Wiring Issue

[Maroon_Madness]

Hi everyone I'm new here, I recently picked up a 85 blazer that has been sleeping for 12 years in a barn. Today I got the 350 moving and when I went to try the starter it cranked for half a second and everything went dead inside the truck. no lights, gauges etc. Checked the battery and it is still good (brand new battery) I tried it after ten minutes and the same thing happened. guage said I had 12-13V before trying the starter. There was a mouse nest in the air cleaner but the wires look fine around the motor. Does anyone have any suggestions as what to check first or some troubleshooting tips? Also this is my first real project truck, I love wiring but never had to deal with a short somewhere.

[1981Stepside]

bad/loose ground on the battery/chassis?

[bk2life]

Originally Posted by Maroon_Madness

Today I got the 350 moving and when I went to try the starter it cranked for half a second and everything went dead inside the truck. .

that’s the best thing that could happened to your project.

Originally Posted by Maroon_Madness

Checked the battery and it is still good (brand new battery) .

you put a new battery in it? Or the 12 year old battery is still good?

Originally Posted by Maroon_Madness

There was a mouse nest in the air cleaner but the wires look fine around the motor. .

air cleaners make great mouse houses.

Originally Posted by Maroon_Madness

Does anyone have any suggestions as what to check first or some troubleshooting tips? .

yes, quit tryin to start it. Disconnect the fuel lines from the carb. Do not try to run 12 year old rusted varnish through your motor.

Originally Posted by Maroon_Madness

Also this is my first real project truck, I love wiring but never had to deal with a short somewhere.

there is nothing sayin anything is shorted. Your sleeping beuty is telling you to do some more research before you casue more problems.
With 12 year old fluids in your truck, you need to dump everything. Coolant, fuel, trans, motor oil, everything..
The nasty 12 year old crap in your tank is now being pumped through the lines and into your fuel pump.

I would disconnect the fuel line form the tank to the pump. Remove your fuel pump, install a brand new fuel pump, hook up some new fuel lines from a small 1 gallon gas can to the fuel pump, and then a new hose to the carburetor. Change oil and filter, then start trying to get it running. But you will most likely have to replace the fuel tank, fuel lines, fuel pump, and any rubber fuel lines. Vehicles that sit is the worst thing that can happen to a vehicle.


and post pictures!!

[Maroon_Madness]

Ill check the ground next time i go out to work on it. Some marvel mystery oil in each cylinder for a week freed everything up really good and i turned it over by hand with no plugs in it so it wouldn't hydro lock. Oil and filter are changed and I put a brand new interstate battery in it. I cleaned out the mouse house and the air filter stopped them from getting crap into the carb but they bent the crap out of the metal grill going around the filter, it's amazing what mice can do. Fuel lines are disconnected along with the fuel pump, if the gauge is right then it still has a 1/4 tank of varnish in it haha. Only thing to do still is coolant and figure out why i have interrmittent power to everything.

When I first got her


How she sits now

[motornut]

nice score,may want to remove the starter comfirm it works well out of the truck
check the connections to the Solenoid,and under the cap the connection bolts

[hatzie]

Corrosion has crept into the connections.
Pull, clean, and re-tighten all the heavy gauge cable connections and engine to frame ground straps one at a time... There's only a handful of them. Shoot em with Fluid Film or Wurth HHS to keep em clean.

Check the cable jackets close to the terminals for swelling. Swollen jackets means internal corrosion. Copper oxide takes up more space than copper wire.

[Maroon_Madness]

Checked all of the connections yesterday and found a couple that were problematic and cleaned em up. On top of that my friend left one of the terminals of the battery slightly loose which would also explain my problem, lesson learned check the simple things first haha. I have power now every time I turn the key to on and gauge reads good. My plans now are to replace the fuel pump with a new one, drop the gas tank and drain it, check the sending unit, replace the tank straps and check fuel lines. I also cleaned the interior out (absolutely disgusting) and took that to the dump. In the process I found that I have a leak in the rear somewhere because the carpet is wet near the tailgate, now to try and find that. Also is the rear seat removable in the 85's or does it just fold down?