I must have a short somewhere... Yesterday I couldn't get the car to run at all for more than a second or two, then traced the problem to a bad ignition switch. I replaced that, and everything is fine except when I put it in reverse the engine shuts off. If I'm quick enough to move it past reverse into neutral or drive, the engine keeps running. It's only happening in reverse, so I think it's got something to do with the lights or the switch. I did of course have to drop the column to replace the ignition switch, so that's possibly got something to do with it. I have a column shift. Maybe I'm pinching a wire, or maybe I hurt the switch at the base of the column. I'm sure I will figure it out tonight, but just wanted to run this by y'all in case someone has seen this before. Thanks!
Problem came back, and finally it stuck around long enough for me to fix it. The blower motor as well as reverse lights were killing the engine when activated, I had ridiculously low voltage in some places... Apparently at the same time I fried my ignition switch, I also torched a wire in the harness going to the fuse box. I traced it with help from the diagrams here, pulled the fuse box and unwrapped a significant amount of harness, clipped and removed the charred wire then replaced it. And then I found the REAL problem. I stuck the fuse box back on and started probing around for low voltage. I had the blower motor switch turned on but it was not running, so I knew something was still wrong. I stabbed the lead of my multimeter into the contacts on each side of each fuse, reading voltage, so far so good... Then a big awful spark! And I could swear as I jerked my hand back that I heard the blower motor turn on. But how in the hell did that happen? I know I didn't short anything to ground with my probe, it's just not possible for this to occur, but it did. So I decided to do it again. "Self, you know you might fry something if you do that." to which I replied, "Self, STFU and pay attention, or I will burn you. If it breaks, I will fix it." One more time I touch the probe to that fuse, another spark, and yes the blower cuts on. I then wiggle the fuse around, which sounds a lot easier than it is on a '71 fuse box, and it turns on intermittently. Replace the fuse. Same thing. Must be corroded contacts. So I stare dumbly at this fuse box for at least five minutes wondering just how I'm going to reach the contacts, let alone clean them. I am not excited at the prospect of pulling it again, because I nearly broke the brake light switch the first time and I know what a magical mystery tour it's gonna be if I have to find a replacement for that. And then, the answer. Rat tail file. A little action with that, and all is well. Bad connection from corroded contacts caused the voltage drop and the intermittent problems, but the fuse should have blown. Instead, wires burned. My conclusion is that I was dealing with a mutant super fuse. I must keep it hidden so that this kind of power doesn't fall into the wrong hands.
Lol, well at least you found the problem. The average person would not have been so creative as to find the problem that easily. Congrats on the job well done.
Disconnect the battery. Remove the bolt in the center of the fuse block and separate the forward harness from the fuse block. I think you will find corrosion. Is your cowl leaking?
Balderdash! Where's the thrill in that? No cowl leaks, almost no cowl rust at all actually, and when I pulled the fuse box everything was clean on both sides of that big bulkhead connector. The only corrosion on the fuse box was on those contacts. I was surprised. Sadly, I was also surprised that the whole thing was one unit. I had been hoping to replace that fuse box with a junkyard or marine type with blade fuses, but that bulkhead connector was kind of a buzz kill. Maverick! A joy to work on, designed for the shadetree mechanic! The Simple Machine! The consumer can perform common maintenance tasks with ease!* *"common maintenance" does not include spark plugs or fuses
ive experienced corroded fuse contacts like that also. its just the nature of the beast. perhaps we should all got out to our cars with a rat tail file and clean all of our fuse contacts.
I hate that damn fuse box. It sucks when a guy has a screwed back. I had my apprentice at work remove all the fuses, clean box and replace fuses. Figured it was a good preventative thing. 2 fuses had cigarette foil on them.
