strange electrical issues

[DRHSMITH]

ok so car was running fine then all of a sudden lights started flickering and ignition was sputtering like crazy , got my friend to tow my car home hotwired ignition with 2 wires cars idle went up too 3 grand only electrical things that work are engine ,starter, dashlgihtsbrake lights, eveything else including cooling fan head lamps and anything else auxilliary doesnt function at all , i had to rotate distributer to where normally it would not function at all and carsruns ok. tried reattaching ignition cylinder car turns but wont start pulled one off my parts car same deal . hotwire it again and it works fine , what the heck could this be ?

[DRHSMITH]

works fine but still no lights or cooling fan all fuses are fine checked for continuity

[maytag]

I think it;s those two broken head-bolts stuck in your block!



ok... just kidding.

Grab a wiring diagram for your car (if you do a search on this forum, you'll find some done by Brad Artigue that everyone here seems to love.
You will note that if you're just hot-wiring with two wires, then you're not getting everything energized.
get that wiring diagram and trace it out.

the other option is to do like the guy in the other thread about electrical issues did.

[spider2081]

Not sure what year your car is. The diagrams for an 81 show:
There are 2 wires on the alternator output. The larger goes to the starter. The smaller connects to fuse 10 to feed that fuse and fuse 9. These fuses are internally jumped in the fuse panel. The hot side of Fuse 9 (black wire) feeds terminal 30/1 of the ignition switch. When the ignition switch is in the run or start positions terminal 30/1 connects to terminal 15/54 to feed the ignition, Fuse 1, the battery charge indicator, and fuel injection. I would check the push on connections on the top of the fuses first. Then check C31 the connector for the ignition switch for loose or over heated connections. The above mentioned connections are not Fuse protected so I don't think you will find a fuse as the problem.
If you have a trouble light it would make it easier to find problem

[DRHSMITH]

oh sry shes a 79 spider

[DRHSMITH]

and i recall one summer i drove the car hotwired for the whole season and front lgiths still worked ill check over the fuse connectors and do a continuity test through out them tommorow i was wondering if someone before had exact issue and was going to say (same thing happened it was this ......) . lol worth a try right and funny u said about the head bolts agian maytag, ironically enough for some unknown reason cylinder 3 has gained back almost 20 pounds compression back for no reason cyl's 1 and 2 have remained the same but holding steady ive got leak down tester and goi to try and do some figuring this weekend

[DRHSMITH]

spider 2081, thank you, thank you ,thank you, the second lead off the alternator that is not the starter lead had literally fallen out of the connector at the alternator explains the flickering of everything as it would have been making momentary contact . repaired connector and everything came back to life ! so once agian thank you for your help muchly appreciated !!!!!!!!!!!!