76 Duster 318, a few issues...

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ceekay

ceekay

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Decided to move the thread over here, since my problems are no longer with the engine...

As one could tell by my other pic posts, my wipers are ALL jacked up! One's pointing up and the other is against the cowl, and neither want to move even just one smidge-o-meter and the switch is dead. I've also noticed that the cowl piece doesn't look like it comes off, unlike most older cars...

Speedo problem: Not working, etc. Currently, the needle is buried. It moved from 80 being the lowest point to 100, now she's pegged, going nowhere as fast as she can.... Gonna check out the cable tomorrow, as soon as I figure out how to pull the cluster without tilt wheel. Haven't done anything with the speedo yet, and I've gotten a bit of instruction on what to look at first, so I'll start there and see where it takes me...

Fuse box: Melted, dangling, and only has maybe 4 fuses in it... Anyone got a spare '76 Duster fuse box and hopefully a rough guide as to what fuses should go in which slots? :S

Wiring help: I found a rather wide plug (about 2" wide) that only has a black and red wire going to it that was unplugged under the dash. Now, I'm no expert auto electrician, but I figure things like that being unplugged are usually the leading cause of things not working right........ Also, I've found a few cables by the passenger side that are dangling as well...

Actually, is there any way to pull the dash steel completely, without having to pull windshields and get a sawzall involved? I'd like to have all that wiring exposed so I can clean it up easily...


Thanks,
- CK
 
So I got my dash pulled apart finally. Found out the speedo cable isn't moving. Also, not sure if this speedo is any good... Anyone know how I can tell?

Gonna clean the rest of the gauge pod up while everything's apart too.

Haven't touched the wipers or anything else yet.


Thanks,
- CK
 
I think to test the speedo find an allen wrench put in a drill and plug it into the speedo where the cable goes and spin it. But put some grease in the hole there is a bearing in it.
If it works connect a drill to cable and see what happens.
 
The only way to get to the wiper linkage is from under inside. Your going to have to remove the heater box. And if the fuse box is melted there is a short somewhere. Try to find a donor wiring because you don't want anything to catch fire. And sorry to remove the whole dash you have to take the front class out there are 5 screws that hold it on top and one on each side on the inside. Good luck man!
 
In my 64ragtop with the seats out, lying on my back and working on the dash wiring wasn't too awful. Sure seemed easier than pulling the windshield. The '64 Factory Shop Manual has some excellent drawings of the wiper mechanism, I would think your manual would have the same. (you do have a F.S.M. don't you?) My wiring was so hacked up and falling apart that I just bought new reproduction harnesses from Year One. Came with a new fuse box, too. If you're gonna add electrical/electronic parts (subwoofers, etc) You might think of a kit from Ron Francis, Painless - there are several more. Your stock fuse box and wiring could well have been destroyed by high amp accessories added on to the stock wiring. X2 on pictures, they'll make it lots easier to make recommendations.

ATB

BC
 
There's no springback to the needle on the speedo. Last time I played with a speedo, you could move the needle all the way up, then release and it would fall back to 0. This one seems to be free-floating. As for pics, what all do you need pics of?

Also, with the speedo cable: I took the car around the block, and the speedo cable did not move at all during the whole process. Had one hand on the wheel and one hand on the square-drive of the cable. Nothing. :S


Thanks,
- CK
 
So, the first step in the road to recovery, is admitting you have a problem..... Hello, my name is CK, and I have a speed problem!!

Honestly, I can't tell how fast I'm going sometimes! It's just *WHAM* and I'm off in a blaze of smoke and violence!! Unfortunately, I lose track of my pace, and sometimes I start to scare my friends... They're all, "CK, man, you GOTTA slow down! You're gonna kill yourself with that stuff!!" Then I punch them in the face and shift to Second! :burnout:

Anyways, I'd identified the problem with the speedo as not having any springback. Hence the reason the speedo would climb, but only descend back down when it felt like it... After monkeying with the speedo for a good few hours now, I noticed this copper flat-coil spring keeping tension on the speedo shaft... When I held it in place with a dental pick (weapons cleaning tools that are worth their weight in gold for being so damned handy), I noticed I got SPRINGBACK!!! I pressed the little white nylon hub-type device down into a hole and glued it in place with some superglue. The needle moves, and springs back! I also noticed that there is this little black bracket in the configuration that holds tension on the spring. It seems to anchor in the odometer window cutout?

So the functionality is back! Unfortunately now I have to find the right setting for the spring.

Does anyone have a good 100mph speedo, 73-76, that could get a pic of the little copper spring behind the needle? Or, does anyone know approximately how many turns this spring is supposed to be wound? Anyone ever rebuilt a square-type speedo, or know where I could find such info? No, I don't have an FSM yet.


Thanks,
- CK
 
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