musician235

The two frame seat mounts closest to the driver's side door are rusted out. The rest of the frame is nearly rust free so I believe a repair is worth the effort. Any suggestions on repairing? I'm thinking pop rivets since I do not weld.

There was a frayed wire in between the fuse box and the fusible link. Thanks again.. Yes the average mechanic/shop hourly rate in Bethel is 200/Hr so I learn fast. We do have lots of parts out here, although they get crunched regularly.

Runs great now thanks for the help everyone!

Excellent I found the short. Now full power... Now trying to get it to catch..

It also appears that there is some sort of cloudy whitish gel applied to the contacts of the big connecter that connects the wiring harness to the fusible link box... I'm wondering if someone put the wrong stuff on there and it's causing trouble... The lady who gave me the car said it used to start fine earlier in the winter but eventually she stopped starting the vehicle and it never started after sitting for a month or so.

that is a really good idea. I'm going to try. Kids in an auto shop disconnected many of the dash switches and installed some aftermarket ones to control the heater so there must indeed be a big short somewhere. Thanks.

So, to clarify, I checked all four fusible links with a multimeter yesterday and all 4 had continuity. After charging the battery and re-installing it this afternoon, is when i noticed the burning smell, and the 4th fusible link smoking. I think that is the main link to the fuse box, which leads me to wonder, what the next step is in tracing the issue.

Hi Bennie, Thanks for the response. I charged the battery to double check it (with an ohmmeter) and it has a charge . Still no sign of life in the vehicle; however after some attempts to turn the ignition switch i smelled a burning smell, and found smoke coming out of the 4th fusible link. (Green, Red, Green, and then the 4th one, which has already been replaced with a wire by the previous owner) So there is some problem with that 4th circuit..... The stereo is out, and the wires are all disconnected, but I have taped them off to avoid shorts. Any ideas? Thank you.

The battery has a charge but there is no power going to the vehicle. I already cleaned the terminals and checked the fuses on the interior driver's side fuse box. I also checked all 4 fusible links right next to the battery and they are all good. Any suggestions? Are there any more fuses inside the engine compartment? Thanks.