Driving this morning my 1986 Subaru Wagon was fine....then the wipers went on (by themselves), the lights brightened and the car died. It will not turn over at all. The flashers and horn still work. There was a slight burning smell. Fuses look fine and nothing obvious has melted. Any thoughts. l thought the mother ship was just above me and l was about to go for a real ride!

CHOULDA BOUGHTA CHEVY

You may have had an altenator malfunction that overloaded the main fuse, which is located in the engine compartment in a little black box with a lid on it. My advice though, is to have it towed to an automotive electrical shop and have them fix the car. You will save money overall by not chasing problems that they can diagnose easily. It is probably a good little car and worth keeping.

overloaded the main fuse

Sounds like a fusible link sacrificed itself to stop a fire. I'd suggest sending this 20 year old vehicle to the junk yard and replacing it with something a bit newer.

No, you can not just replace the fusible link without finding out why it melted in the first place, and fixing whatever short developed.believe me it wo not be worth fixing.

take it into ur local subaru dealership and they will take care of it dont muck around with it unless you are a qualifed mechanic it will just make matters worse

Take it to a a shop. Check the alternator, battery and charging system. Chances are it is not worth the reapair. Time for a newer Subaru.