78 camaro electrical problems

[fletch58]

I am trying to find info on a problem my son is having with his 78 camaro.

He just recently bought it and was checking out the wiring under the dash, and he accidentally touched 2 wires together. Now he has no lights at all and the car won't start. there is absolutely no power at all.

Can anyone give me any ideas about where to start looking? We assume he shorted something out, but he has no idea where to look.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

[casperlcaf]

Good assumtion , Start simple check ALL the fuses. If nothing there check the voltage at the starter make sure you have some. If you do turn key in the on postition and you will have to find a wire diagram for ur car and find the ignition hot wire at fuse block. If you have voltage there, you know your problems inside the car and might end up taking the dash apart unless others know something.
If you dont have power at starter, the fuseable link might have blown inside the wire. If you dont have power at the Fuse block (with key on the on position) I would replace the Ignition switch.
Do they look like stock wires that where crossed or some that someone else put in? Was this a radio hook up?

[fletch58]

Okay, I have more info. The person who previously owned this car did some weird stuff to it, in my opinion.

Apparently, he had a toggle switch for a stereo. There was a wire coming right off the positive lead on the battery (it was spliced to the battery wire) to the toggle switch and then another hot wire coming out of the toggle switch and going to the radio (he thinks thats where it was supposed to go, since there is no radio in the car).

Anyway, that red wire is what touched another wire, but he does not know what wire it touched...he thinks it was a black wire (a ground?).


Sorry if this information isn't very clear, but I am not a mechanic, just a Mom trying to help her son. And any information is going to help

Thanks!

[fletch58]

Well, a new twist. Apparently when my son was checking out the wiring, he found some wires that had at one time been wired to some extra dashboard components..like a tachometer and such. So he cut them. And they shouldn't have been cut, they should have been just wired together or however you want to put it.

To make a long story short... he traced them back to the starter, and wired them together and everything is working great now.

I want to thank you for your help. I may need to come in here again, now and then

[casperlcaf]

I rem when I had a 65 Nova that was like that, pieced together home made wiring. Word of advise, search the web for the wire diagram and if it doesnt match the car make his own. This way down the road he will have it handy. Sounds like wiring anything in the car is going to be touchy.