Lol..

A bit of a colorful past Ray?

follow the big wire that goes to + battery side to the horn relay as Carl says.See if its hot.check grounds there If you plug your ign switch back in turn on sumpin like wipers.Its just gonna be simple if you parked it and it ran.You should have been able 2 run that wire to back of alt with no issues tells me its a bad ground near horn relay. hope that helps

Have you bought that test light yet? Or a cheapy Voltmeter. Start at the Battery and work your way to the Firewall main connector checking for power. Junction block, then Horn relay, then that Firewall connector, and then inside the car. That Firewall connector with age can have a bad connection. I had issues with my starter feed connection there. Pretty sure '67 and'68 are the same. Good Luck and remember with Electrical diagnosis follow the flow of power and you will find the problem.

PS, When you replaced that neg battery cable, did the new one come with a smaller 10g wire to attach to the body?

-- Edited by jc on Friday 6th of April 2012 11:16:54 AM

horn relay should be on the inner fender close to the grill usually on the drivers side..
someone should have a wiring diagram for this car,
here is one for mine might give you an idea of what to look for

Ok,

So with a multi-meter we checked the purple wire off the starter for continuity between the starter and where it enters the block that plugs into the back of the fuse block. There is continuity..but no power. On the front of the rad cradle left side by the horns we checked both relays and they have continuity..but no power. We checked the fuse box, continuity, no power. We checked the neutral safety switch and it does appear to be dodgy as there is no continuity between the front prongs and the rear ones no matter what position the shifter is in. So I will replace that. What really has us stumped is the lack of power to anything....any ideas?

You've got to start at the battery, and continue downstream. 

Lefty has posted a wiring diagram, but I'm not sure what year/model it's for.   Connect the battery and start there checking for 12V to ground, follow the narrow guage wire that will likely go to the horn relay, then to the firewall, then to the fuse block, etc.   (at this point, don't bother with the heavy guage wire going to the starter, nor jumpering the solenoid, as all that proves is the battery cable and solenoid are good, nothing else)

It's unlikely the problem is the neutral safety switch, as that has nothing to do with lights, etc.

I cannot stress enough taking a methodical approach to diagnosing this, it's times like this that separate the men from the boys. 

 

Plus we spent 3 hrs, using a meter, looking for continuity and power...lots of continuity..no power..anywhere past the starter

Again..have no idea what you are talking about. The purple wire off the starter that goes to the fuse block has continuity..but no power running to the fuse box

Blackheart4355 wrote:

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Carl,

The red wire is hooked up..but the spade connector is not in great shape..will try replacing it tomorrow.

JC,

Is that the red wire that goes from the battery to the block on the rad support behind the battery?

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This post was heading in the right direction.    On the battery, these should be these connections:

1.  Negative side has a heavy guage wire going to the block, and also likely a smaller guage wire going to the metal fender or somewhere else.  If no smaller guage wire, then the car MAY be grounded by ground straps from the engine to the firewall.

2.  Positive side has a heavy guage wire going to the starter, and also a smaller guage wire that provides power to the rest of the car.  The smaller guage wire may actually be a fusible link.   From the comment above, it sounds similar to my car, where the small guage wire goes to a junction block right behind the battery, then from there it goes the alternator, horn relay, and to the firewall connector to provide power for lights, horn, and the ignition circuit.

 

SOMEBODY MUST HAVE A CORRECT WIRING DIAGRAM FOR THIS POOR SOUL, IF HE WAS HEAR TO ME I WOULD GO AND HEP HIM OUT...

Carl Stevenson wrote:

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Is the small (10 gauge) red wire still installed on the positive battery clamp on the cable? That has all the symptoms of that red wire being off.

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 Is this the one you mean Shawn? It wasn't hooked up?

Yes Carl,

That wire..had it on the neg, not pos terminal...I know..I'm an idiot! LoL! But I did lean lots, where and what the horn relay is, where the neutral safety switch is, and how to get the radio working...