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#1
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electrical hell in '73 Swinger
love the car -- hate the electrical system.
Here's the beef: Car starts perfectly in sub- freeze, runs beautifully all day, THEN after sundown, starts same as day, warms up quickly, pull on headlights, put in gear, STALLS OUT EVERY TIME! BTW: fuel gauge never worked right Replaced: ballast resistor plugs plug wires dist. cap coil starter battery battery cables alternator regulator (all of the above tested ok) We ran ALL diagnostic tests (per original Mopar manual) including electronic ignition module. We made sure it was tuned up correctly. Carb, fuel lines, and exhaust all OK. Ammeter shows charging - 13.5 VDC What's goin' on? It never used to do this. We do stop & go commuting with some interstate runs every week, too. Can anyone out there offer help? Thanks in advance, Rollinglenn |
#2
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It sounds like a carb problem, not an electrical problem. I'd suspect your idle...probably the fast idle is a little low. The lights and heater are putting a load on the engine and when you put it in gear, it's not idling fast enough. If it's a high-miles engine, it will be more noticable.
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#3
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help for after dark
We'll try that tonight, thanks!
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#4
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thanks
we tried it and liked it - many thanks Gary S.
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#5
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still stalls
reset carb BUT:
headlights on, in reverse - stalls instantly parking lights on, in reverse - blinkers slow down or radio goes quiet or heater fan slows down definite drain somewhere....... I'm only good with house wiring ..... this is baffling. Glenn |
#6
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Troubleshooting.
Disconnect the lights one-at-a-time and try it...You should be able to isolate the offending short or shorts and start your trace from there.
Or, pull one fuse at-a-time and try that. At least you will know which circuit is bad. You can disconnect your battery and use a battery charger to test each circuit too. It will show the excessive draw you are looking for. |
#7
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hey!
Did your car ever leak any water inside?? a bodies are notorious for it. it corrodes the wiring on the headlamp switch, as well as the ammeter connections! also what amp alternator did you get? the best one is a 60-65 amp model Tony |
#8
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If it's charging 13.5 is that with everything on at idle or revved up? It really should be a little higher than that to recover when all the accessories are on.
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#9
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HEY mopar71340!
Quote:
Hey Tony, I forgot all about that when I found where it was coming in and got it fixed. Would you believe it was coming ing from the wiper mounts and leaked al the way down to the botton of the full width metal dash panel? Every time we turned left the water would spill down on passenger's legs and right turns got the driver! Thanks, I'll be pulling the dash panel out tomorrow (Saturday) to check out the light switch. I'll get back to you on the alternator amperage and the switch. Glenn |
#10
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RollingGlen,
Let me give you a real horror story. about 1985 I had a 77 plymouth arrow, ran like a dream with exception to everytime I would drive the car after dark with all lights on. Every time I would push in the clutch to shift gears it would stall and all the lights would go out. I spent 2 weeks tearing every wire in the harness out and checking it. I knew it was a dead short somewhere. Went to work one day and started discussing it with another mechanic I worked with and he said he would come by and give me a hand. When he got there and I showed him what is was doing, he pulled out a pair of jumper cables and hooked one end to the Negative post on the battery and the other end to the frame of the car. Amazingly enough, problem solved. Car simply had a bad chassis ground and was actually using the clutch cable for a ground, every time you pushed the clutch in, the ground was lost. From that Moment on, Always, always check grounds first. That is one good point about european cars. Seperate grounds for everything. Hard lesson to learn but one you never forget. Dave |
#11
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re: one4debate
Dave, I hear you loud and clear. We even put in new battery cables.
Seems that we've isolated the problem to the headlight switch. We're trying to locate one, now. Then we have to replace the right side marker light sockets (sometimes intermittent) and one of the back-up light sockets (bulb does not make good contact). The back-up light socket shows signs of major corrosion from water intrusion. Since 4" to 6" of new snow is expected 'tween midnight and 6am, I doubt much will get done before Saturday. Thank God it's Spring on Saturday morning; at least we might see 50 degrees and melt some snow! I'll post again as soon as we get anything done , (Rolllin-)Glenn |
#12
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Light problems
RollinGlenn,
I spent 20 yrs as a mechanic and the Majority of that time was on fleet vehicles, Primarily fords but you work on everything at some ppint in your carrer, in the late 80's to early 90's the fords always seems to have problems with electrical connections at the tail,stop or marker lights. I always found it a safe practice to put some di-electric silicone on the Bulbs before installing them. Keeps out the corrosion and moisture and will last much longer than without it. It is readily available and cheap for the headache it will save you. Put it on any and all electrical connections on older vehicles. |
#13
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I know exactly what you mean about the fords. I had an '87 and '86 Lincolns with chronic light, heat control, & power window failures -- from switches to window motors! Finally went back to the good old MOPAR slant-6. No problems 'til this. So I'm willing to spend the time and energy on it, I can be almost too patient.
Back soon, Rollinglenn |
#14
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alive and still kickin'
Hi again y'all,
Well the snow is finally gone and we just located a headlight switch this week. It'll be here in a few days. Next will be the fuel gauge, the side marker lights and finally the backup light sockets. Looks like we are goin' to lick this thing real soon. THEN maybe next year we'll do the rear quarters and front fenders. Thanks one and all. Your comments made life a lot easier and wiser, Rollinglenn |
#15
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Glenn- also check the bulk head harness connectors from the engine bay to the dash as they can have problems with the power connections melted or corrouded.
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