66 Valiant - stranded on road trip

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leonfreddy

leonfreddy

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Hi All,

I'm on a tour of Vancouver Island and everything was going great in the 66 Valiant until my key went dead after a stop (i did smell burning briefly before). Having been through it once before i check the connections. No lights... so my A1 power wasnt getting through. I checked the back of the ammeter and had 12v on one side (black) and 5-6v on the red. I attempted to bypass the ammeter and upon this something smoked in the engine compartment. I disconnected the jump and went to look. The Fuseable Link looked like it got hit. It crumbled in my hand. So...

I cut the connections off the back of the ammeter, ran a new A1 line from the starter post with a 12 Gauge 20A fuse at the post (is this enough?), directly through the bulkhead (no connector). I then spliced it with the R6A from the ammeter. The car starts, headlights... but it runs like its mis-firing.

Have i fried something else? any ideas? I have to get home tomorrow... thought i was clever and conquered it... apparently not.

Thanks in advance
 
One more item... i may have lost the fuseable link the first time, would something else have cooked too? I didn't see anything obvious and the smoke i saw rose from the fuseable link area. (not like the slight burning i smelt while in transit).

thanks again.
 
Upon further reading and a re-check, i have blown the 20A fuse, not sure at what point. I am going to upgrade to 30A and see if that makes a difference. I guess if it keeps blowing i further issues, maybe a short?
 
Sorry to hear about your dilemma. Please be careful with upgrading the fuses. If Murphy is around you´ll caught a fire.
 
Update: Upgraded Fusible link replacement to 30A fuse and 10 gauge wire. Car runs fine with this in, but after 5 minutes, fuse blows and the car runs rough, fuse was hot. I'm guessing now i have a short? But i'm confused, would a short blow the fuse right away?

I've bypassed the ammeter with nothing replacing it? Would this cause the over powering?
 
It's not clear to me exactly where this fuse is. If it's in the main battery/ alternator charging path, 30A IS NOT ENOUGH.

Also, fuse holder quality, uh, "varies." Putting a 30A fuse in a plastic automotive everyday replacement fuse holder is probably not going to hold up.

Part of problems like this are either connections RIGHT AT the fuse or nearby, which cause heating. that is, the "looser" and "more corroded" (can also be due to poor contact plating choices, IE radio shi$, these poor connections directly cause heat---the heat transfers to the fuse, which blows because it is running hotter.

ALSO installing an inline fuse close to a hot engine (manifold, example) can de-rate the fuse right out of the chute because of high ambient heat.
 
A dead short will cause a fuse to blow-NOW. A almost-but-not-quite dead short will take time to blow. A worn through wire on the brake light may do it-or a wire rubbing the brake pedal arm. Or any wire any were in the car that has been pinched or worn. Or a new electrical option put in the car. Any up grades?
 
Hi 67Dart273. Glad to hear from you.

Yes, with further reading i've realized i'm 20A short on my fuse. Going to grab a bigger one this evening. Great point on the plastic fuse holder in the engine compartment. I will restore the fusible link when i get back to the mainland, right now i'm working out of a boat supply outfit. I guess i could also consider moving that fuse to the other side of of the bulkhead as i've removed the bulkhead connector (which i've read they did out of the factory on taxi's and police versions).

As the car ran perfectly briefly on the 30A fuse, i'm thinking this is my only issue. I was worried about a short in the R6\L1\J1\Q3 splice, but now i'm thinking i'm a fuse away from being homeward bound.

Just to confirm, the ammeter bypass is ok? I'd rather have it, but i believe this is where my failure began. the power definitely came through once R6A and A1 were connected directly.

My next project will be a wiring clean up, engine compartment and dash (my body wiring seems good). Just need to get her home now... 1.5 hours driving and a ferry ride (not fun getting towed off a ferry).
 
Hi Slant6

No upgrades, no radio, no special wiring. I did replace most of the charging system (alt, reg and battery) recently. Turned out to be the R6 through the bulkhead, i bypassed the bulkhead and ran a lead straight through. THis seemed to work great. Charging is fine.

I was worried about a short in my headlight switch. My driving lights wouldn't come on, i replaced the headlight switch, they worked for an hour and then not again. I ran a jumper on the switch from the headlight "on" connector to the taillight connector, so when the headlights are all the way on, so are my driving and headlights. This was also working well. But maybe a bad idea?
 
Did you check the voltage limiter on the back side of the dash? If you smelled or saw smoke inside the car, it could have been the voltage limiter. I had a voltage limiter fry on my 67 Coronet and replaced it, but the voltage regulator was fried on the firewall as well, and that then fried the new voltage limiter. The alternator was over charging and it got fried too. I had continuing problems until I replaced all three components at the same time (voltage limiter, voltage regulator, and alternator). As I recall, I also replaced the ballast resistor at the same time as well. Haven't had a problem since.
Is your alternator over charging the battery? If so, its probably fried some components.
Electrical systems on cars are a mystery to me, but that was my experience.
Yours may be a short or a melted wire somewhere, but the voltage limiter may be worth checking.
 
And did you replace the alternator with one of the same size (current wise) or did you go bigger (more current)? If you went bigger that can be a problem as the old wire harness is not up to the task of the bigger current flow. If I remember your 66 should be about 25-30 amps.
 
The headlight switch has a built in circuit breaker that triggers from to much current (heat). After it cools down it will come back on for awhile and then off-then on. You get the picture. If it is being triggered (with the new switch still) then some thing is wrong with your headlights and/or the headlight wiring. Maybe the dimmer switch?
 
Hi,

Voltage Limiter for the dash?... did not look at that. i will check it. Thanks for that Jim 68Cuda. All my gauges and dash signal lights seem to be fine still. But definitely worth a look as i'm still not clear on what fried the first time. I was guessing ammeter (if they can fry).

I replaced the alternator with the exact model i pulled out. Upon replacement my charging system was looking good. 14.8 at the battery while running. I never checked the amps though, always worked in the volts... maybe this is part of my problem. I will check the amps as well... this is where my rookie skills show.

I wasnt aware of the circuit breaker on the light switch? The headlamps themselves have always worked with the switch, short of the zero power issue, they have been consistent. Its always been the driving and tail lights that have caused me grief. Would that circuit breaker work separately for the driving lights as well?
 
Update: Moved to 50A fuse and car is running and starting. test drive proved ok. The voltage at the battery while running is high though, 15-18v. I assume this is the lack of resistance from the ammeter. i'm hoping it will work this way until i get home.

Lost my turn signals and break lights during the whole encounter... had voltage threw the body wiring, turned out that only one of the two elements burnt out on all lights front and back. Replaced the back ones with stock from my tool box... working and so far have not blown.
 
leonfreddy said:
Update: Moved to 50A fuse and car is running and starting. test drive proved ok. The voltage at the battery while running is high though, 15-18v. I assume this is the lack of resistance from the ammeter. i'm hoping it will work this way until i get home.

Lost my turn signals and break lights during the whole encounter... had voltage threw the body wiring, turned out that only one of the two elements burnt out on all lights front and back. Replaced the back ones with stock from my tool box... working and so far have not blown.
Click to expand...

Umm yeah, you are going to keep losing lamps at 18v too!

You have a regulator issue - as in not regulating at all. That high charging voltage can cause all sorts of problems. Check the regulator & correct the problem before you cook the battery too.

B.
 
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