Got the water pump in, battery was dead from sitting, so I charged it overnight on 2 amp. Went to start it and smoke rolled out from behind the instrument cluster and now nothing happens when I turn the key. Is it time to part it out? It might be easier to sell an L motor by itself than in the car???
Any thoughts?

John

 

hmm.... what part of the instrument cluster? sounds like you could have a shorted wire for the ignition switch, but the SMJ, relays and fuse panel are also behind there, and they could be causing trouble too. sounds like whatever happened burned the fusible link, and that's why nothing happens now. that's a good thing.

how long did it sit to drain the battery? it'd hafta sit at least a few months, unless you have a draw somewhere. I'd tear the instrument panel out and find out what burned. chances are the damage is limited to a section of wire.

first thing I would check is the fuses. pull em one by one, and any that are opened will show you the problem circuit. also check the switch wire to the starter, maybe that's grounded somewhere and caused the short when you went to crank the engine.

if the damage isn't that extensive, I wouldn't scrap it just yet. either way, good luck with it.

Dan

 

Yeah, I'll try to fix it, again... The smoke came out behind the speedo/tach area right in the center. I already have most of the dash apart, but lost my motivation. I'm going to be laid off work the next three weeks , so when I'm not painting or laying tile and hardwood floors, it'll be try to figure out what's wrong with the car. Thanks for the input!
John