1974 Duster total electrical failure, followed by quick recovery.
Hi All:
Just had this happen today. After shutting off my engine (225 auto), the entire car went completely dead. Nothing. Having seen this before on another Duster, I immediately located the main battery feed connector behind the brake booster. This is a heavy gauge red wire with a plastic male/female connector. I jiggled this connector and immediately regained full electrical control. I next removed the battery negative cable, then opened up the plastic connector and cleaned the terminals with steel wool and electrical contact cleaner. It went back together and works fine now. I'm wondering if any FABO members have had this type of electrical failure before. If so, did you consider removing this connector and soldering in a short piece of heavy gauge wire to keep this from happening again? Seems like this particular connector has a history of trouble with a lot of cars, and the only reason that this connecter was put there in the first place was to facilitate the installation of the wiring harness at the factory. For this reason, I don't see any problem with eliminating the connector and soldering in a hardwired connection. What do you think?
Hi All:
Just had this happen today. After shutting off my engine (225 auto), the entire car went completely dead. Nothing. Having seen this before on another Duster, I immediately located the main battery feed connector behind the brake booster. This is a heavy gauge red wire with a plastic male/female connector. I jiggled this connector and immediately regained full electrical control. I next removed the battery negative cable, then opened up the plastic connector and cleaned the terminals with steel wool and electrical contact cleaner. It went back together and works fine now. I'm wondering if any FABO members have had this type of electrical failure before. If so, did you consider removing this connector and soldering in a short piece of heavy gauge wire to keep this from happening again? Seems like this particular connector has a history of trouble with a lot of cars, and the only reason that this connecter was put there in the first place was to facilitate the installation of the wiring harness at the factory. For this reason, I don't see any problem with eliminating the connector and soldering in a hardwired connection. What do you think?
