C2 electrical problem

[John Pickens]

My 1965 roadster was recently acquired. On recent short drive, while making a
slow turn and applying clutch pedal, engine died as did all electrical components.
Would not even start by popping clutch .After 5 minutes the car started again and
ran fine. I had a similar problem with an old Camaro--we rewired past the junction
block and all was fine. Any thoughts as to the most likely electical component
responsible and the repair? Thanks.

[Gary S.]

Re: C2 electrical problem

Just a shot in the dark, but the junction block at the firewall was a major PITA for me in my 66, causing intermittant charging problems and other related electrical gremlins. I removed the engine side of the TWO blocks and cleaned both sets of male and female contacts carefully and thoroughly. BTW, don't forget to disconnect the battery when cleaning these contacts. Don't ask me why I know this. After a good cleaning, I no longer had any problems.
Gary

[Wayne W.]

Re: C2 electrical problem

There should be some on this in the archives, but its a failure of the connection at the firewall. "Air Car Itis" Shows up on all air cars and eventually on most others. Just fix it right the first time. Forget cleaning the connectors, replace the connector with a length of wire and solder. It will solve the problem permanently. Remove the firewall connector. The large red wire in the the upper corner will be scorched and the plastic melted. Remove the connector from the plastic. Remove the fuse box and open it up to find the corresponding wire inside. Remove the connector there too. Cut and solder a wire to the inside, and run it through to the outside connector and plug it back together. Cut and solder the wire on the outside. Fold the wire down and tape. The repair is permanent and undetectable.

[George J.]

Question Wayne

Wayne, my connector was scorched just like you mentioned. The car is a '65 fi car and so it obviously is not an air car. What is the cause of this scorching? Thanks,

George

[Wayne W.]

Re: Question Wayne

This wire carries all the power for everything in the car. The connector is seriously under designed, thus the heating of the connector. With age and continuous heating, the connector looses its ability to carry the current and it continues to get worse untill it self destructs. It doesnt have to be an air car, but it tends to show up earlier on them because they draw more current.

[Bill Clippinger]

Re: Question Wayne

I'll ditto the response. My C2 has had the same scorching problem. About 15 years ago I asked my late mechanic friend about the problem (an old codger hot-rodder who knew EVERYTHING), and he explained the same thing - that the connector was made too "flimsy" to handle the current.