Quick question. Where does the fuse box get power from? We are trying to straighten out the wiring mess left by the previous owner. We have everything working if you use a jumper. The fuse box has no power going to it. I have looked through the autozone wiring diagrams and they helped but they dont say where the power comes from. Please somebody help out. Thanks.
Brad

 

All power originates at the starter. Should be a couple heavy gauge (14) red and/or orange wires at the maain the the + cable from the batter is bolted to. The heavy gauge wires should have some black 'pills' on them and a short scraggly wire between them and the ring terminal at the starter lug.
These are fusible links.. a light tug will tell if they have been fried or not (the link wire burn up in even of overload.. supposedly).
What is not getting power at the fuse panel... Non-switched (brake lamps, lighter, dome) or switched (radio, gauges) items ?

 

It is the switched things. The things with constant power has power. But the items that should have power once the switch is one dont.

The car was originally a 88 v6 straight drive. We switched steering columns with a 84 z28 with auto. Everything worked with the 84. Maybe we bent a connector on the switch on the column? We are going to try to check that this evening. Is there a difference in the switches? Not the part with the key but the part that bolts to the column. The 88's switch didn't have the provision for the cable that runs to the shifter. That is another reason we went with the column from the 84.
Other than that the columns appeared to be wired the same. Except for one extra white wire on the 84's column. It is on the long connector at the bottom of the column. What is it supposed to do?
Thanks for all the help.

brad

 

Regardless of the engine, the interior wiring should be the same
There should be two heavy gauge red wires on the ignition switch harness.. these should have +12 constant on them. This is direct power from the battery for the switched circuits in the fuse panel. It's a single red at the starter (with fusible link) and then in wht place.. it splices to two red wires and enter the ignition switch.
If these have juice, the problem is in the switch or the wirin comming from. .. if I were taking wild guess, as I probably am...

 

Thanks deadbird for all the help. Turns out when we installed the plugs on the switch we bent a blade. Thanks for the help.