RED ALERT!! I need electrical help. PLEASE!

[goober]

The car: 1984 Carrera
The problem: A hokey "Hofco" alarm system
The real problem: I tried to "uninstall it"
The result: The car won't start

There it is. I am at your mercy. I had car that was running. I decided that I would remove the non-functioning alarm system. Now the car won't start. The whole uninstall went cleanly except this one wire. It's a red wire with a green line on it. Where does it go?

Seriously, please take a look at your cars, post a pic, or simply tell me where it should attach. I have higher res pics that I can email. Please guys, take the time to help a fellow Pelicanite out!


Heres the wire in question from the backside of the fuse panel. It is circled in red. You can see where the alarm system was joined to it.


This one shows a close-up of where it was cut out its wire loom. Again from the back side of the fuse panel.


The wire in question is circled in red the wire loom it was cut from is circled in yellow.


A close-up of the same area.

[Jeff Hail]

Originally posted by goober
The car: 1984 Carrera
The problem: A hokey "Hofco" alarm system
The real problem: I tried to "uninstall it"
The result: The car won't start

There it is. I am at your mercy. I had car that was running. I decided that I would remove the non-functioning alarm system. Now the car won't start. The whole uninstall went cleanly except this one wire. It's a red wire with a green line on it. Where does it go?

Seriously, please take a look at your cars, post a pic, or simply tell me where it should attach. I have higher res pics that I can email. Please guys, take the time to help a fellow Pelicanite out!


Heres the wire in question from the backside of the fuse panel. It is circled in red. You can see where the alarm system was joined to it.


This one shows a close-up of where it was cut out its wire loom. Again from the back side of the fuse panel.


The wire in question is circled in red the wire loom it was cut from is circled in yellow.


A close-up of the same area.

Did you remove a relay from the alarm system? A Bosch looking relay (square)?

Are you getting voltage on the red wire with the green stripe (at the yellow connector) or is it a dead wire now?

[mjshira]

test that you have power across the ignition switch, then to the starter. trace those lines down the use a meter to validate the connection. you may need a buddy for this. once you do that I bet you'll find the issue rather quickly. The other thing you might be dealing with (it is tough to tell from this vantage) is a kill switch that was placed in the car which now might have a dead short to night because you remove the other side of it.

[bell]

what is happening is the starter wire was ran through a relay or through the alarm brain to interupt the starter wire when the system was armed.
the red/green wire which is cut and pulled out of the harness needs to be reconnected, look further in the harness for the other side of it, it probably has a matching yellow butt connector hidden in there somewhere.
reconnect them together and it should start.

edit: shira and i posted at the same time
it really depends on how it was installed, but will be obvious what is not stock, testing as shira suggested will tell you for sure

[mjshira]

I agree with Bell, he said it much more clearly what I was attempting to say. That is why he has worked on my car and not the other way around LOL

[bell]

yea but your interior is hella sweet james

goober......is everything else in the car working except for the starter?

[goober]

Update.

Everything else in the car works as it should. The car turns over fine. The interior lights come on when the door is open. The dash lights up as normal.
I checked for spark....it sparks a spark plug when I crank it over. Must be lacking fuel?
I tried "hot wiring" power to the red/green wire....still no good.
The DME relay has power going to it with this red/green wire un-hooked.

Could one of you guys with a similar car take a look at your fuse box and see where that wire goes on yours.

In the mean time I will try the suggested multi-meter tracing.

Thanks for the help so far!

[abisel]

Check your fuel pump wiring. My '73 has a red with green tracer for the fuel pump and the wire went from the ignition switch to the fuel pump. In the later years, they fused this circuit as well as a relay.