C10 wont start.. need your help!

[A70C104u]

Let me begin by saying Hello and thank you for reading.

Car was running fine, engine turned on at the turn of the key and worked. The interior was a mess so my first step was cleaning it up. Essentially new carpet, seat covers, etc. etc. The previous owner had connected the 3 gauge unit "amp" "oil temp" "pressure" and I changed those out and also changed out the ignition with a new key. I tried to turn it on today and the car does not do anything. No crank, no noise, nothing. I disconnected the battery when I was doing all this and the battery seems to be fine.

I ve been reading other threads and hoping to get some guidance, looking at wiring diagrams , and just cant figure out what I did.

Any insight would be greatly welcomed =)

Thanks!

[panhandler62]

The gauges and ignition would be where I would start looking.

[ray_mcavoy]

^ Ditto checking the gauges.

You said you changed out the 3 gauge amp/oil/temp unit that the previous owner had installed. What did you put in it's place? Another amp/oil/temp gauge package? Or did you change from an ammeter to a voltmeter?

Nearly all of those aftermarket ammeters are of the "full flow" type. That means all of the vehicle's electrical system (except starter cranking current) was routed directly through that ammeter. So if you replaced the ammeter with a voltmeter and hooked it up to the existing wires, that could be your problem.

[A70C104u]

That's exactly what I did. The prior gauge said Amp on it and I hooked in a gauge that reads Volt. I'll switch it back and see if that works. Thank you !!

[ray_mcavoy]

That'll do it

As you may already know, those full flow type ammeters and their wiring can be dangerous so replacing it with a voltmeter is a good idea. But as you've discovered, you'll have to make a few changes to the wiring to go from an ammeter to voltmeter.

The safest thing to do would be to unhook the battery and remove all of the wires the previous owner ran to the ammeter. You'll have to figure out how & where they connected those wires into the stock wiring. Then undo those connections and put the wiring back to the factory configuration.

Once that's done, you can connect the voltmeter's positive terminal to a point in the electrical system that will have full battery voltage with the ignition on. There's often a receptacle on the fuse box labeled "IGN" that'll work good for that. And finally, connect the voltmeter's negative terminal to a good ground.

[A70C104u]

Yea the PO did a hack job on the wires. I've been thinking of buying a new wiring harness and re-wire all completely. The gauge cluster does not even work, its completely dead and I am sure its because of that.

[A70C104u]

haha... it didnt work!!! I reconnected the old gauge and connected it how it was and nothing.. do you think that gauge needs to be grounded? or maybe i should buy a new ammeter and install it. The old one got wet from some rain it was laying outside.

[ray_mcavoy]

No, don't ground the ammeter! One wire on the back of the ammeter is live (direct from the battery) and power should flow through the meter to the other wire, making it live too.

Getting wet shouldn't have damaged the ammeter to the point where it will no longer conduct power. Unless of course it has been laying outside long enough for the terminals to get rusty.

For testing purposes, you can simply take those 2 wires that used to go to the ammeter and connect them directly together. Assuming they have ring terminals on them, you could use a small bolt or machine screw and nut to connect them. Wrap the connection with electrical tape so it won't short to ground.

If that doesn't fix the problem, you'll have to look elsewhere. For example, if you accidentally touched one of those ammeter wires to ground while you were swapping the gauges it might have burned out the fusible link where the main feed wire connects to the battery.

For additional troubleshooting, you'll need either a 12V test light or a voltmeter. Use that to check various points in the main feed circuit that runs from the battery in to the fuse box and ignition switch. And if that checks out okay, move on to testing the output of the ignition switch that goes to the starter solenoid (that circuit usually runs through a neutral safety switch on trucks with auto transmissions or through a clutch safety switch on later years with manual transmissions).

[New_70'C10]

You say you changed out the ignition with a new key. Did you change out the ignition module, the cylinder or simply had a new key cut for it? I would revisit this area if you removed/reinstalled anything in there. If you're getting "no noise, nothing" it sounds like the power isn't being turned on.