Help! I killed my car: nothing electrical works but cabin lights

[procan]

I was trying to figure out my horn button wiring and I shorted out all my electrical, except the only thing that works are my cabin lights when the door is open. (I now realize that the reason it was so difficult for me is because I'm missing the brush that brushes against the horn ring in the steering column and also the cancellation ring that attaches to the hub). Gimme a break, I am new.

What happened was I was touching a wire to the steering column and horn ring to make my horn honk. It worked, so I tried attaching my steering wheel and touching the hub and the horn ring with the wire. The car let out a short faint honk, and then wouldn't work anymore. Took the steering wheel of and tried touching the wire to the steering column and horn ring again like before... not a sound. I thought I might of fried the horn, and thought I should double check if any of the other electrical was affected.

Turned the key and.... not a sound. No whirring of the fuel pump. Pressed the button for ignition, and didn't work. Headlights? Nope. Turning signal? Nope. Gauge lights? Nope. Break lights? Nope. The only thing that works are the cabin lights when I open the door.

I took a look at my fuses and none of them look blown. None are separated, although a few of them are extremely thin. I have no extra fuses, so I just ordered about 40 off of our host. I don't have a voltmeter, so I'll get one tomorrow to check connections.

Any suggestions? What could it be if not fuses? I'm fearing the worst here.

[rusnak]

try disconnecting the battery, waiting a minute, then re-connect.

[E Sully]

Not much you can do without a meter. Till then disconnect the Ground wires on the battery. You can then visually look over the fuse box and wiring without worring about doing any more harm. What car and wiring harness are you working on? What has been done, I see you have a push button start.
You may have a loose harness connection somewhere.

[procan]

It's a '69 912 with a '69 911E engine and MSD ignition... So lots has been modified. It worked perfectly before the horn testing, and did not work at all after.

[procan]

Ummm, so I decided to hook my battery back up and try my car again a few hours later, and.... Everything works!!! I am very happy, albeit extremely confused.

I had tried unhooking the battery and hooking it back up before and it didn't help. Again, happy yet confused.

Not looking forward to the mess of wires I have to go through with all this aftermarket stuff that has been added and removed over the years.

[timmy2]

Originally Posted by procan

Ummm, so I decided to hook my battery back up and try my car again a few hours later, and.... Everything works!!! I am very happy, albeit extremely confused.

I had tried unhooking the battery and hooking it back up before and it didn't help. Again, happy yet confused.

Not looking forward to the mess of wires I have to go through with all this aftermarket stuff that has been added and removed over the years.

I've lived in Manitoba, Alberta, Montana, Washington and now Oregon. (In that order)
A couple more moves west for you, and you could just drop by and I'd help you re-wire it...

[T77911S]

a test light works very well. simple and cheap

[procan]

Ok, my car's electrical died again. I had the car running in the garage, and I turned on the hazards so I could get out and see if any turning signals were burnt out. Right when I switched on the hazards the car died, like I hit an off switch. I tried to turn the key to turn the car back on and nothing happened. No power.

The next day I turned the key and the car switched on and worked perfectly. What could be the problem? Why does it work after waiting a few hours?

[kyalami]

Alarm cutoff maybe? Does it have an alarm system that disables the car?

[E Sully]

Pictures of your ignition switch and start button, or good description would help. Other than that it is impossible to tell what was done to the original wiring. Check all the ground connections are to clean metal.

[T77911S]

could be ignition switch.

could also be bad connection of a battery terminal or the ground wire to the body.

[porwolf]

In your case I think there might be something wrong with the big wires leading to the battery + and -. Since almost all electrical functions that require substantial current go out together. The cabin lights hardly need any current. That's what leads me to thinking that the problem is somewhere in the main leads to the battery. Just to be sure I would also have the battery tested. The ignition switch also controls a lot of functions, another possibility. But that could be tested rather easily with a test light, or better, with a voltmeter. I had an internally corroded battery ground cable on another car once. There was nothing visible on the outside. So, yours could also be compromised inside.

[rusnak]

The next time this happens, use a 12v tester to check each circuit, and write down which ones are without power, and which have power. Get a wiring diagram, and trace any common points. It sounds to me like a bad contact, switch (ignition?), or ground, or you have a wonky self-resetting relay or fuse (aftermarket?) that was installed to act as a safeguard. Messing with the horn and the hazzard switches shouldn't make everything lose power like that.