Need some advice.......

[old-school]

Things have been running good with my 73 Challenger the last few years. Here's whats going on right now. I turn the key, nothing, but it will crank right up if i bridge the posts on the starter relay with a screwdriver. I replaced the starter relay yesterday and it's still doing the same thing. Also, now my turn signals don't work.....yikes! Please advise with some details if possible, i'm a ok mechanic but not so hot with wiring....thanks

[Rich G]

Check your neutral safety switch and your grounds. I'd start there. Also check the ign. switch harness connections.

[Dragon383]

I just got my car so I have not had time to go through the wiring yet, but I have done lots of car wiring in the past.

Check under the steerig colum. There may be a harness for all the electrical in the colum and the two sides have gotten loose. If there is a harness, just push it back together. If you have a meter, check for continuity on both ends of the harness.

If it was just your starter that wasn't working I would check there, but it sounds like all the wires going to your steering colum are affected. Look under the dash and see what is coming out of the colum and follow then in both directions. I would think it might be a simple fix since unrelated things are going out but all the wires lead to the same area.

Hope this helps.

[BruteForce]

The first thing I'd do is invest in a volt-ohmmeter, this one looks like a decent one:

http://www.amazon.com/Mastech-YG188-Pocket-size-analog-multimeter/dp/B00064CH6A/

You don't need a sophisticated one. I prefer the analog ones over the digital ones, because you'll be debugging an analog system and the way the needle moves will tell you a lot as well as its final resting place. Read the directions that come with it.

Then, set it to read voltage, connect the - probe to ground, dig out the wiring diagram for your machine, and check with the + probe for 12V at each point from the battery to the starter relay. Where it goes dead is where the problem is.

I also like to replace the probe tips with alligator clips. Makes it easier.