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No power, period. Stranded


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Well basically I picked up new 240z the other day. It ran fine but had a brake issue and a throw out bearing that was shot. After working for 4-5 hours fixing the two issues we bolted the whole thing back together. Now there is no power at all.

 

During the process we had to take off the starter which has a big red positive cable to the battery attached, and the negative cable from the battery made it's way onto the floor. Well I forgot how the negative went back together so I bolted the negative from the battery back to the bolt that holds the starter to the bell housing to the engine, was this inccorect? I think it is right.

 

In any case, there is no power... it is important to note though for about 1 second the negative touched the positive on the starter solenoid :oops:. Some sparks flew, but I tested the battery is still good according to the multimeter. So what happened??? Is the starter fried? If it is does that mean no power anywhere else? Am I missing a connection? The starter pretty much got unplugged from the whole car and it seems there was a connection that might belong to the solenoid, but connecting it did nothing to fix the problem. This is awfully frustrating. Thanks!

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"Well I forgot how the negative went back together so I bolted the negative from the battery back to the bolt that holds the starter to the bell housing to the engine, was this inccorect?"

 

Yes.

 

Check your fuses. Check your fusible links. There should be two on a 240z in the engine bay, one from the starter and the other from the alternator.

 

If your fuses and fusible links are fine, check to see if the wire that connects to the solenoid is getting power when the key is turned to the START position. It is the spade connector.

 

If you have power at that wire and power in your battery, sounds like the starter is fried.

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Ahh thanks for the info guys on the "spade connection" I was wondering what that was. I will hook it back up, regarless there was no lights or anything else working.

 

About the fuses, the box in the car has all the fuses completely fine... where are these other fuses (for starter and alt) you are talking about? Would that effect the rest of the electrical system, nothing works, no lights, nothing. Does a fried solenoid mean no electricity anywhere?

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A fried solenoid should not affect your entire electrical system. The solenoid is only engaged (powered) when the key is turned to the START position. When the key is in the ON position, the little wire (spade connector) that connects to the solenoid does not have power.

 

There should be two fusible links on the car in the engine bay. One from the start and the other from the alternator. A PO removed the one from the alternator on my car (1972 240z), but I had the one from the starter. The fusible links are in-line with the white/red wire and the white wire.

 

If you have NO power whatsoever, then something is fried. Break out the multimeter and start testing your wires. You checked the fuses, but have you checked continuity across the fuses? I hate the glass fuses because sometimes they burn under the metal cap.

 

Given your symptoms, something is up with the WHITE wire that comes from the starter. This is the same wire that the fusible link is on. This wire provides power to your fuse box. If that fusible link is fried, then you will not have any power.

 

In the following picture, you can see how all the wires connect to the starter. The fusible link in the picture is connected to the two orange wires connected to the same point where the positive battery cable is connected (pic is an old one before my rebuild - I just had to say that).

DSC02891_thumb.JPG

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I dont have those two orange wires, just the thick red. Those two orange wires just make their way back to the positive terminal on the battery like the thick red one?

 

Also I don't (at the moment) have any additional wires besides starter coming off the positive of the battery. I need to check tomorrow in the day light, but that could be an issue.

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The two orange wires are connected to the fusible link, which is connected to the WHITE wire which provides power to the fuse box. You can hook up the white wire directly to the starter as a test, but you should really run either a fusible link or inline fuse on that connection.

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Figured it out!

 

Thanks so much guys.

 

Basically atab sheared off the wire to the harness. Apparently there is no fusable link or anything, it was wired direct to the harness, skinny wire at that.

 

What size link should I install 50 amp? 100amp? Just something that will go when the full 800 or whatever amps of the battery shorts, correct?

 

Now I got to figure out the headlights and the tach. Anyone know why the headlamps might not work despite the rest of the lights all coming on? It isn't the bulbs or the fuses. :/

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Headlights operate differently than the rest of the lighting system. The headlights switch to ground instead of switching power. Make sure that you've got good grounds (assuming you already checked the lights).Check fuses and your combo switch.

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Headlights operate differently than the rest of the lighting system. The headlights switch to ground instead of switching power. Make sure that you've got good grounds (assuming you already checked the lights).Check fuses and your combo switch.

 

 

Hmm interesting, I'll look into it! :)

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