FRUSTRATED! Electrical issues! Options

[SKL1]

Here comes the rant- the electrical issues are driving me nuts.

Other than putting the car back together (and everything worked when I dissassembled it) I put in a JWest fuse panel. When first bringing the car back to life with a battery, many things are NOT working. Headlight motors have power as I can raise them by turning the little knobs until the lights go thru a cycle, but they don't go up with the light switch. Also, no headlights, just parking lights. At first, emergency flashers and turn signals worked, now the flasher just makes a horrible buzzing sound, and the signals flash at about double speed.

Also, bench test shows starter is fine, but when in car, nothing happens when turning igntion switch. Also, shorting the starter with screw driver doesn't activate it.

Oh, and the light in the top of left gauge continues to flash whenever ignition is on- I think that's warning for brakes- E brake is off, and wiring to master cylinder is connected, though there is no blade connector on it for the ground...

And NO fog lights...

Have NEW ground strap from tranny to body and battery to body...

I have NO idea even where to START!!

I've been working on these cars for over 40 years, and HATE electrical issues!!!

[Spoke]

Here comes the rant- the electrical issues are driving me nuts.

Other than putting the car back together (and everything worked when I dissassembled it) I put in a JWest fuse panel. When first bringing the car back to life with a battery, many things are NOT working. Headlight motors have power as I can raise them by turning the little knobs until the lights go thru a cycle, but they don't go up with the light switch. Also, no headlights, just parking lights. At first, emergency flashers and turn signals worked, now the flasher just makes a horrible buzzing sound, and the signals flash at about double speed.

Also, bench test shows starter is fine, but when in car, nothing happens when turning igntion switch. Also, shorting the starter with screw driver doesn't activate it.

Oh, and the light in the top of left gauge continues to flash whenever ignition is on- I think that's warning for brakes- E brake is off, and wiring to master cylinder is connected, though there is no blade connector on it for the ground...

And NO fog lights...

Have NEW ground strap from tranny to body and battery to body...

I have NO idea even where to START!!

I've been working on these cars for over 40 years, and HATE electrical issues!!!

Start with one item.

Maybe start with the starter as that doesn't go through the fuse panel.

Electrical issues are not easy to fix and you need patience and focus on one issue at a time.

To be thorough on your quest, you should have at least 2 tools at your disposal: a voltmeter and schematic. Without these you will be left to visual inspection, jiggling wires, shorting stuff together, and a shit ton of frustration. If you are unfamiliar with these tools, you may want to get a friend to help or learn as you go.

For the starter, make sure the big gauge wire to the battery is securely connected. Measure 12V from the lug on the starter to clean chassis ground. If 12V, then measure 12V from the lug on the starter to the starter body or engine. Check the ground strap from the trans to the chassis.

If these are good, check the voltage on the yellow wire for the bendix. You'll need help of someone to turn and hold the key while you measure. Should be 12V from the wire to starter case. If you don't have 12V on this wire, trace the wire back to the ignition key and measure for 12V to chassis as you go back to the key.