[alantf]

What I can't understand is how the lights come on when he shorts out the solenoid terminals. Surely, this particular circuit goes to the starter only. I agree that the coil circuit in the solenoid (interrupted by the starter switch), & the lights might come on with the ignition, but surely, the solenoid terminals that feed the starter, go ONLY to the starter. Or am I missing the point completely when he says he "jumped the solenoid"? :??:

EDIT :- I've just checked out the service manual. Sure enough, the starter circuit (solenoid) & the lighting circuit are completely separate. When you say that you "jumped the solenoid", do you mean that you ran a cable from the battery to the solenoid. If that's what you meant, it's starting to make sense. The fact that two separate circuits (lights & starter) went out, points to the main battery fuse failing. The starter takes 80 amps, so it looks like the main cable to the starter motor is still intact. Have you checked the fuses? I still can't understand the lights coming back on, but it could be that they're being fed straight from the charging system. If the ignition was "on", power would flow directly to the other circuits, as well as the battery.
So.....like I said. check for fuses, connections etc, because it's starting to look like a break between battery & everything else. A voltmeter is a MUST. (BTW, check the fuses by removing them, one by one, & testing across the fuses with your meter set to ohms. Don't just look at the fuses) :2tup: