Troubleshooting and Fixing Electrical systems

Me and Brother bought a 1973 Plymouth Scamp. To the best of my knowledge it's the A-body car. When we got it it ran fine, so far we've replaced the rear shocks and both header gaskets. The same night I left a parking lot, realized my lights weren't on; pulled the switch and the engine died. Now, there's nothing happening when I turn the key. The dash lights went out a couple days before that, but the dome light and buzzing noise for the keys still work and so does this little green light behind the heater/ac control panel. The headlights turn on; the flashers flash but the blinkers, which are the same lights, don't blink. We've checked the fusable link near the wiring harness, as far as I can tell that's the only one in the car, if you have any ideas as to wear another might be, Please... let me know. Though the Links insulation is split open I hit it with the voltmeter and it reads 12.11, the meter has jumped as high as 12.47. We're completely lost and need some help from people who really know the electrical wiring of A-bodied '73 Scamps and related vehicles.  

measure the voltage at the battery posts..   i take it that you have some kind of digital volt meter.. they start at 5 bucks.. and you never need to spend more than 25 on a basic unit..


you need to really have the battery charged for an hour at 10 amps if it is less than 12.4 volts..   12.65 is a 100% charge

make sure the cable ends are clean...  test the voltage at the starter relay on the firewall...    now it should be the same as the battery voltage...

figure out which bulkhead connector has the power wires through it...  take that off and examine the terminals ...  sometimes they burn...  sometimes the fusible links get hard and crack..

that is where i would start at...    post what you find...

you might also check the back of the ignition switch... there have been corrosion problems reported on some of those lately...  

when you made the meter jump by moving a wire makes me think you have a bad or almost broken fusible link...  

Thanx for the advice, I'll be trouble shooting over the next three days, maybe, No classes. I'll keep you updated.  

Pull the inst cluster and check the connections on the amp meter.  Be sure to disconnect the battery first.  These terminals coming loose is the most common cause of this problem.  The whole veh runs through the amp meter.  Take the wires off and put star washers on both sides of the terminals.  Secure the nuts well, but don't overtighten, you could break the meter.

Don