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NO electrical power-FIXED :)

76k5grrl

76k5grrl

killin it
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sigh... I'm about to have this thing towed to a real mechanic...

The whole story:

Had a constant drain on my battery. If I didn't drive it every day, it wouldn't start the next day- was jumping it off my jeep. Then one day, jumping it off the jeep didn't work- i got a sound that sounded like a bad starter solenoid. Took the starter off, realized it was all one piece. Bought new starter- had tested at parts store. Installed new starter. Ever since then, I have no power to anything.. Used to be that my light buzzer would come on when I pulled the switch (to warn me lights were on without engine running) but now I have absolutely NOTHING. Battery is brand new. Freshened cable connections. Checked fuses.

Clearly, I have miswired something somewhere. My manual is not helpful at all.

Does anyone have the ability to photograph the starter connections so I can double check I have the wires hooked up to the right places??? I thought I did, but I can see no other explanation for this- somewhere, something is not connected... only 3 wires..
 
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The lug on the back of the starter solenoid acts as a junction block...battery cable is connected there, the power feeds for the fuse block are also connected there. That simple. The starter doesn't relay power anywhere.

Assuming you have a junction block on the firewall, does it have 12V? If you have 12V on the wires at the starter, but not that block, then the fusible links are bad. You can run a continuity test on the wire first to verify, if you wish, but if you have 12V on one end, and not the other, the link is bad.
 
I can understand your frustration, if you gotta haul it in, you gotta, but this is simple.
Got a meter? Or test light?
If so, it gets simpler. Let me know, and I will talk you through a test procedure. Otherwise, go back to the basics.

I know you have already checked certain things and know they are good. Forget all that.
Start at the battery. Pull the terminals and make sure they are hooked up. Trace the negative wire and make sure its hooked to the frame or engine.

Then move to the starter. The purple wire hooks to the s terminal, and the positive battery cable hooks to the larger terminal along with the two red wires.

At this point, it you still have no power, you need to use a meter or test light to see if you have power to the two red wires.

If so, then you need to check where the red wires hook to the terminal block. They are fuse links, and one of them may be blown internally.
 
exactly the info I was looking for. It has to be related to my replacing the starter, somehow, because before that I at least had power to my lights/the dash... now I have nothing- like the battery isn't even there. All I could think of is that I had improperly connected the ground wire but now I know to look elsewhere. I am just so bad at electricity... it feels like magic to me.

Doesn't help that it's colder now and I'm working outdoors-- I can't say I'm terribly encouraged to pick around at the wires with frozen hands!!

Glad I didn't sell my Jeep yet :)
 
Deuling said:
Well there's your problem. The jeeps wearing off on the Chevy... :whistle::haha:
Click to expand...

I like to think the Jeep went insane with jealousy and somehow zapped the K5 during one of their close up "electrical sharing" sessions...

Seen here.. I always felt it looked like they were doing something dirty...

616009_4058834065979_75308337_o.jpg
 
That is proof that Just
........................ Everyone
........................ Else's
........................ Parts...

The Jeep stole something!!

It sounds like you might have left the power cable that feeds the cab off of the main lug on the starter when hooking it up. I saw a guy do this exact thing on a '88 suburban last month, he could'nt understand it, but another set of eyes found it. Unfortunatly, you will have to go look for yourself. We will help as much as we can though.
 
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On that one, if Im not mistaken, the starter has 3 wires going to it. One from the battery, one from a 12vt constant source that powers the fusebox (ie the one your missing or not hooked up right) and one signal wire for it to crank.

That Haynes/Chiltons manual will have a pic of the starter and the posts, and they are labeled somehow, cant remember off the top of my head. And you just have to rewire them in the way that the manual says. This is going off memory, but the big wire (battery cable) and one smaller wire (fuse box power wire) go on the big lug, then the third wire goes to the other smaller post, atleast thats how I have always seen them.

Other than that, there is a plastic fusible link thing on the firewall, 2 posts in line with 2 different sized nuts, should have 12vts across both of them at all times.

The draw on the other hand cant be that hard on a 76. Nothing hardly is powered all the time on that old of a truck. See if the choke is sticking open at all times, that would possibly run it down. That only applies if you have an electric choke though. Could be possible that if you have an aftermarket radio, the memory constant 12vt wire is hooked to the wrong spot. But on a 76, you would have to physically run that wire yourself, as there is no previsions for it on the factory harness. Other than maybe some lights staying on, but on something that old, i mean it doesnt have many lights. Do you ever look at your taillights and lisense plate lights after you shut it off? That got me a few times as I hardly ever pay attention to that.
 
Yes, there is an aftermarket radio, and it almost looks like the kid I bought it from hard wired it to the battery, but it doesn't work unless the truck is on... I have had my suspicions regarding the radio for some time now.

And yes, there is literally nothing to draw off this battery, so I also suspect the wiring is just bad.

I'm thinking about having someone who knows what they are doing rip it all out and start over....

Still don't have it started, but it's on the roster for today.
 
Get it to start, get yourself a meter of some kind, you need one if you are going maintain your own truck, then post back.

I'm out of the swamp for a week, so I or others here can talk you through finding the drain.
 
UPDATE. fixed.

Thanks to all for the advice. Moved a wire to a different spot and presto... back in business. Now, on to more important things, like why my gas gauge doesn't read correctly... lol
 
When you pull the headunit out, it will have red, yellow, black, blue, and an assortment of other colors (2 of each, green, blue, white, and maybe yellow. These are speaker wires) The red is the ignition wire, thats what kicks the radio on, the yellow is memory, it has to be wired to a constant 12vt source, or the radio wont hold stations and bass/treble settings, black is obviously ground, and blue kicks on amps, or anything of that nature.

In your case, it sounds like the red wire is not hooked up to an ignition 12vt source, and the yellow he hardwired to the battery, which that does work, but its not the cleanest way of doing things.

The gas gauge is easy, its either the gauge itself, the wire, or the sending unit is all crapped out. On them older ones, from what I have seen the sending unit usually gets all nasty from years of bad gas or whatnot sitting in the tank.
 
thank you, this is very very helpful information.... This is stuff the manual just doesn't really have.

With a new battery and the new starter, this thing now kicks over like nobody's biz.. I've been driving sorta beater vehicles for a long long time- I run them forever in somewhat questionable condition, doing routine maint. but very rarely replacing parts unless something just won't run.. I don't remember the last time I replaced a starter, but I do know that none of my vehicles has EVER kicked over like this one dose now....

In a totally awesome and somewhat related note, my dog ate my boyfriend's cell phone this morning, so I obviously have no way to get in touch with him. After I drove the K5 around a while, I stopped by his apartment- he lives on the 5th floor in a high rise in downtown Dallas- and sat idling outside his window trying to figure out how I was gonna get a hold of him.... Next thing I know, he's on the balcony whistling at me. I said, "how'd you know I was here??" He said, "I could hear that b*tch all the way inside, over the TV- you just don't hear engines like that downtown.."

I don't think I have to explain to all of you how COOL THAT IS. :waytogo:
 
I must admit, I have gotten lucky, and never had a dog chew up anything. :woot:

That being said, the 76 is about as simple as a wiring harness as can be had. My buddy has a 78 and I love working on that thing, compared to my 90. Only problem with them around here is salt eats them up quicker then I can weld in patch panels. My Sub came from Dallas though, and it was completely rust free. So I got lucky on that for sure.

I do recommend, if you think your up to it, is goin to a salvage yard and pulling out a fusebox out of a newer truck. And rewiring your truck into the newer fusebox. It takes some time, on that old of a pickup, it isnt to bad. And them glass tube fuses bring the suck. Im in the process of doing it now to the same buddies 78 for easier maintenance and the ablility to add on other accessories and use the factory fusebox rather than remote mount fuses all over the place.
 
454Sub said:
I must admit, I have gotten lucky, and never had a dog chew up anything. :woot:

That being said, the 76 is about as simple as a wiring harness as can be had. My buddy has a 78 and I love working on that thing, compared to my 90. Only problem with them around here is salt eats them up quicker then I can weld in patch panels. My Sub came from Dallas though, and it was completely rust free. So I got lucky on that for sure.

I do recommend, if you think your up to it, is goin to a salvage yard and pulling out a fusebox out of a newer truck. And rewiring your truck into the newer fusebox. It takes some time, on that old of a pickup, it isnt to bad. And them glass tube fuses bring the suck. Im in the process of doing it now to the same buddies 78 for easier maintenance and the ablility to add on other accessories and use the factory fusebox rather than remote mount fuses all over the place.
Click to expand...

On that same point a total rewire kit from a place like hot rod wires can be had for less than 150 bucks.

Good instructions and a couple of days and all your electrical problems will be long gone
 
76k5grrl said:
Thanks to all for the advice. Moved a wire to a different spot and presto... back in business. Now, on to more important things, like why my gas gauge doesn't read correctly... lol
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See, I told ya how awesome this site is. And everyone would be willing to help out. Thats just how the brotherhood operates. :waytogo: Glad your rig is getting fixed and the kinks worked out. Not long from now you'll have a bad a*s wheelin rig fully caged with a D60/14FF axle combo setup, doubler and 42's :D :thumb:.
 
rdn2blazer said:
See, I told ya how awesome this site is. And everyone would be willing to help out. Thats just how the brotherhood operates. :waytogo: Glad your rig is getting fixed and the kinks worked out. Not long from now you'll have a bad a*s wheelin rig fully caged with a D60/14FF axle combo setup, doubler and 42's :D :thumb:.
Click to expand...


You did, and it is..

And I'm 5 feet tall.. if I put 42s on anything I'll need a trampoline just to get in it !!! LOL
 
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