Stupid mistake, need advice!

I'm working on a 59 olds super 88. I was opening up a hole in my firewall with a rat tail file. Well, the "metal" file touched an exposed part of the positive battery cable. Right where it mounts to the fender well and breaks off to the starter. Made a small spark, I thought nothing of it.

See my pict for where it touched it with the file.

Now it won't start? Turn the key, and nothing. Dome lights came on, but no headlights?

Any help/thoughts would be appreciated!

Thanks!
Kensey

 

make sure the cable connection is still solid and check your fuses.

 

fuses and fusible links...

 

Check for voltage at the battery cable going to the starter (I'm ***uming that's the red cable?) If there's no voltage, follow the cable till you find a fuse or come to the battery. If you get to the battery and don't come across a fuse, there's a chance the spark may have drained the battery, if it was almost dead already anyway. If you do still have voltage there, you might have popped the solenoid, but I kinda doubt it.

 

All fuses in fuse box are good. I'll check for fusible links now. I will also check the battery. Thanks, keep em coming please! The HAMB is the best support group!!!

 

Does the dome light go out when you turn on the headlights or ignition? If it does, you have a bad connection or very low battery

 

Test Light
why not instead of guessing, get a test light and see where the voltage stops.
also when using a test light the first thing you should do is make sure it lights up when going from pos to neg of the battery.
Jesse

 

after you find the problem I would invest in some heat shrink tubing.

 

If that is the main feed from the batt, then sparking that spot to ground should not have hurt anything. (that red wire looks too heavy to have a fuseable link in the line, but I could be wrong)

I think you just aggravated a previous poor connection in the main power feed.


Start at the batt connections, power and ground, then trace both of these, looking for a bad connection.

 

Test light lights up past the connector in the photo. Red wire is from the battery. Fused are good. I don't see any "fusible links"? Not totally sure how to test if the fuse box is getting power? I grounded the test light, and put the tester on every fuse, didn't light up?

Side note: as you can tell, I am no mechanic. I'm a pinstriper. I do what I can on my can myself, but this has me beat. Electrical always wins with me.....

I also pulled the ignition switch. Test light didn't light on any of the prongs?

Oh, and the dome lights come on every once in a while? Ghosts maybe???

Anyway, any further suggestions would be great.

Thanks all!
Kensey
"Going nowhere in Pa"

 

you sgot some main wire coming from that stud to the fuse block that ceased conection, a guess, you need to find why you lost power to fuess

somewhere something is dead

 

Looking at the picture, the first thing I thought was that is a bad connection where the pos cable is attached to the wire end. The cable looks too small for the opening and it isnt crimped at all. That's the first thing I would check. Grab ahold of it and see if it will pull rite out of the end.

 

Redo...

If there is a piss poor connection (under the hood is my guess), then a test light will not draw enough to make that connection show as dead. Once a higher load is put on, then it will fail completely.


The pic; that looks like a horn relay to me. Many cars/trucks, use the relay power lug as a distribution point, and the power is often sent from there to the fuses, etc, and sometimes, the alt/gen charging wire is hooked there.

If it were me, I'd start by cleaning both batt terminals clean and tight. If you have a repair terminal with the 2 bolts to clamp the wire on, then take it apart to clean it.

Now go find the ground, follow the neg cable. Clean it, wherever it is grounded.

Now go follow the pos cable, and clean it's connectors, and don't ***ume a snug nut is fine, it might not be.

There must be another heavy cable from positive? going to starter?..but from the symtoms, I think the problem is upstream from there.

 

I'd also unbolt those wires in the pic, sand all of them clean and retighten.

 

toss your test light in the trash and get a proper digital meter. this goes for any type of electrical troubleshooting

 

Hope this helps.
http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/tOCMP/wiring/5765wiring diagrams/Oldsmobile/MWire5765-278.jpg

type the whole thing out

 

Use this if the above doesn't work.
http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/tOCMP/wiring/5765wiring diagrams/Oldsmobile/MWire5765-278.jpg

 

Step through each circuit systemmatically. Since your chief complaint is the starter system, begin there. With your tester, follow the leads and test each connection from the battery to the starter and back again via the ground. Keep in mind that grounding problems make up a majority of electrical problems, so take care to make sure your grounds are good. Next, follow the circuit to and from the starter relay, again testing every connection point. Replace wires or clean contacts as needed. Fortunately, the starter system is fairly straight-forward electrically, so pinstriper or otherwise you should be able to manage it if you take your time...

 

You probably blew out the fusible link.Just trace the cable you just touched and you will find it.Go to the parts store and get a new one.

 

You guys rock! Thanks for all the help.

 

Bangngears, I totally don't see a fusible link! Where would it be? Is it the one in the background in the pict?

 

If you look at the diagram... The power to the inside of the car comes from that connection in your pic. The power goes to the Ign switch and the Headlight switch. From those, then it goes to the fuses.

Where you shorted it...that can't have fried anything "upstream" from there. Get back under the hood. It's a bad main cable connection (postive or negative) from all you have said...or a dead battery

The reason the dome light comes on at times, is because it is a low amp draw, and there is some minor conductivity in your bad connection.

 

The diagram does not show a fusible link.

 

No fusible link, just battery ground cable, battery, battery to lug at horn relay,red wire to voltage regulator that also splits to fuse block, key switch and head lite switch. Start with the battery. Ebbsspeed how do I get to the same link?

 

Thanks! First thing tomorrow I'm on it. I'll let ya know if I make any progress.

On another note: I have the original braided ground cable from the battery to the block. Should I replace it? I'll replace the positive for sure.

Thanks again for all your help!

Kensey

 

This is going to sound like a dumb question, but have you checked the battery yet to make sure it's good? I know every one is old school on here and loves their test lights, but that wont tell you much. A test light will still turn on with 5 volts. Get an actual volt meter on there and make sure you have at least 12.5V.

 

Tomorrows plan of attack: new positive cable, clean ALL connections, pull battery out of my daily and give it a try. Hope she starts, or I'll be back on here cryin.......

 

I don't buy anything unless I have tested a part and i am positive it is bad. That's because the replacement might be thinner, or cheaply made, or whatever.

 

Yah, I'd like to keep the original ground. I'll inspect tomorrow morning and go from there.

 

A good investment for anyone with an old car is a decent trickle charger. Also, most major auto parts stores will load test a battery for free. F&J certainly has a point to start at the source and move downstream.