So all my fuses are good, but the following have not power:

interior lighting
cigarette lighter
power locks
power mirrors
hatch motor
power antenna

I believe all the above run off of one circuit? But every fuse I checked was good.

 

Sounds like a fusible link. At the starter.

 

So when I press the defroster the light turns on, and I think the defroster is on the same circuit. So that means it has power right? At this point I am guessing there is maybe a relay out?

 

Probably not. Probably a fusible link. Down at the starter.

 

okay, I will check it out this weekend, how do I know if a fusible link is bad, will it be melted or anything? I have never seen one go bad before.

 

Check for power on both sides of the pellet.

 

I have an 82 TA and just had same problem. I went to the starter and found that 1 of the two chassis/ignition wires had shorted in the metal guide tube going to the chassis and ignition. Since the solenoid wire for starting goes through there also, I disconnected all three, unmounted the tube and pulled all thee wire from the tube. Two orange (?) wires are on the same connector and one was burned through. It appears that it shorted on the tube. Both those wires have a round tubular white connector up cable from the connector. What I don't know is if the orange wire is fusible link or not or is there a fusible link in that white tubular connector. Since the wire is corroded, I assume the other wire is also corroded and would like to replace both of them but I cannot find any information on replacement parts or even references to these wires. Any help will be greatly appreciated and will most likely solve the problem for the originator of this thread. I took pictures of the wire with my phone and have attached them.

 

Those 2 "orange" wires aren't actually "orange". They're fusible links, and are a special color called rust. FLs are color-coded: the color tells you the size wire they're made of, which is to say, their rating and the size of wire they're supposed to protect.

The white tublular thing is just a splice. There's nothing in there.

Just go to the store and buy new FLs. They're hanging on a card in the Electrical section. Solder them onto the Big Red Wire they protect, with rosin-core solder, NOT plumbing solder; and cover them with heat-shrink tubing.

 

Damm...I gotta check mine out for this problem soon. Sucks was busy at work and now it's going to be raining for 3 days

 

Thanks. I will see if I can find the orange FLs. On line they only show black ones but I will see what they have hanging in the electrical section. It is my plan to both solder and use heat shrink tubing as you suggest. It is amazing that no one I talk to seems to know anything about FLs. You have answered all my questions. Now to find orange FLs. I did see a listing somewhere for orange FL wire in long lengths that can be cut to length but that does not seem to be correct because I believe the length should determine the total resistance. Am I correct with that? Thanks again. Dan

 

Which word of "they're not orange" needs further explanation?

You will NEVER find the right thing if you look for "orange". Look for RUST like I said up there. They're quite common.

 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...fPVRHqZh3UdOal

 

One power wire is 10 gauge, the other is 12 gauge, so you'll need a 16 gauge fusible link for the 12 gauge wire if that is the problem

 

Most people cut them out and just run plain wire when they go bad. The problem with this is the day your ground wire to your battery goes bad, the wire will catch on fire and melt.

 

Yeah I guess "most people" are idiots. No surprise there.

Don't be one of THOSE people.

Total length, and resistance that results, isn't what they're all about. (to a point anyway) It's not the way they work. All they are is, a section of smaller gauge wire than the wire they're protecting, such that if there's a short, and LOTS of current flows, the piece of small wire melts (another word for "melt" is "fuse") and stops the current flow, thereby preventing fires, melted harnesses, etc. Functionally, just like any other kind of fuse. The insulation on them is some high-temp kind of stuff that won't itself melt when this happens.

The reason they are used is that fuses of the normal types require extra connections, which invariably will become intermittent and cause problems. FLs OTOH are COMPLETELY trouble-free until the day they either do their job, or their own insulation chafed through and makes them melt. Which is usually how they go bad in the RW.

 

Now that I see you're in NJ, I have lots of FL wire, I could give you a couple pieces and butt terminals, heat shrink and ring terminals for the starter end