angelr

When I turn the switch my lights and my stereo turn on but when I turn it to frank it it does nothing but shut everything down!! Please someone help me!! And also when I turn on my lowbeams my lights work but when i put my highbeams my headlights shut off.

angelr

When I turn the switch my lights and my stereo turn on but when I turn it to frank it it does nothing but shut everything down!! Please someone help me!! And also when I turn on my lowbeams my lights work but when i put my highbeams my headlights shut off.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Bad connection somewhere, in the battery or the Big Red wires. (the ones that carry batt to everything)

Check the voltage on the battery WHILE IT'S IN THE ACT OF SCREWING UP. That is, while nothing is working. (not the cables if possible, the actual battery terminals themselves) Have your assistant turn the key for you if necessary, while you measure with your DMM. Make sure you have 12V or thereabouts at all times. If you don't, charge the batt. If the voltage AT THE TERMINALS still goes away when the key is turned after it's fully charged, replace it.

If everything related to the batt itself is good, next thing to do is look for bad connections. Start at the battery terminals; take em apart, make sure they're clean and free of corrosion (hot water and baking soda). Follow the battery cables to their other ends; one should go to a post on the starter, the other to the block or some piece bolted to it. Take em loose, look at em, make sure they're free of corrosion and the hardware is tight. Look at the fusible links at the starter while you're there: the ends of the 2 Big Red wires (maybe 3, you didn't say what year/model of car you have, so there's some details we don't know) are each a short section of smaller wire designed to act like a fuse, and those sometimes go bad. If they look frayed or corroded or overheated or otherwise deteriorated, replace em: you can get new ones at the parts store.

Come back and tell us what you found.

angelr

The car is a 1982 camaro berlinetta. And both of the battery wires are good. The battery stays consistent at 12.50 volts. And the battery wires are new and the fuse link's look good they don't look fried or anything. Btw thanks for helping

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Well then, keep working your way down the Big Red wires with your DMM. When you get to the point where the bad connection is, the voltage will likely become arbitrarily close to 0, instead of 12.xx.

Don't forget also, your problem could be on the ground side of things. For example, if the ground braid strap isn't hooked between the back of the pass side head and the firewall. Current has to flow out the pos batt term, through the batt cable, to the starter post, through the Big Red wires under the hood, to the bulkhead connector, through more Big Red wires in the interior, to whichever switch, to the load controlled by that switch (lights, starter, radio, power acc, etc.); then from the ground side of the load, to the chassis, through the braid strap to the block, through the neg batt cable, back to the batt. An interruption anywhere will make things stop working.

84 1LE

iTrader: (9)

If everything is shutting down when you turn the key to crank, it almost sounds like the shifter is not all the way to park.Its sounds like what happens when you forget the trans is in gear & turn the key to start.
Could be the NSS, try moving the shifter to neutral or wiggle it abit in park & see if it cranks over.

Barlow8869

iTrader: (1)

also, while you have someone there that can turn the key for you, check the wire that goes to the starter solenoid ... it should be purple if i remember correctly ... or it is in my 87 gta i think ... if you get full power to that wire in the start position and full power from the battery to the starter and you have the block grounded correctly then you have a bad starter ... my gta did the same thing

angelr

84 1le the car still doesn't start and my tack still isn't working & Barlow my wire does have power & my distributor isn't giving spark when it cranks.

-srs-

Neutral Safety Switch was going to be my suggestion too.

angelr

Its in park and I wiggle it and nothing not even in neutral

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

How's that voltage on the Big Red Wires?

angelr

Thanks for the help guys I really appreciated but my car is now in the shop getting fixed since I don't have time to work on it due to my work

Barlow8869

iTrader: (1)

sorry, i thought it didnt even crank, or more people may have said coil or icm