It's really weird to only certain electrical parts of My 82 z28 work. The power windows work the cluster the radio and heater controls all work but none of the interior lights work the head lights and horn don't work the hazard lights don't work but my signals work for some reason. when i hit the brake the brake lights also don't work. I'm really puzzled i checked the fuses all the ones in there are good. I was wondering if any one had some insight as to why this might be happening I have a feeling that the wiring was messed with because the previous owner did an engine swap but it's weird how some stuff works and some of the other stuff is dead. I also cleaned the body grounds and still nothing. It's really annoying me so any help or input would be great

Thanks,
Marco

 

You might want to check the fusible links on the positive post of the starter. They have a habit of getting in the way (pinched) during engine swaps and could cut power to some things while not effecting other circuits.

 

Ok, thanks I'll give that a shot and report back with my findings i hope this fixes it cause this is so frustrating.

 

Ok so i checked the wires on the starter and they look fine. The bad thing is it looks like the guy really hacked up the wiring on this car so i have to decipher what wires do what and where they go. He cut and re-routed his own wiring so i have to fix the previous owners stupidity so does anyone know of where i can get wiring diagrams for the fuse box, under the hood basically the whole car where it tells me specifically what wire does what and where they should go?

Thanks,
Marco

 

Given your description, I'd try new headlight switch - if that fixes the lights issue then I'd check the brake light switch at the pedal for the brake lights.

 

Ok, so i finally got some free time and had a look around under the hood i checked all the wires associated with the headlights out they all seem to be in good shape and all there and connected properly. I was doing some reading up online and was reading a bit about fusible links and realized that if they blow it can cut power to parts of the car. What would the fusible link look like at the starter? I looked online and found little as to which fusible link does what so again any information would be helpful because if i find out that a specific link cuts power to all the stuff that doesn't work in my car i could finally solve this issue. If it turns out to be a problem with the fusible link how can i fix that because i would assume i can't just go buy a new one and put in.

 

You need a good wiring diagram. Generally I recommend the GM/Helm Service Manual. But in my experience the early wiring diagrams aren't nearly as easy to follow or as detailed as the later diagrams.

The bulk of the fusible links and power distribution on thirdgens is at the positive post of the starter, on the same stud as the battery cable. They look like a normal wire, with a plastic housing around the wire about 6" from the connection. In the event of a short, they melt.

 

ok and i guess i can't just replace them with a regular wire i would have to go to the scrap yard or something and find another. Thanks a lot for your help. I also found some wiring diagrams they seem to be very detailed so hopefully i can figure this all out.

 

You can buy fusible links from most of the autoparts chain stores... Look next to the fuses.