Tracing an electrical fault

[phorbiuz]

This could either be very involved or something simple....

First, I'm not afraid to admit electrics are not my strong point. It could be said my electrical skills are that low I don't even register a point!

Anyway, I've acquired a very early mk2 series 1 Ford Granada 2.8. It's been sat unloved since the 90's but does have potential to be brought back to life as the overall condition and rust isn't *that* bad. The problem is that's it's completely dead. No power to nothing even with a good battery. I will of course check through all the fuses I can see but it's just in case anyone has any ideas or tests I can do to narrow the fault down.

Thanks in advance.

[TerryG]

By no power you mean no circuits at all? My first thought would be the earth strap from the battery to the body. after that the terminals on each end of the positive cable then the fuses.

[phorbiuz]

Yep, nothing to anything at all. Turn the ignition and nothing, try to turn anything on anyway and nothing.

[JPB]

By no power you mean no circuits at all? My first thought would be the earth strap from the battery to the body. after that the terminals on each end of the positive cable then the fuses.

Always a good place to start when there's no life at all. However, if the car has been stored without a battery fitted and depending upon what its battery terminals are made from, surface corrosion on the inside of each terminal is also a strong possibility, as are bad connections at the ignition switch, the solenoid and the fuse box.
Well done for saving the car.

[phorbiuz]

Thanks for the input peeps. I'm more comfortable with oily bits or a bit of welding so the advice is appreciated. As for saving it all I can say is I'm a sucker for Fords from the 60's to the 80's.

[TerryG]

Completely dead is much easier to narrow down than other annoying electrical issues.
I would add that there could be corrosion between the cable and the terminals themselves as well as the terminals to whatever they are connected to. I would normally replace battery leads if they are corroded as they are cheap and fires are expensive. Unless mice have eaten the insulation they should be fine for testing but possibly too brittle for daily use.

[Luxobarge]

If the above fails, then you need a wiring diagram. If you don't have one, try and get hold of one somehow or other, a decent session of internet searching should help, or try an get hold of a Haynes workshop manual, that'll do.

Then with a multimeter set to measure 12 volts (usually the 20V DC range) connect the negative lead to a part of the body. Then with the red lead start probing - start at the battery positive terminal and check for 12V, then follow the wiring back until you lose it, this will indicate where the problem is. Make sense?