I just repaired one doing the same thing.
behind the battery screwed to the fender well is a black fuse link
holder, the center wire is the MAIN fuse link. water and crud gets on
this thing and corrodes the connections. find it, and clean it.
When it all goes dead, if you have nothing anywhere but your HEADLIGHTS
still work for some strange reason, this is because there are 3 links;
the MAIN, the HEADLIGHTS, and the EFI.
those fuse link connections need to be taken apart and cleaned as well
as you can. Dont break the fuse link wire, they are hard to find.
johnniek wrote:
> My Festiva is dead... no dashlights, nothing... when you try to start
> it. Changed battery... and was ok for awahile then dead again.
> Anyway, one day it started and was fine for weeks, then, you know it,
> ...it died. Tried and tried to start, then sometimes you'd get lights
> but only a click and nothing again. Anyway, battery is charging when
> running, even with headlights. So I beleieve it has something to do
> with the ignition... I tapped it underneath steering wheel and NOW I
> have dashlights BUT still no starting. Anyone with deas or should I
> try toget a tumblers and key set for it.
> >> Stay informed about: 89 Festiva