1992 Astro NO POWER except HeadLights

[jameslink]

Any thoughts? The headlights work, a well as the dome lights.
Nothing else has power,dash,locks,windows,radio,ignition,etc.
The van is completely dead when I try to start it. Nada.
It's as if the battery is disconnected ( except for the lights ??).
I didn't find any blown fuses in the fuse panel.
Last night the Van shut down while driving,completely lost power.
The headlights stayed on though.
After about 3 seconds (while coasting) the dash lit up and I was able
to restart the engine. Ran fine all the way home.
Today, it lost power again. But won't restart. No electrical.
I don't know if the ignition key cylinder accy circuit went bad.
ANY THOUGHTS OR DIAGNOSTICS?
Please email me at [email protected]
Thanks,
Jim

[jameslink]

Got the Van running.
It was a bad connection on the harness connector
that's mounted behind the battery on the firewall.
From there the power goes to the fuse block.

We pulled the starter and checked the wires for voltage,
everything was okay. So we dropped the steering
column and checked for voltage at the ignition switch.
Got nothing. So we replaced the ignition switch on the column.
Still, no voltage. The fusible links by the starter and battery were ok.

A giggle test at the power harness connector on the firewall found the problem.
After a couple tugs, the dash lit up and the door buzzer went off.
Pushed the ignition switch and the van started right up.

Since the new ignition switch wasn't mounted on the column yet,
we plugged in the old switch. It works fine, Van started right up.

So....
the problem was the power harness connector on the firewall.
It was suggested to just splice the wires and bypass the connector.


Just thought I'd pass along the info as an F.Y.I of what happened.

Thanks again,
Jim

[jameslink]

I found out these are the actual part numbers,
Delco #PT391 and GM #12102762.
I ordered a new plug w/pigtails from a Chevy Dealer.
Just came in Friday, It's the exact plug I needed.
Spliced it in with the supplied connectors and it runs fine!!

HOWEVER....
Somewhere between dropping the column and replacing
the harness plug ANOTHER problem occurred....
The Temp Gauge Indicator is pegged out on my digital dash.
It just stays pegged out, flashing the icon.
All of the other indicators on the dash work fine.
It's just the temp guage, every bar lit to the top.

Any thought's on what I may have "unplugged" ?
Either under the dash or in the engine compartment
I would assume is wire for the signal.
I have no idea what I'm looking for though...

Here's a picture of the Delco connector I replaced: http://www.rockauto.com/ref/ACDelco/...html?PT391.jpg
Plugs right into the firewall behind the battery. Any thought's on were the temp gauge could be grounding out? Somewhere in the engine compartment?

Thanks guys, I'm trying to provide as much info as possible...
[email protected]