Another fine mess...75 Dart Swinger...
Update:
After having some odd problems, I had an intermittant ignition switch, I decided to tear into the dash to check out the problem.
Symptom:
All the items on the accessory circuit of the ignition switch ocassionally would stay on after stutting the ignition off and pulling the key. This included the radio, blower, wipers, and gauges.
WHat I thought it was:
I figured it was a bad ignition switch stuck in the on position. I tested the connection at the bottom of the collumn and found something odd, the accy circuit was powered up, with the switch totally disconnected! :???:
What the problem was:
I pulled the gauges and started unwrapping the harness, i found all the wires stuck togehter like they were glued together. They were melted together from the heat. Individually I started pulling each wire from its sibling and inspecting ever inch from the firewall back. I managed to save all but three wires. I fixed it by replacing the wire that feeds power to the alternator to the ammeter with a 10 ga, and the same with the wire that goes from the other side of the alternator to the firewall, both were melted and had damaged insulation, I also found another wire that was back-feeding power to the accy circuit, I replaced it also. I then made a jumper wire to go across both lugs of the ammeter circuit to disable the ammeter entirely. I then also added a new 10 ga charging wire from the started relay on the firewall to the ammeter with a new fusable link, this keeps the charging from going through the inside of the car and keeps that line across the firewall on the outside of the car. the other wire was disconnected from the alternator.
Update:
After having some odd problems, I had an intermittant ignition switch, I decided to tear into the dash to check out the problem.
Symptom:
All the items on the accessory circuit of the ignition switch ocassionally would stay on after stutting the ignition off and pulling the key. This included the radio, blower, wipers, and gauges.
WHat I thought it was:
I figured it was a bad ignition switch stuck in the on position. I tested the connection at the bottom of the collumn and found something odd, the accy circuit was powered up, with the switch totally disconnected! :???:
What the problem was:
I pulled the gauges and started unwrapping the harness, i found all the wires stuck togehter like they were glued together. They were melted together from the heat. Individually I started pulling each wire from its sibling and inspecting ever inch from the firewall back. I managed to save all but three wires. I fixed it by replacing the wire that feeds power to the alternator to the ammeter with a 10 ga, and the same with the wire that goes from the other side of the alternator to the firewall, both were melted and had damaged insulation, I also found another wire that was back-feeding power to the accy circuit, I replaced it also. I then made a jumper wire to go across both lugs of the ammeter circuit to disable the ammeter entirely. I then also added a new 10 ga charging wire from the started relay on the firewall to the ammeter with a new fusable link, this keeps the charging from going through the inside of the car and keeps that line across the firewall on the outside of the car. the other wire was disconnected from the alternator.