[FireFly]

Heres the problem, my buddy just got this car from a friend. It ran fine a few days ago after a jump and then suddenly died and wouldn't start back up, not even a starter click, the interior lights/ display arent coming on etc. the only lights that work are the headlights and hazards. (This is after we just put a new battery in it tonight) The break lights don;t work, neither do the rear running lights.??? I looked at the car and checked the fuses all seemed to be good. I looked at the starter relay under the hood and you can here the relay click when you turn the ignition key.. WTF is this a freak electrical problem?? Are there any relays etc.. that could have this type of impact on the rest of the cars functions.. Any Help would be GReatly appreciated thanks Forgot to mention: when I tried to replace the 20A Dome fuse under the hood in the fuse box that has the starter relay in it, The fuse popped in my fingers before I even got it all the way in to the slot, to make sure it wasn't a faulty fuse, I tried it again with another 20A fuse (this is the right fuse too) and the same thing happend ..I'm stumped

[RandyO]

fusable link ?

[Degsy]

Shorted starter motor or jammed starter sprag solenoid. I presume the 20A fuse is for the starter motor?

If it's a stick shift, you can try to bump start it.

Try hitting the starter motor with a stick, seriously. That can sometimes open up a short, but it will come back again.

[Stoneman]

It sounds like the starter solenoid...

[SSearchVT]

It could also be a bad ground. To eliminate this take the black jumper cable and hook one end to the negative side of the battery and the other end to a good ground (engine block, etc), and then see if anything else comes back to life. Good luck...

[stoinkythepig]

Originally posted by SSearchVT
It could also be a bad ground. To eliminate this take the black jumper cable and hook one end to the negative side of the battery and the other end to a good ground (engine block, etc), and then see if anything else comes back to life. Good luck...

My thoughts exactly. Whatever is blowing that 20 amp fuse is likely acting like a ground circuit for the engine. I think the engine to chassis ground strap has failed.

[FireFly]

Originally posted by SSearchVT
It could also be a bad ground. To eliminate this take the black jumper cable and hook one end to the negative side of the battery and the other end to a good ground (engine block, etc), and then see if anything else comes back to life. Good luck...

This is what I'm thinking cause i already smacked the starter to try and get a short to open up.. Im gonna try the jumper cable thing, ill post up about results after I do it. Thanks for the advice everyone

[FireFly]

It was a bad ground. fixed Thanks guys