I have a 1993 Dynasty and it does not use fuse link wires. I was not sure about a 1992 model. On those that had them they were in a bundle about one inch in diameter, going around the strut tower as shown with my nifty orange line.
Sorry that I had a moment of brain fade earlier. There was a common problem with two terminals on the ignition switch burning up, especially when it was turned on and off frequently while the heater fan was set to one of the higher speeds. Check if your heater fan and radio work. I am betting they do not. If that is correct, use a test light to check for twelve volts on fuses 9, 10, and 11 in the fuse box in the glove box. Those are the three I circled in red. Those fuses have two test points on top where you can probe. Use a test light if you have one. A digital voltmeter will work too but for this type of problem a test light can be more accurate. Turn the ignition switch to the "run" position, then see if there are twelve volts on these fuses.
If the twelve volts is missing, we will need to inspect the electrical connector on the side of the ignition switch. There are three or four screws to remove on the bottom of the cover under the steering wheel. I think there is two, but it might be three, that hold the top and bottom halves together, and there is one screw that holds the bottom half to the column. Those will be T15 or T20 Torx head screws. Once all the screws are removed, the two pieces snap apart when you pull on them.
In the third photo, the right picture is what you will see of the switch, but your key cylinder will still be in the large hole. The connector is on the bottom of the left side of the switch. Pull that out, then inspect it to see if part of it in the middle is melted and two terminals are dark. If you find that, you will also find the two mating terminals on the switch are black. My little blue arrow is pointing to one of them. If this is what you find, it is hard to know which happened first. There could have been excessive resistance develop between the switch's internal contacts or between the mating terminals in the connector. Either way, that resistance translates into heat when high current flows through them, especially when the heater is used on "high" often. That heat migrates from the source to the other contact, then all of them overheat. It is critical for a proper and permanent repair that the switch and the two terminals be replaced at the same time. If only half the repair is done, the remaining overheated part will continue to do that and that will take out the new parts.
The repair for this requires a new switch, which is not very expensive, and two new terminals. Those can be universal crimp-on terminals but we are going to solder them too. You will also need at least eight inches of new wire of the same gauge. The color is not important. I snip pieces out of old cars headed for the salvage yard. You will also need a couple of inches of heat-shrink tubing, about 1/4" in diameter before it is shrunk. Never use electrical tape in a car. It will unravel into a gooey mess on a hot day. You will also need the key. That has to be in place to remove the lock cylinder so it can be transferred to the new switch.
Let me know if this is what you find, then I will describe how to do the repair. You are also going to need a tamper-proof Torx bit to remove the three screws holding the switch to the column. I think those are T15. Tamper-proof bits have a small hole in the center. It is usually easier and not too expensive to just buy a set of these bits at a hardware store.
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Monday, April 9th, 2018 AT 1:19 PM
