first off, it's an 88 automatic SE (base), series 5 block and rotating assembly, s4 intake. just rebuilt with all new seals and low mis. housings. and man have i used the search function...

battery is at 12 volts and i hooked the car up to a heavy duty charger/starter. well, i went to crank the car without the spark plugs to get some oil pressure going and nothing happened. i also tried jumpering the yellow connector to get the fuel pump to come on so i could check for leaks. still nothing. all the grounds are connected (i put orange tape on the wires so i wouldn't forget during reassembly). the starter motor is also connected. i don't even get any clicks from relays.

the ONLY thing that works are the dash lights and exterior lights. dome lights don't work and blow the fuse every time i replace it... but that happened before the rebuild.

any ideas?

 

bump... alright well it IS an auto so i may part it out and try to find a 5 speed to put the engine in... if i can't figure this out soon.

 

checked the neutral safety switch and it's within specs. i don't think that would cause all this anyways. i mean i'm not even getting a volt reading on the dash guage when it's in the on position, although i obviously have power because the lights work. no fuses are blown either.

 

Did you remove the wiring harness with the engine when you pulled it the first time?

 

no, i disconneccted everything from the engine and then pulled it

 

So absolutely NOTHING works as far as electrical goes right?

 

Read - buff

Did you hook up the battery correctly. I know it sounds stupid but that could be causing you woes. Neg Toward Head Lights and Pos Toward fuse box.

 

no, some things work... but they are only functions that don't need the ignition or accessory position to work. i'm talking about brake, head, parking, hazard, interior lights and that's all that works.

it's like my ignition switch won't work, but it was solid before the rebuild.

hehe, battery is hooked up correctly.... i double checked the - lead to various grounds and put it back on the - battery post.

i'm thinking it's some main relay but i don't know where to look or how to test it.

 

so your warning light cluster isn't working with the key switched on- if so then it might not be the ignition switch-main fuses are located on the drivers side fender 100 is the main?

 

wanring lights don't come on... but the warning lights were always flaky... think the unit some bad solder points/connectors on the back.

fuses are not blown, i've checked main and interior fuses twice with tester. i even fixed the dome light problem.

anybody know where the main relay is?

 

have you checked your fsm?

 

i would have if i had one... don't own a hard copy and it's quite hard to get it with a 56k modem and without adobe reader 6.0.

 

Do you disconnect any wires from the fuse box under the hood? Have you checked the main fuse?

 

yeah, well i'm gonna troubleshoot the ignition switch and starter motor as per the FSM (have parts of it on a laptop) and try to find out where the main relay is... some help with it's location would be nice... having a hard time finding it in the fsm, don't know what section it's in or i'm overlooking it.

 

80A main fuse in enginebay fusebox?

edit: sorry, musta scrolled past the post where you checked this.

Check to see that you have 12vdc at the ignition switch itself.

 

Just below the engine fuse box there is a connection to to a single black wire. This single black wire feeds the ignition. If that wire/connector is apart, you will still have the lights you say you have, but will NOT have any starter action or idiot lights.

Since your going to check at your ignition, find the other end of the black wire mentioned above. It will be in a two wire connector. ONe wire is black and the other black/white. That connector is located about a foot down from the ignition switch. Check for 12 at the Black wire coming from the engine bay. If no 12v..........go look in the engine bay about a foot or less below the fuse box for a single black wire and its connection to another black wire.

If looking at a 87/88 fsm it's called X-23 and at the igniton harness it's called X-02. See fsm.

 

thanks alot, great info... too bad my laptop is so slow.

i'll check out that ignition lead and that i have power to my ignition switch, but...

i checked continuity of the ignition switch and unfortunately it depends heavily on whether or not i jiggle the unit or bend the wires just the right way... and it's a Fluke brand multimeter with clean leads i'm using so i trust it.

tested all terminals as per the fsm and the k1 and k2 pins never have continuity on any setting (they are supposed to have it on any key setting, so i assume that's a problem). other pins are just as bad or flaky...

i guess i need a new ignition switch... what a way to break in my new s5 engine.

 

well... apparently that one little black wire under the fuse box got disconnected... i guess from tying up the steering and ac pumps to the side... and all functions are restored. thanks a million everyone, hopefully after i fix a tiny fuel leak on the upper reail banjo bolt i can start breaking it in!

 

Did you check the egi relay? Next to the trailing coils. Mine was bad and everything worked, the car turned over fine but had no spark and no fuel. There's a write up 0n how to how up a code reader if you're car doesn't have one. Cost me 8 bucks.

 

car idles fine... now for a pipe in place of my blown out cats and a atf fluid/filter change and it's on the road again.