Midyear electrical gremlins

[John C.]

I hope one of you electrical gurus can help me with my problem.

My battery died in my '64, so I installed a new one.
It sounded like it wasn't gonna start, then it cranked fine and I backed it out to reorganize the garage, then it wouldn't start when I wanted to put it back in the garage.
No click, no sound of even pretending like it wanted to do anything.
The clock stopped working and so did the lights.

I put a voltmeter on the battery and it shows 12.5 volts.

I pulled the starter, had it tested and there's nothing wrong with it. When pulling the starter I noticed a black with purple stripe wire going to the solenoid was missing insulation and was very thin at one point. I disassembled the wiring harness and discovered this wire had overheated quite a bit due to the high resistance, causing some of the insulation to melt away and this wire to stick to other wires. Man, I'm glad I found this!

But I don't know if this fixed my problem. It goes back to the positive terminal on the coil where it was joined with another black with purple stripe wire that I'm pretty sure goes back to the ignition switch.

Would this single wire cause my electrical system to stop working?

[Wayne W.]

Re: Midyear electrical gremlins

Not likely, That sounds like the ignition by pass wire to the coil. It probably got shorted to the ignition shielding at some time. If everyting is dead, you are going to find the big red wire in the corner of the bulkhead connector is bad.

[John C.]

Re: Midyear electrical gremlins

Thanks!

Does this wire contain a fusible link? This is the lead from the battery positive terminal, right?

[Wayne W.]

Re: Midyear electrical gremlins

Thanks!

Does this wire contain a fusible link? This is the lead from the battery positive terminal, right?

I dont think there was any fusable links in `64. Grab that bulkhead connector on the cowl and shake it. You will probably see the power come back on.

[Joel T.]

Re: Midyear electrical gremlins

John;

How badly "cooked" is your harness? Be careful with the pink wire to the coil positive up top. The main shielding can cut into that wire if you are not careful when installing it (I know this from first hand experience on my 63 ). The resulting short will basically melt the upper harness.

Joel

[Bill M.]

Re: Midyear electrical gremlins

John

I had the same starting problems with my 67 i removed the wiring harness and took all of the tape off. i found melted wire in the same areas as you did. i repaired the damaged wiring and retaped the harness. a week later the harness had a meltdown when i was out on the road. i finally gave up and bought a new harness from electric limited and have smooth starting ever since.

Bill

[John C.]

Re: Midyear electrical gremlins

Thanks to all that responded!

So Wayne, do you recommend a new harness or just replacement of the red lead?

[Albert P.]

Re: Midyear electrical gremlins

If the black w/pink striped wire is burnt you probably should check it all the way back to the ignition switch where it originates; you will probably have to replace the wire from the switch, to the coil, and to the starter.

[Joel T.]

Re: Midyear electrical gremlins

John;

I did a "repair" at first.. took a couple of hours but ultimately replaced that upper harness basically for looks (and peace of mind). I also took a piece of rubber hose, sliced it lengthwise once, and placed it over the rear edge of that main shield... to protect that pink wire...

Joel

[John C.]

Re: Midyear electrical gremlins

It was just the wire from coil to the starter solenoid. The others looked pretty good for being 44 years old.

Also, I follwed Wayne's advice and checked out the heavy gauge red wire back to the firewall connector. The connector was corroded.

Thanks for all the help!