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Got all the belts on and finally got it started after a few months of sitting and doing the fuel tank and all that fun. Started right up and smoked a good bit off the front left cat. I believe quite a dose of trans fluid has coated it and was burning off. The next step is the trans pan gasket. As the car was idling i trsted the charge and was getting 13.2V... so that's decent. But as you can see, doesn't appear the gauges in the center are working. Temp never went up, the battery never said it was charging and fuel never registered or oil. Tach works but I don't think the speedo does. Are there fuses for the gauges or do I just have to take it out and test it somehow? New gauge cluster?
Could be a bad ground. You'll have to get a wiring diagram and start tracing things. Take a look at jagrepair.com for the electrical guides for your vin range.
I would now be removing ALL teh earth points you can find, clean well, regrease and secure properly.
The main culprits are:
1) The main engine straps around the LH engine mount, there are 2, and its a dumb set up, but make sure they are in place, clean, and NOT coated in fluid from the Steer Cooler just adjacent to them. 1 goes engine to cradlle, the other goes cradle to chassis.
2) Multiple earths alongside the battery. You will need to remove the vertical trim panel (simplly slides out) and the battery, and get serious with them.
3) Multiple earths at teh radiator support panel securing bolts, LH and RH side.
The instruments, oh boy, remove the cluster, download Kirby Palms FREE book, and he discussed this in detail and the fitting of an additional earth wire to that cluster. That fixed mine many, many years ago.
I would now be removing ALL teh earth points you can find, clean well, regrease and secure properly.
The main culprits are:
1) The main engine straps around the LH engine mount, there are 2, and its a dumb set up, but make sure they are in place, clean, and NOT coated in fluid from the Steer Cooler just adjacent to them. 1 goes engine to cradlle, the other goes cradle to chassis.
2) Multiple earths alongside the battery. You will need to remove the vertical trim panel (simplly slides out) and the battery, and get serious with them.
3) Multiple earths at teh radiator support panel securing bolts, LH and RH side.
The instruments, oh boy, remove the cluster, download Kirby Palms FREE book, and he discussed this in detail and the fitting of an additional earth wire to that cluster. That fixed mine many, many years ago.
thank you, yeah I'll have to go through all the grounds. I do recall one being really loose next to the battery. Almost like a bolt was stripped... not sure the best way to deal with that. Heck that might be the problem. I'll have to dl that book to see what I can do about the gauges. Project cars are projects for a reason
The more and more I get into electrics, the more I realize how much I don't know . And that is good.
1. Floating grounds, aka ground straps for various loads at multiple locations are not ideal.
2. In an ideal, aka "dream world", all loads would be insulated from the chassis, and wired back to the battery - post.
3. When I "lumped" my car, an array of relays was involved. I created a bar to replace the original small bar at the cowl. And, alongside a ground bus. That ground bus was connected on the wing wall, at the placer that the battery - cable was.
The electrics "guru" at Johns cars heartily approved.
thank you, yeah I'll have to go through all the grounds. I do recall one being really loose next to the battery. Almost like a bolt was stripped... not sure the best way to deal with that. Heck that might be the problem. I'll have to dl that book to see what I can do about the gauges. Project cars are projects for a reason
Yep, could very well be the problem.
Grants suggestion of checking all the earths is a good idea and could very well fix both of these problems.
When you clean the grounds, use sandpaper, clean the metal and the terminal, I like star washers between the terminal and body, these help make a good connection. When they are finished I used seam sealer to cover them to prevent dirt and corrosion.
Grants suggestion of checking all the earths is a good idea and could very well fix both of these problems.
When you clean the grounds, use sandpaper, clean the metal and the terminal, I like star washers between the terminal and body, these help make a good connection. When they are finished I used seam sealer to cover them to prevent dirt and corrosion.
