• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Roadrunner Dead... No Power...

dhansen_69RR

Active Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2012
Messages
43
Reaction score
1
Location
Mississippi
So I went to take my car out for a Sunday drive and cranked the car like normal. It took a few times for it to turn over (been 2 weeks since I cranked her) and heard a weird click noise so I turned the key off. A few seconds later i saw white smoke coming from the hood. I jumped out and opened the hood and smelt like electrical burn smell. I quickly looked over the wires but didn't see anything looked bad. I spoke with a few friends and they told me to look at the starter. I pulled the starter and replaced it, but when I went to turn the key i noticed that i had no power on the inside. No power to the headlights either. I took the old starter in and they tested it along with my battery and both came back passing. The only thing I can think of is to start with the positive and negative wires to make sure they didn't go bad or even the starter relay. I'm going to put a new fuse link on also hoping that might be the reason for power loss. Any thoughts would be great!
 

dhansen_69RR

Active Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2012
Messages
43
Reaction score
1
Location
Mississippi
I'm curious if the starter or the starter relay was what smoked. I purchased some new wires to replace the current ones in case the wires on the inside got fried.
 

Basketcase

Keeper of the Green
Joined
Sep 10, 2008
Messages
14,415
Reaction score
299
lotta guys have had trouble with the bulkhead connector on the firewall.The terminals can get corroded.
 

mcmopar

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2008
Messages
3,438
Reaction score
9
Location
Orlando, FL
Try replacing the Fusible link wire. This happened to me once. The wire fried and I had NO power. The wire attaches to the starter relay on the firewall and has a tab on it that says "fusible link" - if the original is still there.
 

68 Beep

Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2014
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Newmanstown, Pa 17073
Electrical

Hello my friend, I had the similar thing happen to me and it would burn the fuse link off. happen to be the horn relay. easy check would be disconnect it to try it.
Hope you find it.

So I went to take my car out for a Sunday drive and cranked the car like normal. It took a few times for it to turn over (been 2 weeks since I cranked her) and heard a weird click noise so I turned the key off. A few seconds later i saw white smoke coming from the hood. I jumped out and opened the hood and smelt like electrical burn smell. I quickly looked over the wires but didn't see anything looked bad. I spoke with a few friends and they told me to look at the starter. I pulled the starter and replaced it, but when I went to turn the key i noticed that i had no power on the inside. No power to the headlights either. I took the old starter in and they tested it along with my battery and both came back passing. The only thing I can think of is to start with the positive and negative wires to make sure they didn't go bad or even the starter relay. I'm going to put a new fuse link on also hoping that might be the reason for power loss. Any thoughts would be great!
 

dobie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2008
Messages
2,221
Reaction score
1
Location
Wooster, Oh
Ive fought issues like this for years. On our old Satellite every now and again the positive terminal would get corroded. A lot of times you couldnt really see it, but it wouldnt start the car. I would hear a "pop" then see a bit of smoke from the hood. The car wouldnt have any power after that. The fix was/is to disconnect the terminal, clean it up really good, and try again. Sometimes it would take a few times before it would start.

On the RR, Ive had the no power to anything for quite awhile. The problem was in the bulkhead. Ive known that for awhile, but finding the bad connection was always hit or miss. After I found the bad spot, several days later it would happen again. Earlier this year someone finally suggested replacing the fusible link wire. Mine didnt look bad, but the terminal was pretty loose. As soon as I replaced the wire, all of those problems went away. (For now....)

If I had it to do over again, I would've paid up front for new harnesses throughout. As expensive as they are, in the long run it would've been a lot cheaper and without the frustration and aggravation of wiring issues.

Good luck!
 
Last edited:

dhansen_69RR

Active Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2012
Messages
43
Reaction score
1
Location
Mississippi
Thanks all for the great feedback! I purchased new cables for my battery and a new fuse link wire. I'm hoping this will do the trick. I will update once I get the parts in!
 

earlyrides

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2012
Messages
254
Reaction score
0
Location
SoCal
the old "electrical gremlin blowing white smoke" trick.....

There is no worse smell than the electrical smoke.
Many of us have been there.
It happened to me once while I was half way off of the trailer and couldnt get out except through the window.
By then it was too late.
That car (now long gone) got a painless (painful) wiring harness.
Total hassle but I never had an electrical issue again.

Take your bulk head connector apart and clean all of the terminals.
Have you bypassed the ammeter gauge?
When these go to ground bad things can happen.
Why do they call it a firewall again?
 

bigmanjbmopar

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Messages
395
Reaction score
25
I say battery, may have passed at auto store but have you tried a brand new one?
 

dhansen_69RR

Active Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2012
Messages
43
Reaction score
1
Location
Mississippi
So found out that the Fusible Link was burned up. I took the connector of the bulkhead and was able to the fusible link out. All the connections looked good. I purchased a new one plugged it in and I was back on the road! I've been driving it on and off since I get her back up and running. yesterday I took her out for a drive and the only thing I did different was I turned on my headlights because it was getting dark. I was at a stop sign and took off in first gear and all of a sudden the car died on me and came to a rolling stop. I checked the fusible link first and noticed it was burned again. GRRRR.... Does anyone have any ideas to start with to figure out what might keep blowing my fusible link? I'm not the greatest electrician so any help would be great!
 

Basketcase

Keeper of the Green
Joined
Sep 10, 2008
Messages
14,415
Reaction score
299
well I'm no electrician either...first thought to me is all was fine until the headlights came on. I'd check the headlight wires for bare spots...(as well as the rest of the light wires) but if it were a tail light turn signal wire it should pop the fuse first. Maybe the headlight switch?
 

moparmonk

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2011
Messages
330
Reaction score
0
Location
Hermon, Maine
Yeah what Dave(Basketcase) said. Headlights are not fused, but I think they have a breaker maybe on or near the headlight switch.
 

Budnicks

I will apologize to everyone in advance
Joined
Nov 9, 2013
Messages
549
Reaction score
26
Location
Sonora Ca.
electrical issues, some ideas & suggestions

Remember these are almost 50 year old cars now...

Check your starter relay, starter connections, AMP gauge, horn relay, fusible link {always have a spare}

I'd highly suggest, if nothing else for peace of mind, stave off a meltdown,
take you bulkhead connectors off "very carefully, they can & will be brittle most times"
painstakingly tediously clean all connections, a little bronze or stainless wire brushes/pipe cleaners,
Q-tips, little pieces of sandpaper, what ever you can get into the connections etc.
& some non residue type aerosol electronics spray cleaner work relatively well afterwards too &
make sure to inspect "all" of the connection "both sides" of all the connectors,
after thoroughly cleaning, spraying off the residue corrosion & rust dust & inspecting all of them,
before when you go to put it back together, use some dielectric grease on each connection,
it will assure a better connection, help stave off water & corrosion in getting into them too...

the suggestion about checking your grounds is a great idea also,
if you don't have a good ground, than it/DC power will seek ground,
to the easiest path of resistance & ultimately fry something,
your fusible link will generally blow/burn out, but just replacing it isn't always the cure,
that's just a fix Band-Aid, for some other problems down the road,
especially when there's a bad ground or too much load also etc....

a weak or faulty Battery or Alternator or Regulator & charging system issues {or connections},
can cause these types issues too,
it puts a much higher load on the charging system & AMP gauge wiring...

I'd suggest getting a Factory Service Manual if you don't already have one too...

I have added ground straps to my cars always, I use a few 6 ga. wires,
they can be hidden easily, they go from body to engine, engine to K-frame,
then back to body to alternator case, {neg. batt. term to body if it doesn't have one already}
make sure there no paint/rust/corrosion between the connection/grounds &
I'd suggest that you use star washers & somedielectric grease on all you connection everywhere...


Also make sure you headlights wiring & connections, are all good & free of corrosion...

optional;
I always run a 8 ga. wire from the 1/4" output 12volt terminal on the back of the alternator,
back to the starter relay on the firewall, connect on the large terminal 1/4' lug,
this will help to shorten the path to recharge your batter system & aid in much less strain/load
on the wiring that goes underdash, there's a big black wire that goes thru the bulkhead connections,
that feeds everything 12volt in the car, it all goes thru the AMP meter,
make absolutely sure all the connections & wire are clean, not frayed loose etc.,
again clean all corrosion & rust off everything, make sure to use dielectric grease on all connections...

there's also a great site http://www.madelectrical.com Mad Enterprises
that has some great tech tips {look in the tech section} on Mopar Bulkheads & problems
associated with much of the wiring & amp gauge stuff...
they also have some great parts & supply for re-wiring & any updating...

there's ways of using 30amp Bosch relays that will have constant voltage & a switched connection,
especially for 12volt DC automotive electronics & lights,
that ease the load on automotive electrical systems, especially these older antiquated systems

good luck
 
Last edited:

SuperStockDodge

Active Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2013
Messages
31
Reaction score
0
Location
Flower Mound, Texas
I discovered this is the source of my problem. If the car goes dead on me I reach under the dash and push the harness up and I have power again.

I have not really had a chance to mess with it, is the fix replacing it? I just had a chance to look at it and it looks like if might be a major PITA to fix this...

lotta guys have had trouble with the bulkhead connector on the firewall.The terminals can get corroded.
 

Basketcase

Keeper of the Green
Joined
Sep 10, 2008
Messages
14,415
Reaction score
299
usually, all that is needed is to pull the wire plugs off the bulkhead connector from the engine side, and clean the terminals.
 

A12

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
472
Reaction score
4
I discovered this is the source of my problem. If the car goes dead on me I reach under the dash and push the harness up and I have power again.

I have not really had a chance to mess with it, is the fix replacing it? I just had a chance to look at it and it looks like if might be a major PITA to fix this...

DON'T DRIVE THE CAR UNTIL YOU FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM!! And if you do drive the car be sure you have a method to quickly disconnect the battery and that you have fire extinguishers with you. Personally I would find out what is causing the problems;

Here's what was causing electrical issues with my 1969 GTX and why I feel pretty lucky that I pulled the instrument cluster, 8-track, glove box and pads out and changed the under dash wiring harness:DSC04890.jpg

DSC04890.jpg
 

A12

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
472
Reaction score
4
ANOTHER:DSC04889.jpg DSC04883.jpg

My GTX has 97,000 miles on it and that wrapped area is where it routes over the steering column, don't know how it was worn through the wrap but I suspect the original owner (I'm the second) when he installed the under dash gauges tapped into a hot lead for the gauge lights and that caused the problems.

IMG_0180sss.jpg

DSC04889.jpg

DSC04883.jpg

IMG_0180sss.jpg
 

69hemibeep

Sponge Bob Square Wheels
Joined
Sep 10, 2008
Messages
22,202
Reaction score
2,437
Location
AZ Desert,
That is the only complaint I ever had about classic mopars is the wiring and it was known industry wide.
 

cj69RR

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2012
Messages
778
Reaction score
55
Location
Fleming Island, Fl.
Had a similar issue a few weeks ago. Was driving along and had full electrical shutdown with the black smoke from the fuse link frying. After a small fire and a getting off the road with a quickness and getting the fire put out. Unhooked battery Got it towed back home. then after trouble shooting all the wires and they checked ok. Replaced the fuse link and it was still pulling about 70 amps. Checked the wire to the alternator and very hot. Turns out the alternator failed internally. So the fuse link did its job and saved the car. Good news is the runner is ok and back on the road.
 
Back
Top