1966 Sport Fury Wiring debacle

[david gormas]

I could use some help....Suddenly i get no power to any lights or to the key....horn works and can turn engine over at solenoid.
This is a project car ive been working on for awhile and I am so frustrated right now...I am no mechanic LOL.
Any ideas what the issue could be?

 

[Badvert65]

The lights and main electrical power to the harness are protected by special "fuse wires" called fusible links. Typically coming off either the battery positive cable or the battery power stud on the start relay or starter. You can find them (in the engine compartment) by looking for a tab sticking off them (like a small flag) but, with age, the tabs tend to break off. They can be difficult to see when bad as they are covered with silicone insulation to keep them from catching fire when they 'blow'. Something must have shorted to have blown one of those, so be careful if you try to bypass a burnt link with regular wire (NOT recommended).
You can get replacement links at most auto parts stores. Fusible link wire cannot be soldered, so the replacement will be connected with crimp terminals.

 

[CBODY67]

Usually, fusible links don't stop working unless there is too much current involved. What preceded the current situation?

Power to the ignition switch is from a "big red wire" which comes to the ign switch from the bulkhead connector. In some cases, it can even become unplugged from the connector on the inside (as it has on my '67 Newport a few times!). Works fine, then doesn't. Plug it back in, works again.

Lights are a direct battery feed, through the headlight switch.

The common thread in this deal is the bulkhead connector. With age, the "protected" terminals can become gunky between their age and any costing they might have gotten 60 years ago at the assy plant. Might do well to disassemble and clean the terminals, possibly.

Download a Factory Service Manual from www.mymopar.com . Free download. Electrical schematics are one of its good points. They might be small, but from my use, very detailed and good.

CBODY67

 

[volksworld]

get yourself a 12v test light...nothing fancy, just one with a bulb in it...connect the wire end to a ground and start at the battery and work your way to the bulkhead connector, ammeter, fuse box ,key and headlight switch...sooner or later you'll find where the buck stops...bulkhead connectors for the main hot leads weren't really large enough for the current that had to flow through them and tended to run hot, burn, lose tension and corrode...there are threads here on just removing the terminals and running a new wire straight through the original locations on the bulkhead connector