85GT Vert no gauges

[85GTMan]

Finally getting back to my 85 GT Vert and I have no gauges or power windows, it keeps popping fuse #18, the car has sat idle in the garage for months & was running just fine last spring, it was running fine & the gauges just quit, checked the fuse box & #18 was blown, I put a new fuse in it and pop! I've looked for the simple things, done lots of searching & nothing looks out of place or bad, my chiltons manual has a "typical fusebox" pic & it doesn't match mine anyone have ideas & a diagram for a 85 fusebox?
thanks
-Bigski6

[jvaughan]

i cant help. but i can say that i have the same chiltons book you do probably. and it matches my 79 cobra's fuse box.

[teddy1500]

Something is grounded out, Have you removed the dash recently? Or installed a something new?

[GTJerry]

Rodents? I've been chasing mice out of one of my cars for the past couple of weeks.

You might check page two of the wiring schematic for more detailed info on the fuse panel.

Jerry

http://www.mc-machine.com/wiring_pdfs/1985.pdf

[JACook]

You didn't say whether this is a 5-speed or automatic, but if it's a 5-speed, the first
place I'd be looking is the wiring to, and around, the WOT switch on the carburetor.

But fuse #18 has nothing to do with gauges, or power windows. Have you checked
your ignition switch lately?

[85GTMan]

She's a 5 speed, last time I cranked her up she was fine,which was about 4 months ago. I got side tracked with my Bronco & when I fired her up last month I was watching the gauges & the tach dropped to zero after running for awhile, so I checked some other things & noticed the power windows didn't work either. the engine runs fine & nothing has been done to her for months, if I'd been messing with something I'd backtrack but thats what's strange, I was sitting in the driveway with her idling and poof! the guages quit, the low fuel light has been before & I ignored it knowing I had plenty of fuel.

[JACook]

The tach dropping to zero probably coincided with fuse 18 blowing. That's the only
gauge that would be affected by that fuse. Fuse 18 also feeds the low fuel module.

The rest of the gauges, and the power windows, are fed by the same output from
the ignition switch.

[86 50CPRI]

double check your ignition switch.Mine in my Ranger separated while sitting in my driveway,parked. See if the two halves are coming apart-metal and plastic.

[85GTMan]

Update. I have fixed the gauge problem (grounded out wire) but I still have no power windows or locks.I check the fuse box & there are no blown fuses. I was looking at the wiring diagrams on here & page 12 is blank & thats the one I need, it breaks down the power windows. the wiring is really falling apart & the PO really hacked it up, its looking like I need to budget to re-wire the car. by the way chiltons manuals stink!.any ideas?

[86 50CPRI]

PW and PDL have a common ground inside the drivers door,behind the door panel. It is out in the open.

[85GTMan]

she's in the garage & rodent free, I just got done checking the power coming out of the key switch & it's getting juice & i've pulled & checked everything in the fuse box, still no go.

[JACook]

You haven't checked the ignition switch yet?

[86 50CPRI]

check in the doors for power yet? check the connectors at the A pillar/drivers kick panel?

[85GTMan]

I've checked the ign. switch & there's power coming out of the switch, I've pulled the driver's side kick panel & have been looking at the sapagetti down there & everything is intact, checked for loose plugs, everything is tight. next step is to pull the drivers door panel off & start tracing.

[JACook]

The first place to look, after the ignition switch, is a single-pin connector at the left
end of the dash, just above where the wires are heading down the left cowl. This
connector will have pink wires. You should see battery voltage with the key on.

[85GTMan]

update...coming out from under the LH side of the dash.I found a connector that has 1 black & 1 pink wire on one end & 1 pink wire coming out the other end. this has power with the key on. the power comes in the black & pink side & out the single pink, the single pink runs into a small harness that snakes up the side of the dash next to the door & disappears up by the headlight switch. I've also pulled the drivers door apart & the ground wire looks good & feels tight. I've also probed the wires in the door and the connectors down in the footwell & the only power I get is the pink/blk & pink connector. I also double checked the fuses & nothing is blown.

[JACook]

OK, don't get frustrated yet. You've actually made some good progress here. Electrical
troubleshooting is very much a step-by-step process, and there generally aren't any
quick fixes, at least not until you actually find the problem.

One of the biggest challenges with the '85 Vert is the wiring diagrams and EVTM do not
properly show the circuits for the power windows and locks. They only show the regular
2-window system. This is because the Verts basically use the 4-door Fairmont power
window system, along with the 2-door Fairmont power lock system. So, to troubleshoot
these systems, you also need '83 Fairmont diagrams.

So, the first thing to know about the Vert windows is, there is a power window safety
relay on the left cowl, just above where the porkchop brace bolts on. This relay will
have a green connector, with pink, black/white stripe, and blue/black hash wires. The
safety relay also has a ground wire tied to where it mounts to the cowl.

You should see power on both the pink wire and the blue/black wire with the key on,
and the black/white wire should be hot at all times. This black/white wire is not the
same one that you measured earlier. That one comes from CB12 on the fuse block.
But on the Vert, the power locks, and the power window relay, are fed by a circuit
breaker that's mounted on the starter relay, on the post with the positive battery
cable. The feed harness is a separate 2-wire harness that also has a fat yellow wire
that ties into a fusible link near the starter relay.

The power lock/window power feed ties into the lock/window harness with a single-
pin bullet connector above the glovebox. The lock/window harness itself runs along
the top of the dash, up at the base of the windshield.

You'll need to verify these power feeds before we go further. Then again, we may not
have to...

[86 50CPRI]

wow Jeff, I'm sure this info will come in handy when I get around to my own '85 Vert. Thanks for your insight.

BTW, I just saved all that in a Word document for future review.

[85GTMan]

Ok, I found the green connector, that sucker is way up in there, I do have power to those wires with the key on, however the test light is really dim, like its not getting enough power, when I cycle the key I can hear the relay clicking.
I looked behind the glove box & the big yellow wire connects into an orange wire & next to it is another 1/2 of the yellow wire with the same type of connector. when I disconnect the yellow/orange & connect the yellow/yellow the top motor doesn't work so I put it back.
The same yellow wire runs through the firewall out to a connector by the starter solenoid along with a black wire, the black has a small rectangular relay/circuit breaker on the end, but it was just dangling not attached to anything, based on the ammount of surface rust on the mounting tab it looks to have been hanging there for quite awhile. I hooked it up to the positive side of the starter relay since there was nothing there, just wires and it didn't have any effect. The black wire runs into the single bullet connector & accross the dash.
Thanks for all the help, you guys have been really great. I spend alot time over on fullsizebronco.com & they aren't near as helpful as you guys are. thanks again.

[JACook]

The big yellow wire is not part of the power lock/window circuit, it just lives in the same
harness as the black/white one that is.

The same yellow wire runs through the firewall out to a connector by the starter solenoid along with a black wire, the black has a small rectangular relay/circuit breaker on the end, but it was just dangling not attached to anything, based on the ammount of surface rust on the mounting tab it looks to have been hanging there for quite awhile. I hooked it up to the positive side of the starter relay since there was nothing there, just wires and it didn't have any effect. The black wire runs into the single bullet connector & accross the dash.

That dangling circuit breaker is probably why your locks and windows don't work. Or
at least, it's the first step. That -is- the power feed I've been telling you about. The
circuit breaker goes on the same starter relay stud where the positive battery cable
attaches. It goes on first, then the smaller ring terminals, and the battery cable goes
on last.

[85GTMan]

you are the man! I had put the circuit breaker on the outside of the battery cable on the starter solenoid. I just changed it, putting it on first as you said & I have windows & locks again! now I can move on to the exhaust. thanks for all the help.

[JACook]

Wow. So someone along the way was just careless when they changed out the starter
relay? That sucks. But it's good you got it sorted out.

[86 50CPRI]

congrats..another one solved!

[85GTMan]

Thanks again guys, the PO had really hacked things up, now to sort out the vacum lines...... one thing at a time!