86 Chev has dead ignition and only left side of fuse panel is hot

[Rich Kouba]

My 86 chevy Silverado C10 had been sitting for awhile. Reconnected battery that was only 3 months old. Drove it around Vegas for a couple days then son took it to school a few days. He was leaving school and it wouldn't start. Wife called AAA and she drove it home. Now for the confusion. It will not even turn over. Had Auto Zone recharge and verify battery as good. Only the left side of the fuse box is hot with and without ignition switch on and off. Every other thing in fuse box is dead. I am owner of this truck since 1988 so no wiring changes other than adding a stereo and amps several years ago. I jumped the starter solenoid and it spins. Fusible link on fire wall is hot on both sides. Tonight I used a jumper wire and went from one of the open hot spaces on left side of fuse panel to right side of ignition switch fuse and engine turned over. My gauges, blinkers, accessories, brake lights, emergency flashers and door buzzer are all dead. Headlights and horn work but I understand they are wired separately. Very confused especially since I didn't do anything to it. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Kain]

blown fuses?

 

[Rich Kouba]

No. Dead on both sides of fuses.

 

[Kain]

there are two wires from the starter that feed power to the fuse panel try tracing them

 

[Rich Kouba]

there are two wires from the starter that feed power to the fuse panel try tracing them

I will try that. Thanks.

 

[Fordum]

Yep, unless I am mistaken, you have two fuse links from the starter to the power connector. Those are known for corroding inside and burning out. Often without showing anything on the outside.
But a blown one will stretch whereas a good one won't. So, try a light pull on each one.

 

[diesel4me]

Quick test ,you could use a jumper from the positive battery cable to the junction block near the brake booster--if that powers up the rest of the fuse box (and lets it crank & run),then its a sure bet one of the fusible links down at the starter/battery positive cable connection has fried..

One warning though--if the failed fusible link has made contact with ground,jumping the wires as suggested could cause the wire to fry worse,so watch for heavy sparks when you connect the jumper wire--if it seems like an excessive amount of current is drawn,then the fusible link may be shorted to ground..might be wise to put a 30 amp fuse in the jumper wire first..