Electrical issue
 

Guys, 80 z28.

Thought I had a dead battery, got a new one, turned the key... nothing.

First thing you need to do is check for power at the fuse block. If you don't have a meter or a test light, I'd get a test light to check fuses. Some fuses will only be hot with the key on, but if none are hot you may have a bad fuseable link that's barely making contact. Could be a bad starter possibly, but probably not. Check both sides of each fuse to see if any are blown.

Thanks for the info.


I guess I need to get a test light.

not it

sorry for the multi-post, the more reading I do the more questions I have. Is there a fuseable link between the pos wire coming from the battery before that wire gets to the starter? That's the onlly thing that makes sense to me since I have NO POWER AT ALL?

Remove both ends of each battery cable and wire brush the surfaces they touch, both battery posts, cable ends, and engine ground.

I'll give that a go. I don't think that's the issue though. It's a new battery, and the connections all appear to be very clean. But I will give that a try anyway.

You might do the same wire brush trick to the battery junction block and to the horn relay buss bar and the wire terminals attached to them.
On the horn relay buss bar, you can stack the two wires to one screw.
Horn relay buss bar has the vehicle's power wire for all electrical systems getting power from the battery with engine off. Same path used to recharge battery when engine is running.

Your pos. cable should go directly to the starter, and neg. cable should be bolted solid to the engine block. If it's bolted to a bracket or other place, then move it to the block. The main power lead to the fuse block has a fuseable link in the wire, and it's not readily visable from the outside. It's just a smaller scetion with shrink tubing over it usually.
Often wen there's a resistance electrical issue you can check for voltage with a meter or test light, but it wont carry any load, so when you turn the key, or turn on anything with a load the 12v. will go away as the problem connection opens. These intermittent problems can be a real issue to trace, so you need to check for good connections before you can troubelshoot the system.
If you use a test light and get power on the fuse block, then hit the key to start, and see if the power goes off. This would signal that something is opening up. Possibly the fuseable link, or a bad ground.

Thanks for the info guys. I have been doing a lot of research online and it's really starting to seem like the fusible link from the starter. I am hoping to take a look this weekend. I am going to buy a meter, it's about time I get one.

Does anyone know off hand if I will be able to see the wires on the starter without pulling the starter? Or am I going to have to pull the starter?