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  #1  
Old 07-17-2010, 11:12 PM
terry.davis1 terry.davis1 is offline
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Default 69 Sport Satellite - Won't stay running in on position

Title says it all:
Car is a 69 Plymouth Sport Satellite, 383 Hi Pro 4bbl. Car has a new Holley carb (last year) and a new electronic ignition conversion (all Mopar) including a completely new wiring harness (top connector in bulk-head).
Developed the problem last week on a cold motor where it would start and as soon as you let go of the key (to the on position) it would die. I checked the ballast resistor by bypassing it AND replacing it with a brand new one with the same problem. Tried plugging in a new electronic control module and still no luck. I let the car sit for about an hour and when I came back out it started and ran fine.
Happened again today while my dad was driving it but on a hot motor. He thought it might be the pickup in the distributor was getting hot (said he had seen it on cars he used to work on with his dad who was a Chrysler mechanic for 40 years until he passed) so he pulled the cap and let it cool for 30 mins and when he tried it again it started up fine.
I'm running out of ideas...we are going to check the ignition switch for a possible loose connection or fault this week.
Anybody else have any suggestions??? Need to get this thing fixed by the time the Mopar Nat's come around...

Thanks!
-Terry
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  #2  
Old 07-18-2010, 09:26 AM
peg leg peg leg is offline
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Default Bulkhead connector

The worst possible way to get current from the interior to the exterior. Infamous producers of problems. I'd bet that connector is your culprit. Get into the column wire bundle, determine the color of the " run" circuit from the ignition switch, and bypass the bulkhead with a jumper wire to the ballast. If it continues to run then, scrap the bulkhead connector and use terminal strips for all the connections.
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  #3  
Old 07-18-2010, 09:51 AM
terry.davis1 terry.davis1 is offline
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If that it the culprit, the bulkhead will have to stay. While I won't call it a concourse car or anything, this car must stay as stock as possible. We didn't spend $150 on a pair of "Correct" battery cables for nothing. This will definately be something that I look at as the problem though. Maybe I'll just get in there and clean and grease the terminals with dielectric grease. The biggest problem is that it seems as though it is intermittent. The car has been started 6 times and only given this problem on 2 of those starts...
Thanks for the feedback peg leg
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  #4  
Old 07-18-2010, 10:52 AM
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JVMopar JVMopar is offline
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Flux and a soildering iron work pretty good for cleaning up corroded terminals. Just smear the flux inside of the terminals and heat the metal with the soilder iron. As the flux melts it will clean off the metal. Then some brake cleaner to clean the flux off and some dielectric grease.

That's how I clean trailer wiring harnesses.
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  #5  
Old 08-04-2010, 12:34 PM
terry.davis1 terry.davis1 is offline
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Changed out the ignition cylinder the other day...car still having issues. It seems to start fine on a cold engine, but then once the car has warmed up (like when you run up to the parts store) it will not stay running. My dad is thinking the pick-up coil in the distributor, but I would think that would cause it to just not start at all. Guess I'll start looking at the bulkhead...
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  #6  
Old 08-04-2010, 04:08 PM
peg leg peg leg is offline
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Default You said

That you switched modules. Your problem is classic module failure with heat. However, next time it fails, put a VOM on the ballast, and record the voltage on both sides. I think you'll find no 12 volts from the bulkhead connector. Heat raises resistance in copper wire. If your bulkhead connection is already high resistance, the heat could conceivably drop the voltage to where it won't fire.
If you do attempt to use a soldering iron to tin the pins in the BC, be careful not to melt the body of the connector.
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Old 08-04-2010, 09:28 PM
Dirt Driver Dirt Driver is offline
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Mopars have very long wiring with a lot of connectors in the ignition. The copper gets old and resistance of the long wires rises and the connectors get old. If nothing else you could switch to a points distributor. Most likely it's the module. Back when Direct Connection first sold systems they would always say in pre-1970 cars that the voltage regulator had to be changed for a constant voltage type. The electronic ones used from 1970 on and not to use the mechanical ones with electronic ignition. They used to have a single wire electronic regular to retro-fit the single field charging systems. It required a special connector. Back them the only way to buy a connector for 1970 and newer regulators was to buy the whole harness so most people got them from junk cars. When they stopped selling the special regulator I no longer saw them mention the requirement for an electronic regulator. The chrome boxes(not chrome street box) hold up better than the "street" boxes and can run on just about anything without damage or overheating. I think if the voltage drops too much on the street boxes they draw more current than they can handle and heat up.
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Old 08-05-2010, 04:41 PM
peg leg peg leg is offline
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I switched to a chrome box, and have not had a heat failure yet, nor any other failure.
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Old 08-06-2010, 12:24 AM
Skwerly Skwerly is offline
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Same bit happened to my Fury once. I did the chrome box thing and problem solved.
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  #10  
Old 05-20-2012, 06:09 PM
terry.davis1 terry.davis1 is offline
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OK...time to bring back a dead post...

We finished putting the motor back together today after having the engine bay re-painted this winter (battery exploded last year and made a hell of a mess). Anyways, all of the wiring in the engine bay is all brand new. Fired the car up today and the problem persists. I went ahead and did some basic checks on the wiring under different conditions. After the car dies, I do not have any voltage at the ballast resistor. If you start the car and hold the key in between the start and run positions, the car will stay running, if you can do it just right, you can even let go of the key, but the car is still in the start mode b/c the radio never kicks on. I checked voltage at the ignition switch and couldn't really decide what wire I should bypass and to where (to the ballast resistor...which side?) I'm open for any suggestions at this point; b/c after today, all I have is a headache.
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Old 05-20-2012, 07:25 PM
chirorod chirorod is offline
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You did well on the diagnosis by checking voltage at the ballast resistor. It sure sounds like a bad ignition switch, but I think you said you changed it 2 years ago.
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  #12  
Old 05-20-2012, 08:57 PM
440roadrunner 440roadrunner is offline
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THERE IS ONLY one contact on the ignition switch for "ignition run."

You must understand that an ignition "switch" is in reality SEVERAL switches all in one box

1 Not part of the problem, is the "ACCESSORY" switch, feeds power to the accessory buss in the fuse box. It's hot in BOTH "run" and "accessory."

2 Yellow "start" wire is a contact (separate switch internally) is hot ONLY in start and feeds the yellow wire ONLY through the bulkhead and to one terminal on the start relay.

3 Brown "igntion bypass" wire comes from YET A DIFFERENT switch in the 'ign switch' and feeds ONE brown wire through the bulkhead to the coil side of the ballast, and is hot ONLY in start

THIS IS THE WIRE that is keeping your car running in "start."

4 The Dark blue "ignition run" Once again, this is a SEPARATE switch inside the "ignitio switch" and is HOT ONLY in run. Tradionally "dark blue" it comes off the switch and feeds the brake and oil warning lamps, and cluster (gauge) power, and then branches off goes THROUGH THE BULKHEAD and feeds

the regulator "I" terminal

One field terminal of the alternator on 70/ later cars

electric choke if used

AND IT FEEDS the "key" side of the ballast

IF YOU ARE NOT getting power here "in run,"

AND

Accessories are working, radio, heater blower, etc, and obviously "start" and the "bypass" are working

THIS MEANS that the IGN switch is at least getting power

SO

It must be either the switch, the switch connector, the bulkhead connector, or a broken/ hacked/ cut wire somewhere in between.

You have FOUND the circuit and the problem. All you need to do now is follow that wire through the bulkhead, see if you have power on the inside of the bulkead

(Does the oil warning lamp work? The gauges?) If so the most likely suspect is.............


wait for it...........................

the BULKHEAD CONNECTOR

This thing is getting to be a real headache for many people, especially the ammeter circuit.

Please read this article on the subject:

http://www.madelectrical.com/electri...p-gauges.shtml
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  #13  
Old 05-21-2012, 06:44 AM
chirorod chirorod is offline
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I think the wiggle of the switch is the big clue. That points to the switch.
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  #14  
Old 08-20-2017, 12:22 AM
terry.davis1 terry.davis1 is offline
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I hate to bring back a dead thread, but I stumbled back upon this site while doing some research and wanted to update this in case anybody experiences the same problem(s).

Quote:
Originally Posted by peg leg View Post
The worst possible way to get current from the interior to the exterior. Infamous producers of problems. I'd bet that connector is your culprit. Get into the column wire bundle, determine the color of the " run" circuit from the ignition switch, and bypass the bulkhead with a jumper wire to the ballast. If it continues to run then, scrap the bulkhead connector and use terminal strips for all the connections.
This was 100% the problem that would not keep the car running. Best guess, there was a bad connection on the interior side of the bulkhead. The "fix" was to push the bad terminal back into the interior of the car (it was broken and not making connection) and ran a wire from the engine bay back into the interior, then connected it to the appropriate wire at the ignition cylinder. Used a spade connector on the end of the wire at the bulkhead so that everything could be plugged back together and not look like anybody had screwed with it. Not 1 issue in the last 4+ years after making this change.

Thanks to all for the help!!!
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  #15  
Old 08-22-2017, 05:28 PM
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Ray Bell Ray Bell is offline
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It's never a problem, in my view, to bring back a thread where someone might benefit from your experience...

In fact, I will thank you for bringing it back.
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