Electronics Gone Wild - HELP!

[69hemibeep]

No no, you're misunderstanding. I HAD power to the bulkhead connector on the firewall. EVERYTHING beyond that was dead. No crank, no lights, no nothing. Same as if you pulled a battery cable.

After I jiggled the wires under the dash, all is well again.

Did you clean the bulk head connectors ?

 

[Ranger]

Yup, as best as I could with a brass brush. Even wiggled the bulkhead connector under the dash with no response.

Messed with it today and here's what I found. The point that I was able to get power to fluctuate was in the taped wire loom that runs along the lower edge of the dash on the left side of the column where the loom Y's. I actually got power to go off one time by moving that loom. Now keep in mind, to the best of my knowledge, that is just a bunch of wires taped together. I do not believe the factory does (or would) put any connectors in there. Moving that loom never severed power again. The best I could do was to get the dome light to flicker, but the more I bent, pushed and twisted the loom, the less response I could get until I can no longer get the lights to so much as flicker, no matter how much I bent and twist. I have no logical explanation, but I am less worried than I was yesterday.

 

[Ranger]

The volt meter does draw a minute amount of power. Not enough to drain a battery, but I have always wired them to only be on when the key is switched on. Switch it over to the spade on the other side of the fuse block. That one is "switched".

Found that spade Big John. It now works with the ignition. THANK YOU!

 

[Ranger]

Well, I thought all was well as it ran without problems on several breaking runs after the new cam installation, but last night I was going to my first cruise night. Car would not start in the garage for no apparent reason. After screwing with it for :25 min. I realized I had no spark, then it just sprang to life. In hind sight, that should have been a red flag, but off I went. Got about 10 miles down the road and she flat lined again. Coasted into a gas station and waited 2 hours for a flat bed. Boy does this take the wind out of your sails. I'm depressed and dejected. Power tour coming up and if I can't find and fix the problem, I'm going to have to forfeit.

I did notice that I had power to the console courtesy light so I assume it is strictly ignition related. Thought I detected a slight electrical burning smell, but it was faint. Gonna start with RoadCuda's advice and check the connections on the ignition switch.

I keep thinking this is somehow self inflicted as I drove it home from DTW last Dec. without a problem. Electrically all I did was install a Tach and a set of gauges.

 

[Ranger]

Update:

Pulled the ignition switch and found one wire that had about 1/4" of insulation stripped off of it. Why I don't know. God only knows what has happened to these cars in the last 46 years. Unfortunately it was the ground wire and while I did tape it, I did not expect any improvement and was not surprised. Still no start.

So now I'm wondering why still no fire. I decided to test the coil. Removed all the wires. and it tested fine 1.5 ohms on the primary side and if I remember correctly about 10,500 - 10,700 ohms on the secondary. So that seemed to rule out the coil. Put the wires back on and just for the hell of it, I cranked it again and she lit with no hesitation at all. Shut down, and went back about an hour later and the same thing. Fired almost immediately, but I did notice the tach was bouncing around at high idle just a bit. Now I have some thoughts, but don't want to lead anyone. Let's see if anyone is thinking the same as I am, then we'll discuss it.

 

[Basketcase]

try changing the ECU box. mine had electronic ign on it when I bought it, and I'd be going down the road and it would die. Let it sit for a few and it'd fire right up. might not do it again for a week. new ECU and never did it again.

 

[Ranger]

Hmm, I was thinking coil. What made me think that was the fact that the tach was jumping slightly and it gets its signal from the coil, but I had also wondered if the coil could be getting a bad signal. I also had doubts as to whether the coil could be intermittent as I had described. It would seem to me that the coil either works or it doesn't.

Looking back, in post #5 Big John suggested the ECU as well and considering the voltage problem I had, you guys might be on to something. That seems to sound more logical than the coil.

I think I'll order one right now. Gotta try something.

 

[ACME A12]

If the tach is jumping around you could have something as simple as a loose coil connection on your hands as well. Been there, done that...:facepalm:
Threads were shaky on the coil...just needed a couple of washers to shim the connector and the nut up to some better threads...
ECU is simple enough to swap out...and a lot cheaper than getting towed...

 

[Ranger]

Coil connections are (and where) tight. Fortunately the tow was covered by my insurance.
ECU is enroute and should have it by the 21st or 22nd. God I sure hope that's the problem. Fingers crossed.

 

[Ranger]

Well, the new ECU showed up today. Swapped it out and cranked it over. She sprang to life faster than you could say Rumpelstiltskin.

I guess a shake down cruise is in order, but I am fairly confident that the problem is solved.

:worship: A BIG thank you to Big John and Basketcase. You guys nailed it.

 

[Basketcase]

hope you got it nailed! If it does indeed turn out to be the ECU....get a spare and keep with you. Be like carrying a spare ballast resistor, as long as you have a spare you'll never need it.

 

[Ranger]

Do ECU's & ballasts fail that frequently? What are the symptoms of a ballast failure?

I suspect that Big John nailed it in post #5. The thing is, I have no idea how long it takes to damage the ECU or how long it was running overcharging. When I bought the car (Dec. 2014) and drove it home from DTW (375 miles) it ran perfect, but had no volt meter. Only the factory ammeter which was always on the + side. Over the winter I installed the gauge set and when I drove it in spring the voltage problem appeared. So I have no idea just how long it was overcharging. Could have been one or two short trips or could have been accumulative for a long time. I replaced the voltage regulator as advised and the voltage settled down, but apparently the ECU damage was already done, though it was still intermittent. Hopefully all is well now and she will be reliable.

 

[Basketcase]

I've had an old Mopar since '83. In all that time I had exactly one fail. I was leaving, and the accelerator cable on my Charger broke. went and grabbed a spare, swapped it out, and then the car wouldn't start.It would start actually, but as soon as I let off the key, it stopped. went and got a spare ballast, and it fired right up.and that ballast was on the car 18 years later when I sold it. I've carried a spare ballast ever since, and never needed it. as far as the ECU, the car I have now acted up a couple weeks after I got it.put a new ECU on and that fixed it. Later put a points distributor on the car when we were chasing another problem that turned out to be some bad lifters. The ECU that's on my truck has been in place (on this truck and another) since the early '90s. Now these are stock ones, not after market HP ones.

 

[Roadcuda]

Usually when the ballast resistor goes bad the engine cranks normally but won't start. I've had twp go bad. One on my '74 Duster when it was a few years old, and the other on a '65 Satellite I had after switching it over to electric ignition. I started carrying an extra and haven't needed them. So far at least!!

 

[mahoney0_00_3]

look at the firewall wire bulkhead

 

[Ranger]

Did that (post #21 & 22)

 

[Ranger]

Took it on about a 30 mile run today. Ran flawless.
Tach was steady.
Volts steady at about 14.1.
Confidence level is high.

 

[quikbird]

Now that is the moment that sneaky rr is waiting for to get you. Just when you let your guard down!! :groucho:

 

[Basketcase]

arty:arty:arty:

 

[Ranger]

Now that is the moment that sneaky rr is waiting for to get you. Just when you let your guard down!! :groucho:

Hmm, maybe it's not a Road Runner after all, but Wile E. Coyote in disguise.