No power to the column

[jeffinpgh]

I'm stumped... my 1986 c/g30 Chevy Fleetwood Arrow was running fine and all of a sudden (after I shut it off & wanted to start it 10 minutes later) I had no power. No power to the column. I turn the key in either direction & get nothing... no radio, no blower, no gauge movement, & no start. I replaced the ignition switch last night & still nothing. What would cause this... everything else works, headlights, brake lights, interior courtesy light...
Is there any relays/solenoids that powers up (keeps everything hot) everything BEFORE the key? What fuses should I be replacing if that may be the case & where are they? Would the coil (on top of the cap) do this if it fried itself? Alternator fried? Resistors? I just cant figure out why I'm not getting power.
Second question... can anyone explain in good detail, how would i go about creating a proper hot switch & start button combo to at least get this thing started so I can get it to a shop to be looked at further.
support much appreciated

[PaulJ2]

Well you are half way there. You need to find the reason it melted in the first place. Or did it get roasted against the hot exhaust manifold?

[enblethen]

Glad you found your issue!
You should get a new fusible link as it protects your system. Should be able to get the correct size at O'Reilly's, Auto Zone or other auto parts stores. Color designates the amperage. Beleive it should be 30 amp which I beleive is grey.

[jeffinpgh]

Found it.. :B

Inside a heat shield mounted to the transmission.
Counted the wires going into the shield & there colors (all thick red) & the wires coming out, all were a thinner white. One of them at a fusible link inside the shield was melted & more or less crumbled. SO.. I got the heaviest gauge wire I had, a butt connector, & a 30 amp fuse I had laying in the junk drawer and made a jumper. Told my son to turn the key on & the radio up full blast & as I laid on my back in the mud under the beast. I touched the wires & all of a sudden heard Joyce Meyrs screaming Hallelujah on the radio over & over again.:C OK, back to the subject. I ending up making a new route, away from the manifold, to the starter, loomed all the wires, & she, Tioga (I wont call it a beast again) is running like new again.
You folks are awesome... next trick will be turning the heat & fridge on when I get the propane tanks filled.
Stay blessed... I need you

[Cuffs054]

Any chance this could be a "shifter position" issue? You know, not in "park"?

[enblethen]

The switch is at the base of the steering column. The linkage travels down the column to it. There is no reason to remove steering.
Or at least that is the way mine is!

[navegator]

I belive that Chevrolet with the tilt colum has a wire connector (as in coat hanger)between the tumbler and the actual electrical switch that sits further down the steering colum.

The electrical element is a sliding switch and is moved via THE wire that sits on a small ear, that ear has a tendency to brake, sometimes on and you can not turn the engine off you are dead in the parking lot.

To replace the switch, the steering wheel needs to come off, if yours has an airbag you need to let the vehicle sit with the battery diconected for minimun 24 hours so that the capacitors in the air bag cirquitry discharhe, otherwise you may have a nassty deployment.

You also need to be a contortionist to extricate the old unit and install the new one since it has to pass trough a very small opening, lots of patience and luck.

The actual mechanism behind the tumbler is metal but I have seen them brake, pot metal, metal fatige.

You need a special tool to remove the pivot mechanism in order to get to the rest of the colum, you might need to leave this to a proffecional.

Hope it helps a little

navegator

[PaulJ2]

The fact that you do have power to the headlights, interior lights etc means you have power through the firewall so not likely a fuse link problem. Stuff that the ingition key controls does not so concentrate on that circuit instead.
Maybe a ignition system fuse, circuit breaker, battery control module if it has one, etc. My thoughts.

[APRSRVer]

Fusible links are connected to same terminal as pos battery cable on starter solenoid. Quick check of links is to tug on them from wire end and if it stretches easily, the fusible wire inside is burned in half.

[enblethen]

I would not start throwing parts!
Inspect the ground connection from the chassis battery where it connects on the engine. Mine is connected to a stud on the intake manifold behind the AC compressor. It gets extremely hot and builds up carbon quickly.
When you remove the starter and heat shield to get to the positive cable,the fuse link splice could be up in the metal protective shield.
Since the lights work, I would be checking your battery control center and the battery disconnect.

[jeffinpgh]

Dash gauges do nothing when I tun the key, before they would actuate. They, the dash lights will light when I pull on the headlight switch only. I'm going to replace the positive cable today as I already purchased it. When doing that I'll look for the fusible link, if I can find it. Will also check fuse box w/ a test light. If the above fail, what steps would you proceed with?

[enblethen]

The fusible link is normally about 6 inches long. It is the small wire coming off the main battery terminal on the starter. It routes through the main wiring harness to the fuse block.
Before you start cutting and pulling things apart:
does your dash light up at all?
Have you checked for power at the under dash fuse block? Test each fuse on both sides for power?
Have you checked to insure your chassis battery disconnect is operating properly?

[jeffinpgh]

awesome answers... I like the idea of running a jumper through the fire wall the most (had to do that on my volkswagon w/ a toggle), but will do that as a last resort & I would need more of your input on the procedure. I will remove the Positive cable from battery to starter today & replace it w/ a new 1 ($14 cant go wrong) but need clarification on the "fusible" link mentioned... Is it on the actual starter or in line w/ the main cable? Where/what route does it go after the starter or does it begin at the starter & go somewhere else.Please give me as much info as yinz (yea I'm from the burgh) can think of cause... I'm stumped
Blessings & thank youz

[enblethen]

There is a fuse link down next to the starter on GMs. It feeds power to the fuse block under the dash.
There is a fuse in the block under the dash marked "IGN". It must have power for the ignition to work.

[sljkansas]

I had an old Ford that did that. It was the large connector in the steering column at the steering wheel. A clip broke off and the connector came loose. I used a nylon zip tie to hold it in place.