I haven't had the truck long, so I don't know much about it. battery cables were hooked up wrong momentarily and now there is no power at all? No fuses were blown up under the dash, but there is no power at the fuse block or at ingition. Please help, I bought this as a work truck when my chevy went belly up, now it's stuck in my driveway.

 

If the battery was hooked up backwards, you should check out the fuseable links to make sure they are not blown.

 

Most likely one or more blown fuse links. Several are wired to the battery side of the starter solenoid and others further downstream toward the ignition and headlight switches. You can check them with an ohmeter (resistance should be less than 0.5 Ohms) or a test light. They are a short length of wire with a special nonflammable colored insulation. Colors of various sizes are: Green = 14 gauge, Orange = 16 ga., Red = 18 ga. and Blue = 20 ga. It's important to replace with the same size to maintain protection. It's possible you also damaged the alternator and/or voltage regulator. I think many auto parts stores carry replacement links, go by gauge not by color.

 

The fuse links I have only found the two right after the starter solenoid (they were still good) or I will say I believe they are good (If they still carry voltage they are ok)? would a damaged alternator keep power from getting inside the vehicle? the lights don't even come on. Where is the voltage reg?

 

If the test light will light when connected to the load side of the fuse link then the link is probably ok. The voltage regulator on most 80-86 trucks is on the passenger side inner fender well sort of below the starter solenoid. I think some 85-86's may have alternators with internal regulators (not absolutely sure). At any rate I'm pretty sure a bad alternator or regulator wouldn't prevent voltage from getting to the headlights and ignition circuits. There are two other fuse links (Green and Orange) located further back on the fenderwell about where the fenderwell rear slope begins. The Green one feeds the Ignition, etc. and the Orange feeds headlights, etc.

 

comming off of the 12 side of the battery the cable goes to the starter solenoid then branches off to the wiring harnesses. Am I correct that the yellow 10ga wire that has a large fuse link (fenderwell area) is the wire that feeds the ignition? http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_2210.jpg I found 4 fuse links in the bundle (there were two on each wire). But I don't have voltage on either side of the links. Where does the voltage originate from. http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_2209.jpg

also there is a wire going to the voltage regulator that looks like it used to have a link attached to it - the other side is attached to the starter sol.

FyI. The truck had power the day before, the next morning I tried to start and there was no power. I tried to jumpstart 1st with my battery charger (no Luck the battery was too low). I have since found out that the brake light switch had come loose draining the battery.

 

http://s134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/DntH8Me/?action=view&current=100_2210.jpg" target="_blank">http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q90/DntH8Me/100_2210.jpg" border="0" alt="wire harness2">


<a href="http://s134.photobucket.com/albums/q...t=100_2209.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_2209.jpg" border="0" alt="wire harness1"></a>

here are the pictures

 

 

you are correct about the yellow wire. And it gets power from the battery terminal on the starter solenoid in the picture below. At least, it originally did from the factory. Somehow, someway, the yellow wire is connected to the bat terminal of the solenoid.

 

From battery side of starter solenoid to Green or Orange fuse link (depends on which alternator you have). From that link to a Black/Orange wire (through a couple of splices) to a Yellow wire through a Connector to another Yellow wire to the junction of two fuse links, one Green the other Orange. The Green link connects to another Yellow wire to the Ignition. The Orange link connects to Black/Orange wires feeding headlights and other circuits. I'd start at the battery terminal of the solenoid with a voltmeter or test light and follow each path and probing each connection until a loss of voltage is detected. The colors and routing comes from my '83 manual but I think they're the same on yours.

 

I would like to thank everyone for such a quick response. This truck has to get my jobs done for this season, so no work ='s no bills paid so I need to get back on the road as ASAP. Looks like I'll be following wires in the morningl

 

Make sure the battery is good, I've seen one fail suddenly to the point it wouldn't even light the dome lamp. Also, make sure the negative battery cable is making good connection to the motor. You can eliminate that by hooking a jumper cable from the battery terminal to the engine block.

 

I now have electrical, but I don't hear the fuel pump kicking on. It's an aftermarket pump and the tank switch is disconnected so it's only for the front tank. It does have power with the key switch, but I don't hear any noise. The motor will crank if I put gas in the carb, so I do know it's a pump issue. are there other tests because it is supposed to be a new pump. and it looks relatively new compared to all the rest of the underside of the truck..

 

If you have power at the pump, but no noise or fuel, then the pump is bad. If it's mounted down low in the fuel system(like it's supposed to be), and the truck sits for awhile, then sometimes the pump will rust up inside, because the low part of the system is also where water likes to gather.

 

http://www.autozone.com/R,NONAPP4246...ductDetail.htm

here is a link to the pump that's on there. I noticed that after the ignition was on for a few minutes that the pump body became warm - so I guess that's an indication that it is somehow stuck or frozen.