Hello! My '72 Riviera project is (was) finally road-worthy. I've made a few test drives without incident; I LOVE having a 4L80e on this car . One of the last things that I needed to fix was the steering column -- the horns honked on their own, the signal lever was floppy, signals didn't cancel, etc. I collected all the parts to do that job today and figured I'd test the horn and hazard buttons one last time before I started the repair... well, upon using the horn and hazard button simultaneously I heard sort of an electric "hisss" inside the column or dash and then the car died. My guess is that because the signal/horn switch was old/broken there were stray metal bits floating around in the column that probably shorted a few wires together. I now have no power to the IGN terminal on the fuse block under the dash. This is unfortunate because I use that IGN terminal to power a relay which in turn powered my EFI, transmission controller, radio, etc. Currently the car has dash/interior lights and can power the starter but it won't start (obviously, since the EFI doesn't get power). Is there a fuse of some kind for the IGN terminal? Does this sound like the ignition switch fried? Could this have something to do with the horn relay behind the dash? If so, does anyone know what the part number is? That is one of the few things I can't find on RockAuto. Thank you very much for any advice! In unrelated news, I installed the new turn signal/horn switch in the column and now my turn signals come on when I press the brake pedal. That fix seems simple but this has been a fun day!
Good advice. I'll take a look at that in the morning. Is this still right near the starter on a '72 Riv? I hadn't really considered that because I was under the impression that if the fusible link for the ignition blows you wouldnt be able to get the starter to crank.
Ugh, sometimes it is painful when you spend a day troubleshooting something obvious! I took a 2nd look at the fuses, thought I tested them all this morning, but the DIR SIG fuse was blown. I also discovered that this fuse is linked to the IGN terminal on the back of the fuse block, hence my problem. I'm not loving that anytime my turn signal fuse blows my HEI, EFI, and Trans controller will all turn off... going to have to fuse those differently. I was hoping that fuse would in turn solve my brake-pedal-turns-on-the-blinkers issues, but no dice. Maybe I just got a bad replacement turn signal switch...
That may be something as simple as reversed polarity on the turn signal flasher. Any other exspurt electricians been up inside there?? Back in the early 70's around the Chicago area, local PD's and fire departments were installing a "link" around inside the fusebox to illuminate the front turn signals when you were on the brakes. I guess that was to possibly fore warn oncoming drivers that you were stopping and could possibly turn in front of them with no signal. I dont recall the method, but it was free, and easy and only took less than 10 minutes to install. Just a thought.. Im sure 67 Nick will remember that! ws
