Hello, everyone! I need some help with my 68. The car is on jackstands because it starts in reverse. One of my goals for 2015 is to get it back on the road, so I needed to figure out why it starts in reverse. It has a B&M shifter, which has the neutral safety switch and the backup light switch in one small module mounted to the left side of the shifter. Well, after routing some wires I was able to switch the wires around so it started in park. While it was running I moved the shifter through the gears. Just after putting it back in park it made a soft screeching noise and went completely dead. There's no power to the dome lights, the clock display, nothing. There was no smoke or sparks. When I was looking the car over I found the cable to the positive battery terminal was broken, but it seemed to be making good contact. Where do I start to solve this problem? Several years ago I had a 71 monte carlo burn up from an electrical problem, so electrical issues make me VERY nervous! Thanks for your help!
You are right to be nervous. Auto fires are nothing to dance around with. Unfortunately there is no way to diagnose a problem like this over the inter web. You need to start at the power source(battery) and run the circuits from there. Making sure all connections are solid and power is flowing through all components, in and out. First step would be to get a good color coded wiring diagram. Then take pics and make notes as you go through the system till you get things worked out. No shortcuts!
Firebob's right, electrical problems are dangerous. First thing would be replace your positive battery cable. Disconect your negative first. When you say there was a screeching noise and the engine quit, did it sound like the starter engaged with the engine running?
Agreed x3 check the grounds, short to ground or open ground is a common issue with electrical. Start at the battery and work your way fixing issues. If you don't feel right or as you stated nervous consult an automotive expert.
Thanks, all! I started by examining the positive battery cable, and when I got to the solenoid I found a melted mess! The cable was resting against the exhaust manifold and you can guess the rest. The battery was shot. I replaced both (wrapping the end of the cable in thermal insulating tape) and now the car purrs like a kitten. Thanks again for your help!
I attached a slideshow to this message. The first picture is the battery cable I pulled from the car. I included 7 other pictures of electrical issues I'm facing. I made the mistake of allowing a friend of my son to work on the car. When he lost interest he left the mess shown in this slideshow. The car has an aftermarket equus gauge cluster (tach and volts) which don't work. The 2nd-4th pictures are of the gauge cluster. I don't know what kind of ignition system it has. The 5th and 6th pics are of a small junction box screwed to the engine compartment-side of the firewall and the coil. There's a black and green wire that go from the junction box to the coil. The car also has power door locks that don't work. The 7th and 8th pics are of a cluster of wires that have been pulled down from underneath the drivers side dash. The black box at the bottom of the picture has an antenna wire attached to it, so I think this mess of wires are part of the power lock system. I just need to know where to begin to put this back together. But, the bottom line is that the car runs. None of this affects the basic operation of the vehicle. Thanks again for your help!
Can't pull up you tube video but based on your description you need to call up Ron Francis wiring and start fresh. Let's face it the wiring in our cars is almost 50 years old! Time for a rebuild.
Pleased you're up and running. After 45+ years of people adding to or modifying the wiring it ends in a mess sooner or later you have to grab the bull by the horns and redo it.
