No Power Any Where.....

[getoutadodge]

I have a 78 Dodge 4x4, always acted kind of flakey, starting and elelctrical. well I moved it a few weeks ago and when i shut it off it wold not start again, but this time i had no power to the headlights or dome light. I put a new ignition unit in the column hoping that was the problem but it is not. Any ideas where else to start would be greatly appreciated.

Mark

[dwc43]

Yes, the wiring harnesses were always junk in these things. Look for a blown fuse link between the battery and the firewall layin on hte fender. One set up has three fuse links going into one black rubber bulkhead with one large wire going away from it towards the fire wall. If everythings dead, it's most likely a fuse link wire. Make sure you replace it with fuse link wire and of the proper size ga. It's you only protection from a fire if you have other wiring problems since it's designed to burn into like a fuse in your fuse box. If the wire is 10 gauge then the fuse link will be 14 so it burns first instead of the real wiring harness. That size was for example only.

[mr.b]

if your horn will not honk then you have a voltage or grounding problem. the very, very first thing to do is to swap or install a good battery. take one out of your other car. clean the inside of the cables very good. check and clean where grounded to the block and frame. this is simple and don't cost a dime. if this does not correct the problem check other wiring. make sure the basics are in good working order.

[getoutadodge]

Thanks for the info guys...

[dwc43]

Welcome, anytime.

[dartswinger74]

When the ammeter in the dash burns up you will have no power to anything.
check it

[smbkdart]

i thing 74 is dead on about the ammeter. i have used a jump wire on the ammeter to check it.

[getoutadodge]

EXACTLY!!! ----> dartswinger74 I followed the hot wire to it this after noon and that was it, wiggled the wire a bit and everything came back on. MY question now is...? Would this cause the truck to seem like it is over charging? A few months ago I replced the battery, alternator and regulator because i thought it was over charging.

Thanks again for all the help.

[John Kunkel]

Loose connections cause high resistance and high resistance causes increased current flow which makes the charging system crank up to meet the perceived increased demand.

[dkn1997]

http://www.madelectrical.com/electri...p-gauges.shtml

Learn it, Know it......LIVE IT!

[getoutadodge]

Awesome article dkn1997@aol.com, thanks. Made total sense to me and I am going to do the same to my truck.

Mark

[PRO]

Funny,I have a 78 3/4t 4x4 also with a 440 at,it would die when I turned the headlights on,there is one heavy red power feed that runs up the inner fender that had nuked the fusible link,shortly threreafter the ammeter nuked,in fact I was driving when it started to smoke heavily,the main charge hot lead that comes into the bulkhead connect has a white plastic unpluggable connector,in and out of the bulkhead,so I unplugeed both and plugged them together,bypassing the ammeter temporarily,since then I have no probs..........John