So I recently picked up a '85 GSL-SE for $100. Body is straight. Interior is complete and nice (aside from the **** brown color) and all in all, it was a steal. So the car has been sitting for about 8 years. A bad fuel pump is keeping it from coming alive but thats not the issue.

I replaced the battery and terminals with brand new ones and everything seems to come to life when I turn the key over. However at first, nothing would work. The headlights wouldn't come on, the turn signal wouldn't work, in fact nothing inside the car would work except the wipers and power windows.

Eventually after turning the key on and off a few times and fiddling with buttons and switches, one after another, things began to work. (by the way I did check all the fuses. They were all good.) Headlights, radio, turn signals, everything but the dash lights.

So is there a bad connection somewhere or did the car just need some time to wake up? I don't want everything to decide not to work when I take it in to get inspected.

 

Check fusible links (might be loose or partially blown or corroded connections). Also, I would suspect the ignition switch.

 

Yeah, my guess would be ignition switch.

 

dash light could be the switch burning out, make sure the wires near the shift boot aren't plugged into each other. then you can either replace the switch or hard wire the positives