First to introduce myself. I am the (hopefully brief) owner of a 1995 Olds Cutlass Supreme 3.1. I bought the car to "fix and flip" and after having prospective buyers look at the car, I attempted to diagnose the problem that caused the battery "idiot light" to come on. Well, like a dumb*ss I neglected to disconnect the battery and got a fairly large spark from the main lead off the alt. when I accidentally touched it with a screw driver. After this happened, I was unable to restart the car but it was still getting spark. So is it safe to assume that I am not getting fuel? And if anyone has any ideas, they would be GREATLY appreciated.

P.*. I can hear what I think is the fuel pump engaging when I turn the key on so I am fairly certain it'* not the pump, if that helps any.

go through every fuse and make sure. if the ecm is not powered or fuel injectors are not powered its not going to work. is the battery still good?

Thanks for the reply. I started checking fuses yesterday and no luck yet... But is there a fuse or circuit breaker located outside the three fuse blocks that I should check as well? Also, my battery is good. It cranks really strong and all other dash lights, etc. go on. Do you think there is a possibility that I melted a wire or fried a computer? I really hope not:(

To spark, it had to have jumped to ground. The big question is what did it ground on? I can touch the wire all day long, but the second it gets grounded, there is the problem. What were you poking at with the screwdriver when you hit it?

I grounded the large red wire on the alternator to one of the alternator mounting bolts.

Did you check the fuseable link?

Thanks for the replys. I got her running, turns out it wasn't a bad fuse but rather the idle air valve. I cleaned it then it ran fine. But as long as I've got the hood up, where is that fuse able link located? Because the battery light is on.

Also, the battery light goes off right at 3,000 rpms so if anyone knows anything about that I would love to know.

doesnt sound like its charging properly but if its charging at all the link is good. can you take readings with a meter at the battery at idle and 3000 rpm?

The voltage does not change when the light comes off at 3,000 rpm. I can't tell what the exact voltage is because it is an analog meter I am using. However, at one point the battery light came off and the voltage went up slightly at idle. So I'm not sure what that was all about but the alternator Was working when the light went off by itself.