Electrical Gremlin!

[A31Woody]

Here's a new one. Installed new shocks and adjusted the brakes and now the engine dies whenever I turn on the headlights or cowl lights. Blinkers (in the cowl lights) work fine, but no tail lights, brake lights or rear blinkers!

Turning on the headlights kills the engine instantly, but it starts right back up when I press the starter button.

so strange... seeing as I haven't done anything to the electrical system in weeks.

I guess I'll be tracking down where the short is this weekend.

[Mitch//pa]

Maybe you pinched the light harness wiring under the shock mounting bolt head..

[Tom Wesenberg]

A visual inspection is quick and easy, but if you don't see something wrong, then do a voltage drop check. To do a voltage drop check you need to connect a voltmeter to either side of where you suspect the trouble might be. If you think it might be a problem with the ammeter, just connect to the two terminal box wing nuts, then turn on the lights. Remember, you need current flow to check for voltage drop.

If you suspect a corroded connection inside the terminal box, then connect the voltmeter to the starter switch and cutout yellow wire. This will sense the voltage drop between those two points, but again, remember that you need to turn on the light to establish a path for the current to flow.

If you don't turn on the lights, you will only be measuring static voltage, and not voltage dropped by a poor connection.

[A31Woody]

The wiring is clear of the shock mount bolts. Time to start tracing voltage drops.


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[Dodge]

Get a spray can of raid gremlin eliminator from Home Depot.

[duke36]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Adjusted brakes-- anything change re: the brake light stop switch, fuses, etc. ?

[SeaSlugs]

Didnt bang the adjusting wrench into the wiring harness on the rear did you?

[Fred K-OR]

Originally Posted by Dodge

Get a spray can of raid gremlin eliminator from Home Depot.

Sorry I am not familiar with this stuff. Could you explain what it does and how to use it? Thanks.

[Art Newland]

Don't get caught up in cause and effect... might not have anything to do with it!

[CT Jack]

Installing the shocks andadjusting the brakes might just be coincidental and have nothing to do with the cause. I had the same problem with my engine dying when turning on the headligths. My problem was with that wonderful aftermarket JUNK light switch. I removed it and found where it was shorting. I made a small insulator to prevent shorting which took a lot of time and not what I consider a quality fix. I now only have the headlights working off the column switch. I wired the cowl and running lights to a toggle switch hidden under the dash panel. No more problems with the lights shorting.

[H. L. Chauvin]

Hi A31,

It sounds like time to get a multi-meter, a copy of a complete Model A electrical wiring diagram, and a yellow marker.

Rather than bouncing around here and there, checking odd wires and terminal connections just start at your main source of electrical energy; i.e., (+) & (-) terminals of the battery and follow the various trails, (wires) out to where they terminate.

To save valuable time, every wire that has no shorts, mark it in yellow so you do not forget and have to check it out more than once.

When all of the wires on the diagram are marked yellow, start the engine and turn on the lights with your pistol holstered ..... if the Gremlin pops his head from under the hood, and the engine stops running ....... shoot him ..... always worked for me.

[Dbbc]

Aloha,
Have you checked the light switch to see if any steering oil leaking into it. Happened to me and had all kind of weird electrical issues.

[A31Woody]

Originally Posted by Dbbc

Aloha,
Have you checked the light switch to see if any steering oil leaking into it. Happened to me and had all kind of weird electrical issues.

BOOM! Not oil but...




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[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by A31Woody

BOOM! Not oil but...




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Looks like an out of place retainer clip. A little grease should hold it in place when you reinstall it.

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by A31Woody

BOOM! Not oil but...




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If this is one of those "A picture is worth a thousand words" situations, I'm gonna need the 1,000 words. What did ya find? DD

[A31Woody]

The spider retaining clip came loose and is wedged between the light switch body and the contacts. I'm assuming this is my issue. I don't know how it would kill the engine without blowing the fuse, but I'm not at all knowledgeable about electrical systems.

[V8COOPMAN]

Thank you......I'm dumb when it comes to Model A-speak. I assume that clip is the curved thingie at 11 o'clock in the center? DD

[Will N]

We refer to that clip as the "Jesus" clip, because you tend to take the Lord's name in vain when trying to install it ;-)

[A31Woody]

Piece o' cake I have it back together and turning on the headlights does not kill the engine anymore. Looks like that was my issue.

It only took me a couple of attempts to get the clip back in. Having the right tools makes a huge difference.



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