eldorado 1972 no power to dashboard and convertible top and interior lights

[supermario]

Hi

Recently I have been working on getting car to idle and while doing so i cranked the hell out of the starter
Now  I have no power to convertible top, door lights, radio and anything on the dashboard, maybe more.
Also the buzzer that turns on when  you turn the key is there no more as well as the brake light.
Is there a common fuse or relay that I could have burned ? Where should i look first?
Today I got to fuse box which seems to be working properly but not 100% sure yet.
Gonna check wiring diagrams later.

Any suggestions would be very appreciated

Thanks


Thanks

[Cadillac Fleetwood]

The radio has a fuse.  The body feed, which includes the interior lighting, has a fuse.  Instrument panel lighting and gauges have a fuse. The convertible top has a relay mounted behind the rear seat. The brake lights have constant 12 volts, as do the headlamps and tail lamps. It is not likely that you burned out several fuses at the same time.

It is likely that a "fusible link" has burned.  You will find the fusible links in the wiring which goes up the rear passenger side of the engine from the starter.  Fusible links consist of a length of wire which are designed to burn out when a specific amperage is exceeded.  A rubber or plastic "flag" indicating the correct amperage, will be present.  Replace only with the correct amperage.

-Charles Fares

[supermario]

Thank You very much
Some fuses seem to be getting power , but I dont understand why some of them are hot and some of them give me ground. is it normal? Radio fuse gets power but i get no radio.

I was looking at those fuseable links on the chart, was not sure what they are, thanks for explaining.
On all the instruments like door lights, power roof, etc I get ground on both ends, does that mean I have short in some common place for all those instruments.
Also there are few relays I found are they likely to go bad.

Also would you know the wiring of the fuse for convertible top. I cant find it on the charts.
Is orange black usually feed or is this ground and other two wires are the feed?
Which does not make much sense because they are coming from the switch  that uses orange and black to supply them. Color coding is little misleading in this case.

Thanks Again

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

G'day Mario,

The Fusible Links are coming off the Starter Motor main supply stud, and plug into the wiring loom just in front of, and below the AC box, next to the bellhousing.

Mine faulted when it got too close to the right engine pipe and I had to replace it.

There are something like 4 links in the loom, including the Starter solenoid wire from the ignition switch, and the 12 Volt source to the Ignition Coil.

Bruce.

PS.   Plus, you have an email from the Moderators that requires your attention.

[supermario]

Thank You for all the help I did not expect such a quick response.
You guys were right.
The problem was first harness for fusible links. I disconnected it cleaned and reconnected and things started looking beautiful again.
Now, is that harness something you can buy or you have to replace wires by yourself separately. Because after checking, on one of the wires I am getting only 9 volts, I assume its probably  the terminals on the starter that have to be cleaned.
I am not sure if you guys remember of the top of your head, but the connector has 5 wires two on the top and three on the bottom , plus one empty slot, on mine two top are ground and three bottom are constantly hot of the starter. Its different then shop manual shows but it seems to work so I ll leave it. If you can shed some light on it that would be great.

I am so happy I found the problem, After spending six hours looking at that jungle of wires under dashboard I could not fall asleep yesterday.

Thank You again for all the help it was priceless.

[TJ Hopland]

There are 3 wires that come off the big battery terminal at the stater,  these are the fusible link wires.   One feeds the headlight switch for just the headlights, not any other lighting.   Another feeds half the fuse box for the stuff that is always on.   The 3rd one feeds the ignition switch which then feeds the rest of the fuse box for the stuff that is on with the key. 

The last two wires, one is the one from the key that engages the starter, the S terminal.   The last one goes to the I terminal and is the 2nd wire on the + terminal on the coil. Its only live when the starter is engaged.  Its kinda a shortcut  boost circuit for the ignition during cranking when the starter is dragging down the voltage. 

You can buy the wire at parts stores.   Its sold by the gauge/color.   They do have short pieces with a lug on the end but those are almost as expensive as buying the little 15' rolls and you really want to have all 3 go to a single lug at the starter to make it easier. 

[Scot Minesinger]

I agree with Bruce.  The likely culprit is located near the starter

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

.......Because after checking, on one of the wires I am getting only 9 volts, I assume its probably  the terminals on the starter that have to be cleaned...... 

Congratulations on finding the problem, and glad to know that we can help.

Now, the only way you are going to see the 9 Volts on the one wire is if you are testing the wire that is attached to the "R" terminal on the Starter Solenoid, and the ignition is turned on.   That 9 Volts is a back-feed from the Ignition Coil, as this wire is only seeing 12 Volts when the Solenoid is engaged when starting, and the internal contact is fed the 2 Volts to send this full voltage to the Ignition Coil to over-ride, albeit temporarily, the resistance wire from the Ignition Switch to the Coil.

Bruce.