76 duster, loss all power

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Danny76

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Was driving today, duster started to cut out then I loss all power, radio off , no electrical power at all, like the battery wasn't even connected anymore, after a few minutes it fired back up, drove a mile or so started doing the same thing, never did completely loose power again but it was cutting out, when i got home i tried leaving it running, shaking every wire, harness I could hopping I could find a loose connection but I couldn't get it to reproduce the same electrical loss , any ideas, thanks
 
TrailBeast said:
Or if it has the OE amp guage it could be dropping it at the connections on the back of it.
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It does but someone has already bypassed it, I had it running last night, there's an extra heavy gauge wire running to the positive side to the battery, has a idk how to describe it, but a connector to the wire where u can disconnect it, I unplugged it to see what it was powering, I went to plug it back in, didn't get it connected all the way, herd a pop, headlights were on, with high beams on, they turned off, shut car off , seen a little smoke from it looked like the center of the dash, turned headlights off, it stopped smoking now I have headlights but no high beams, still searching for a burnt wire but no success yet
 
Danny76 said:
It does but someone has already bypassed it, I had it running last night, there's an extra heavy gauge wire running to the positive side to the battery, has a idk how to describe it, but a connector to the wire where u can disconnect it, I unplugged it to see what it was powering, I went to plug it back in, didn't get it connected all the way, herd a pop, headlights were on, with high beams on, they turned off, shut car off , seen a little smoke from it looked like the center of the dash, turned headlights off, it stopped smoking now I have headlights but no high beams, still searching for a burnt wire but no success yet
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The wiring having to do with the high/low beams is usually under the left side kick panel, but the bulkhead connectors burn also. (center of the dash smoke)
Check the large red wire going through the bulkhead connector for heating signs or melting.
 
TrailBeast said:
The wiring having to do with the high/low beams is usually under the left side kick panel, but the bulkhead connectors burn also. (center of the dash smoke)
Check the large red wire going through the bulkhead connector for heating signs or melting.
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It was getting late last night when I was looking but I was looking at the bulkhead like ur talking about, I didn't see any signs of it , I looked under the left kick panel too, still no signs, I'm fixing to go back out to investigate some more, just weird I haven't seen anything yet,may have just missed it, thanks for the reply
 
High beam circuit does feed a indicator in the instrument panel. It's the same, no fuse other than the fusible link, 12 volts that feeds those exterior lights, just traveling a smaller wire to smaller bulb.
 
RedFish said:
High beam circuit does feed a indicator in the instrument panel. It's the same, no fuse other than the fusible link, 12 volts that feeds those exterior lights, just traveling a smaller wire to smaller bulb.
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Wiring going to head light switch, little problem here, there's been a leak around the windshield
20161127_105034.jpg
 

yellow rose said:
Is that the windshield wiper held on by a clip? Not a bad idea if it stays on.
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If you enjoy noisy wipers. The metal to metal wear will eventually render the parts unsuitable for the OEM bushing / proper repair.
 
RedFish said:
If you enjoy noisy wipers. The metal to metal wear will eventually render the parts unsuitable for the OEM bushing / proper repair.
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Yes, unfortunately I don't have that plastic bushing to do it right, I'll have to track it down to fix it properly , I don't drive it in the rain, car is kept in the garage too, well I won't drive it till I get the leak fixed, as you can see, that leak screwed up my headlight switch and fried the wiring but to my main point, apparently I fried the high beam element in both headlights , I went and got a new headlight now both low & high beams work, I assume the wires were touching themselves & caused my problem, now I need to redo all those wires, thanks to everyone for your posts on my issue
 
Only an overvoltage can kill the headlight bulbs, outside of high vibration or something.
No short in a wire or the switch can either.
That was a direct short that fried that wire, not water so it's possible someone shorted the crap out of it and then took care of the short but not before it cooked the switch as well.

FYI, you can get those bushings for the wiper linkages at Autozone on the help wall section.
It's a multipack of different design bushings and there are three of that style in each package IIRC.
 
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TrailBeast said:
Only an overvoltage can kill the headlight bulbs, outside of high vibration or something.
No short in a wire or the switch can either.
That was a direct short that fried that wire, not water so it's possible someone shorted the crap out of it and then took care of the short but not before it cooked the switch as well.

FYI, you can get those bushings for the wiper linkages at Autozone on the help wall section.
It's a multipack of different design bushings and there are three of that style in each package IIRC.
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OK, I'll be checking to see why I had an overvoltage & guess I'm heading to autozone tomorrow for the bushings thanks
 
AJ/FormS said:
That looks like a dead short somewhere! And probably in the lighting circuit. This might take awhile, so try not to get grumpy :)
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Ya, electrical problems seem to take forever to track down especially when u really don't know a whole lot about it, trying to sell the car then this, ugh
 
Well then, With the engine running jiggle the key switch.
The issue has to be between the battery and the key switch.
The most likely culprits are the Fusible link(s), the bulkhead connector,the back of the ammeter,or the ignition switch, and/or any and all connections between those points.
To my recollection,I've had two ignition switches do that to me since 1969,lol, and one bulkhead connector and two fusible links;all on different mopars.
 
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AJ/FormS said:
Well then, With the engine running jiggle the key switch.
The issue has to be between the battery and the key switch.
The most likely culprits are the Fusible link(s), the bulkhead connector,the back of the ammeter,or the ignition switch, and/or any and all connections between those points.
To my recollection,I've had two ignition switches do that to me since 1969,lol, and one bulkhead connector and two fusible links;all on different mopars.
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Good to know, thanks , I've looked for fusible links & I have found any, doesn't mean there aren't any, someone has black electrical taped all the wires together , looks more than what the car came with, I've looked at the bulkhead connectors and have found any corrosion or loose connections, the key tumbler is pretty shaddy though , suspect it may be in that area, thanks for the reply
 
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