Allrighty, on this lovely July 4th, I just happened to be cruiseing around in my Z28 checking out fireworks and the lot. When low and behold I smell a funky smell after hearing a belt screech, the screeching then went away and then I smell this nasty smell.... not sure what it is exactly I go into a turn off to enter a shoping market area. Well, while in this turn off the smell gets even worse.... when suddenly I notice smoke coming from the passengers side of my hood. Hopeing to make the jet across heavy traffic and into the shopping area I just wait (As the wave of traffic was trickleing off) anxiously so that I can at least get in a safe area. Welp, while waiting I watch the lights in my control cluster and the Volt meter drop right out, voltmeter drops off the charts and the lights go out, as does my car. So In panic I pop the hood and get out.... as I approach the front of the car I notice bad smoke and hurry up and pop the hood open. WOAH! Flames are coming out of the back of my heater motor!! So I rush up and put the flames out. After doing do I relize that its the two wires that come out the back of it... So as I sit there and try to figure out WHY it would have done this I come to a time around a day or so ago when I had taken my car to my friend at the body shop... We were trying to find out where the holes were in the welding job he had just done because water kept getting in.... So he had said he found it, took the hood off, pulled the fender aside and then got some 'Great Stuff' and filled up the area inside that weld there with it. Well aparently when that stuff expanded it clogged up the blades on the heater fan, which in turned burned out the motor that I had just turned on to get some fresh air in the car.

So, after figureing that out I figure its gonna be ok, fires out, wires are moved aside and are safe for the time being. Shut the hood and jump in the car..... try to crank it, NOTHING. The headlights turn on, look bright as all hell... lights inside the car come on.... head unit came on for a second..... but no crank, no buss, no beeping no nothing. So here comes my excersise for tonight, pushing my unpowered car across 2 lanes of heavy traffic, and then have it roll into a local banks parking lot. So there I park it for the time being, as I go to look for a Pay Phone. Finally getting someone to come and give me a jump, I head back and wait. After they finally get there, we go ahead and try to jump the car... NOTHING, still no cranking heard, no buzzing, no beeping, nothing. Still got the lights and all though. So then I go to check out the fuses... there all fine. Out of ideas and hot as hell, as well as tired. I decide the best thing to do is come here and ask you guys. So the basic question out of all of this is: Why in the hell won't she crank? Shes Carb'ed, no FI or TBI. Please, I need help BAD. Dunno if I have the cash to have her towed back to my house, and I'm sure the bank is going to have a fit.

Welp, I'm off do some reading to see if I can't find out what it might be... I'll check back in a little bit and see if anyone has any ideas.

Thanks in advance
Adam

 

You’ve got a few things down on the passenger side.

Think of the starter solenoid as the main distribution point of the primary power before it heads off to the fuse box.
The alternator wire runs to it, the main fuse box power runs from it, the positive battery cable runs to it, and the starter switch runs to it.

The starter solenoid is above, and attached to the starter. There usually (3) wires, and the positive bat cable running to it. Start checking for damage wires leading off it.
A voltmeter comes in handy for this job.

Ron

 

I'll give this a try later on today after I get out of work. Would there be any physical damage? Or should there be? Just checking

Adam

 

I would expect, but with electrical you never know.
Let us know your findings.

Ron

 

I do believe that the power to the blower motor is on the same fusible link off the starter as the power to the ignition. If the blower fried the link at the starter, the ignition switch woundn't have power either. Some sort of tester would be handy for checking that. A heavy gauge red comes in at the bulkhead to the ignition switch, goes yellow out to the park/neutral switch and from there, purple to the starter. Red at the ign sw should have +12v constant (sw. on or off), the yellow (heavy gauge too) will have +12v only while trying to start the car.
If there's no power on the red wire at the switch, the wire running to the starter or fusible link is bad. Or, I could be absolutly wrong, too and the problem is totally different.

 

Just out of curiosty, the only wire I noticed fried off hand was a red wire that went into this little black circut breaker box thing whose top can be removed (?), now that smelled REAL bad, and was melted to the female side.... I managed to get it off and all, but, is THAT what I'm going to need another of? I'm going to check it out more throughly tonight. But in the mean time, thats what I know

Adam