ok, here we go. after much searching and a little luck i found the black wire on the back of the ignition switch had a broken crimp terminal. replaced the crimp and i had power. put the dash panel back in to try the function of the switches. turned the key on-had power for about two minutes then dead on right side again.took the panel back out. thought maybe the lack of black wire had damaged ignition switch. changed the switch-had power again-for about two minutes- dead on right side again. #@!&#@. any ideas?
now on to other electrical gremlins found while testing (for about two minutes).
courtesy lights- they also work for about two minutes and then blow the fuse. would a bad delay relay cause that? i wouldn't worry so much about the courtesy lights but they are tied into the running lights which i need.
dash flood lights-don't work. i am confused on this because i can't see how they would work. they are linked on an orange wire connected to another orange wire which appears to lead to the fuse box. the dash dimmer switch though has a double yellow and a yellow w/black tracer. no orange. the door jamb switches , ignition light , map light are yellow wires. it would seem that the dash dimmer would dim the courtesy lights and not the flood lights, maybe?
when things were briefly functional with the replacement switch,i noticed that turning the ignition to start would not start the car but would cause the power window relay to clunk.
the replacement switch came from a running car so it worked.
hopefully someone has some ideas. my back and neck hurt from crawling under in and around the dash. i have a headache from staring at wiring diagrams and my arms are ripped to shreds.
