Good battery no juice anywhere!

[Barenecessity]

I am terrible with electrical stuff. I got into my 83 911 SC this morning and there was no power to any instruments when I turned the key. Nothing worked, no lights, no fuel pump, nothing. I hooked up the multimeter to the battery and it read 12.64 volts. The battery was well connected.

Anyone have any suggestions and pictures of where I should look next? Could it be one of the ground straps?

By way of background, I just had the engine removed by a local (good) mechanic to replace some of the hoses and gaskets in the rear of the engine. I got the car back three days ago and it's been running beautifully. I ran it yesterday with no problems. Today . . . all dead.

Thank you for your help
BN

[Barenecessity]

The dashboard and parking lights turn on when I pull the light switch.

[Manolito]

You will do better if you post this on the 911 forum rather than the BMW forum.

The fact that the engine was recently removed point to a plug that was not attached securely or a ground that was not bolted on securely. However, the fact that your parking lights illuminate but your dash does not points us away from a central power or ground connection.

I worked on a few 911s back in the '70s. Those cars were at least a decade earlier than yours, but I observed that Porsche did not do a very good job of securing their wiring, The result was that wires would sometimes chaff and short on the car. This usually (but not always) burns a fuse. I don't recall fusible links being as popular with Porsches as they were with American and Japanese cars of that vintage, but you should keep an eye out for burned fusible links. These look like thickened sections of the wires that show evidence of heat damage.

You are likely going to need to buy a test light or a volt meter and methodically track down your problem. You will be much better with electrical stuff when this is over.