86 Spree - CURSED wiring/ no start
Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2020 7:07 am
Hello! Long time lurker, first time poster.
Picked up an 86 Spree for $100! I have restored a few motorcycles and dozens of cars, so I'm pretty handy. But this spree I bought seems to be haunted (tis the season). Okay not really haunted but I'm running into an issue I haven't encountered before.
When I bought the spree, it came with a dead battery that wouldn't hold a charge, and when the key was turned to ON, no lights, no horn, nothing. I went ahead and bought a brand new battery and trickled charged it, so now I have 13v+ (for the sake of simplicity, it's a little higher than that).
So, I did the reasonable thing and scoured these forums for hours on end. Busted out my multimeter and here is what I DO know:
-Ignition switch is good, fused RED wire is providing full power to the switch.
-When turned ON, black wire is getting full power as well.
-Initially, nothing else came on. No tach or speedo lights, nothing.
-I got curious and tested the taillight because I read that IT was also one of the first sources to recieve power, but it has no power at all.
-I read that rectifiers can cause some wonky issues in regards to power, so I unplugged it and the red oil light came on! Progress. Also tested the horn at that point at it was a nice healthy/loud sound.
-HERE IS WHERE IT GETS WEIRD. I popped the taillight bulb back in, and when I did I lost all power again.
-Took it back out, and the oil light and horn were operational.
-Also noticed that when I switched the turn signals on, it caused all the lights to go off/ lose power as well.
-At no point did the starter ever want to click or turn over.
-The wiring all looks factory/ no weird splices or anything.
So at this point, and PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, it sounds like I have a short somewhere? I have the wiring diagram, I guess I just don't know where to start. What would your procedure for diagnosing this look like? Any help is appreciated friends!
Picked up an 86 Spree for $100! I have restored a few motorcycles and dozens of cars, so I'm pretty handy. But this spree I bought seems to be haunted (tis the season). Okay not really haunted but I'm running into an issue I haven't encountered before.
When I bought the spree, it came with a dead battery that wouldn't hold a charge, and when the key was turned to ON, no lights, no horn, nothing. I went ahead and bought a brand new battery and trickled charged it, so now I have 13v+ (for the sake of simplicity, it's a little higher than that).
So, I did the reasonable thing and scoured these forums for hours on end. Busted out my multimeter and here is what I DO know:
-Ignition switch is good, fused RED wire is providing full power to the switch.
-When turned ON, black wire is getting full power as well.
-Initially, nothing else came on. No tach or speedo lights, nothing.
-I got curious and tested the taillight because I read that IT was also one of the first sources to recieve power, but it has no power at all.
-I read that rectifiers can cause some wonky issues in regards to power, so I unplugged it and the red oil light came on! Progress. Also tested the horn at that point at it was a nice healthy/loud sound.
-HERE IS WHERE IT GETS WEIRD. I popped the taillight bulb back in, and when I did I lost all power again.
-Took it back out, and the oil light and horn were operational.
-Also noticed that when I switched the turn signals on, it caused all the lights to go off/ lose power as well.
-At no point did the starter ever want to click or turn over.
-The wiring all looks factory/ no weird splices or anything.
So at this point, and PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, it sounds like I have a short somewhere? I have the wiring diagram, I guess I just don't know where to start. What would your procedure for diagnosing this look like? Any help is appreciated friends!