[TheFella]

I have solved the problem! The issue was the 100 A alternator fuse. It wasn’t technically blown (the piece inside was intact), which I think is why the car and electronics worked sometimes. But what do I know? I’m just some schmuck on the internet. Lol. Anyway, as you can see, the prongs of the fuse look really, really bad. There was also a small hole melted in the fuse box near where the fuse was. It definitely over heated at some point. This fuse was an aftermarket replacement. I replaced it with an OEM fuse (from a junk yard). This fixed the issue and the car has been working normally ever since. This was close to a month ago, and I’ve been meaning to post an update for a while. Sorry for the delay.

I cannot get the image uploader here to work. So here is a link to an image of the fuse. https://imgur.com/a/sh88SqH

[TheFella]

Yes. This is what happens when the issue occurs. Nothing has power. It’s like the battery isn’t even in the car. There doesn’t seem to be anything I can do to trigger the condition, though, except needing to be somewhere. Lol. Right now, the car is starting like normal.

I’ll do these tests sometime within the next few days and let you know what I find.

[TheFella]

Excellent! Thank you so much! I really appreciate your responses.

If memory serves, the negative battery cable makes a Y. One end connects to the post on the battery. Another connects to the body, and the other is the one in the picture above that bolts to the transmission.

Do you think this could be causing the issue I’m having? It’s really the only lead I have so far, though.

[TheFella]

Thank you so much for your reply! It really gives me a lot to investigate!

This part of the wire doesn’t contact engine parts. It runs under the plastic “base” that the battery sits on (and possibly under the air filter housing, if memory serves). I was thinking it might have gotten pinched by something along the way. This cable originates at the negative battery cable, and the other end grounds onto the transmission. I took the ground end off and inspected it. Everything was free of corrosion and looked ok to me, but I’m just some schmuck on the internet. Lol. I did hit it with a wire brush for good measure, though. Why would only one spot on the insulation melt? Wouldn’t all of it melt? But again, I’m just some schmuck on the internet.

When you say to look for voltage drops in the main power cables, is this the battery cables? And how exactly do I go about doing this? And what will this tell me? I do have and know how to use a multimeter.

I’m not sure how to check frame, block, and chassis grounds. Tbh, Idk where these are located on this car. I’m normally pretty good with cars, but electrical stuff may as well be wizardry.

[TheFella]

Could this be causing this issue? It’s the negative battery cable as it runs into a ground point.

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[TheFella]

I’ve never tried to jiggle it, tbh. I initially thought ignition switch as well. I replaced it. It didn’t make a difference, though I guess it’s possible the one I got from the junkyard was also bad. I just replaced the switch, not the ignition lock cylinder, because as far as I can tell, there’s nothing wrong with the lock cylinder.

[TheFella]

My thinking was also an ignition switch. I replaced that and it did not fix the issue. I now believe that that is not the issue. The car randomly just does not have power and acts as though no battery is in the car at all. Nothing has power, and of course it won’t start when this happens. However it will randomly just decide to start when I turn the key. When it starts it does not die though. My thinking was some kind of ground issue or an issue with one of the battery cables. I have not begun to test this yet though.

[TheFella]

The low side is reading around 80 PSI. The high side is only slightly higher, maybe around 85 or thereabouts.

[TheFella]

Alright. Thanks for that. I tested it multiple times. I’ll try it again tomorrow (or in a few years when it finally stops raining, lol), and if it still doesn’t have continuity, I’ll open the accordion grommet and inspect the wire.

[TheFella]

Thank you so much for this! I just tested the continuity of all 5 wires. The key was not in the ignition at the time. I had continuity only on the solid blue wire and the green wire with white stripe. Should I do it again with the key in the “on” position?

[TheFella]

I looked at the master switch and all of the wires I mentioned do seem to connect to the master switch, as well. I got the new multimeter today and I think I’ll just test the continuity of each one.

[TheFella]

There are five wires here. They are green, red, blue, red with blue stripe, and green with white stripe. There are three wires for the lock, though.

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• f12dd0d0338f20cc110d83fd11a10a19

[TheFella]

Thank you so much! Once I get a multimeter that can measure continuity, I will do this!

[TheFella]

It’s the front passenger side.

[TheFella]

Thank you for this suggestion! I get 12 volts and change when I push the slave switch one way, and -0.18 V the other way. When I do the master switch, one direction gives 0.00 V. The other gives – 0.18 V.

[Author]

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