and they are all fine. This is mind boggling. When I turn the key in ON position some warning lights come on in the dashboard, but the engine would not crank. The lights do not work either. Please help.

/Rade

GSLSEforme

What is the method you're using to check fuselinks & fuses? Test light,voltmeter can be used. Check terminals both sides while manipulating cloth covered wire section, often a short will burn thru a section of fuselink wire and the cloth will keep the separated ends in light contact-enough to bridge the circuit but not enough to carry needed current. All your warning lights on bottom of dash cluster should illuminate with the exception of low fuel light,seat belt light will illuminate for 5 seconds until timer times out and light turns off.
Does the battery light illuminate with the rest of warning lights?
You state the lights don't work, do you mean headlights/running lights? Do the headlamp doors come up when turning headlights on,or with override switch on dash?
Is the car an automatic or manual transmission? Start by removing battery cables at battery(both) and inspect them for corrosion,clean if needed-leave disconnected for now. Remove battery and ground cables at starter motor and be sure ends are clean and corrosion free(ground cable has a lug bolted to lower section of driver side strut tower with a 6mm bolt-remove and clean this also). Wire brush/sandpaper can be used to clean all connections shiny bright. Put voltmeter on battery while all is disconnected,check voltage,record. Hook all cables back up leaving negative battery til last. Put voltmeter on battery terminals and observe while starting car.
No crank? With key on do turn signals,heater blower motor,radio work? Remove small push on wire at starter solenoid,put positive voltmeter lead on this wire,put negative voltmeter lead on a good ground. Turn key to crank position,should show 11-12 volts on starter solenoid wire. If not,and everything else mentioned works with key on,investigate ignition switch. If there is voltage on solenoid wire,make sure there's no corrosion on connector or terminal of solenoid-make sure the connection between wire and solenoid is tight. Have someone turn key to crank position while you get under car and (tap)starter with a hammer,car may crank and start. If not,may need to replace starter motor.
Work your way thru these questions and you'll have a running car or know what you will need to do to get it running. You'll want to get alternator output tested ,damage can be caused by accidental grounding to internal diodes(there are 6) that can cause alternator to charge at a low rate-or not at all. Post back your findings for more direction if needed or to help someone else reading your thread with a similar problem.

rade95

Thanks GSLSEforme!! I am doing more diagnosis after replacing the battery terminals and re-charging the battery. Will post the results here. The battery was showing only 10.5V at the ALT + wire. It is almost a new battery. What is the easiest way to test the alternator? When I checked the fuse links I used the ohmmeter beeper function. thanks

GSLSEforme

Use a voltmeter on fuselinks. Check voltage at battery after you get car running. Should be about 14 volts. If it's not,alt. may have some problems.

rade95

Why use voltmeter at fuselinks prongs in the car? What should it read?

GSLSEforme

Ground the negative lead of voltmeter,probe terminals on both ends of fuselink with other lead of meter while you manipulate wire. Check battery voltage first. You should see virtually the same voltage at each side of each fuselink. If you don't see consistent/steady voltage at any particular fuselink=investigate further.
Ohmeter beep test ok,but voltmeter will tell you more.
You stated in a previous post that alt. B+ was only 10.5 volts. What was voltage at battery at time you tested B+ wire? Voltage should be identical at battery,main fuselink &alt B+ wire.
Never posted back anything about what worked and what didn't light,accessory wise...

rade95

The car is reving, the starter is working, but the car is not running. It was the battery, no fuses were blown. I am back to where I was before shortening the ALT. When I got the car it wasn't running. After spending lot of time I believe it has a weak spark. I will start a new thread for this and I am in desperate need for help to troubleshoot this.

GSLSEforme

Happy to help you,sent you a pm