lostdriver

Alright long post so prepare yourselves.

A couple months back i purchased my 85' N/A from some guy in town knowing that it had an electrical problem but just thought it to be the power supply box seeing as it had the digital dash. A couple of the lights on the dash worked known as the "idiot lights" AKA the E-brake light, seat belt warning and so on, no tach, speedo, fuel or anything else. If you started the car and gave it a hard rev you would get more stuff like clock, windshield wipers, lights, and compass. This was fine as i was gonna get the power supply fixed but one night my alternator died. I got that replaced and when i did i noticed it has a little fuse i suppose on the replacement that wasn't on the original but i didn't think it would really matter. So i got that on and after that i had nothing, even after the hard rev. The little backlight for the clock would come on but no numbers, my window motors worked and i could turn on my lights however the motors to flip them up were not working. Figured it just had something to do with the power supply box. But not even my brake lights worked including turn signals and reverse light. I read on this forum or perhaps another that said the relay or little white box could be the issue and sure enough it was upside down but i got a new one from a junk yard and still the same problem. Checked fuses and everything was fine, no blown fuses in the cabin and the fusible links where fine. I even got the power supply fixed but still nothing. I did notice though that if the headlights where on and i pressed my fog light button i could hear a ticking from the fusebox in the engine bay and i had my dad put his finger on them and we found one that we could feel the ticking inside of. Replaced that and still nothing. I have tried absolutely everything i can and cannot think of anything at all. I really need some help as to what this could possibly be! Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

ch33z3x

I'm not the greatest with electrical, so take this advice with a grain of salt. You may have a short somewhere, but tracing it could me a massive headache. It is probably a good idea to download the FSM (factory service manual, not the flying spaghetti monster), and Start tracing wires. Test the main relays if you have the equipment, and any blown fuses are a dead giveaway, and sometimes they look good but are blown at a point you can't see. Always best to use a tester to check for power flow through the fuse itself. You're losing power somewhere, so at some point the power from the battery and alternator can't make it to the rest of the system. Find that spot and you'll find your issue.