OK, got it off rather easily using a wobbler 3/8 socket and 12 inch extension, not as bad as I thought. This connector is probably the only one I have never messed with/replaced/etc over the years. Wow, it is indeed ugly on the inside but that may just be 43-year-old electric grease in there making it look so bad.
Sprayed both connectors down heavily with rust buster and cleaner, then brushed for quite a while, and will blow both connectors out with air tomorrow. Only one way to find out if this is the fix for my problem.....
Ya, the stuff they used back then was nasty. Like chassis grease.
Something in your electrical system is heating up and making an open connection, then it cools down and closes, when it happens start at the battery and work to the fuse box. There could be a fusabile link opening up or your fuse box is loose and heating up and breaking contact, trace out all wires under the hood. A wire can get broken and not show a break, it will look normal, then when it gets too hot it'll open up, then cool and close like a switch.
Something in your electrical system is heating up and making an open connection, then it cools down and closes, when it happens start at the battery and work to the fuse box. There could be a fusabile link opening up or your fuse box is loose and heating up and breaking contact, trace out all wires under the hood. A wire can get broken and not show a break, it will look normal, then when it gets too hot it'll open up, then cool and close like a switch.
Had a gremlin just like this in my '94 Chevy 454. I accidentally overheated it during a move towing a car from Amarillo to Oklahoma on a very hot August day. Left it running with the A/C for the wife and our pet while I went into a Subway to get some lunch during the roadtrip. At the end of the trip I could not get it restarted for a couple of hours.
From the next several years, I it would just quit running for seemingly no reason at odd times. No pattern except is was always during summer heat. Could have been a 5 minute trip to a convenience store or during a 45 minute commute to work. Sometimes it would restart right away. Sometimes took 15 to 20 minutes. I assumed vapor lock issues
As you could imagine, it drove me crazy. I finally took it to my favorite mechanic with a full tank of gas 1 summer and told them to keep driving it until it suddenly quit on them. After several days it finally happened for them
They found out that the ignition module in the distributor would stop working when it reached the right temperature.
2012 Mustang Boss 302 #1918, Competition Orange. FGF replacement 2006 Mustang V6 Pony, Vista Blue. Factory ordered. 2019 BMW X3 (Titled to the wife, but I'm always driving it for her. So I'm claiming it) Old projects, gone but not forgotten: 1967 FB 400, original CA car. After 22 years of work, trashed by the guy who was supposed to paint it. I had to sell it. 1980 Turbo Trans Am 1970 Mustang fastback, 351C 4Bbl, auto 1988 Mustang GT, 5 speed 1983 F-150 4x4, built 302 1994 Chevy K2500 HD 4x4, 454 TBI
I've had lots of old tractors act his way. Much simpler systems but same concept. Usually it was the coil. Gets hot and no go. But it would still crank just no spark. But this has a great clue... no power anywhere. As was discussed previously in the thread there are only a few places you can shut down everything. No power! Isolate those place and solve it. Thinks get hot from electrical resistance too. Not just engine heat.
It is really strange. The first time it happened I was playing with the timing in the garage and the car didn't even get to normal running temperature. I thought it was the battery since I didn't have any power to lights or anything. So I plugged in my trickle charger and left it overnight. I came back and the car had power. I figured the battery was bad so I took it to AutoZone to test and they said it was good. I bought a new battery anyway. I installed the new battery and it ran good so I took it for a drive.
About 15 minutes into my drive I noticed it started running a little rough like it was missing. I turned around and luckily made it to my street before it died. I had no power to lights or anything. I had enough momentum to make it to my driveway so I grabbed my volt meter to see if the battery was dead. It said a little under 13 volts but no power to the car. The horn relay did have a sick sounding wine from leaving the key in the ignition with the door open. But other than that, no power.
I have a junction terminal behind my battery like the one talked about earlier in the thread. I took the nut off and removed the wire connections and inspected them and they looked okay. I reconnected them to the junction terminal and I had power again. I'm not sure if that is the problem or if it just decided to work again??? I know one of the wires goes to the horn relay and if you disconnect it, you loose all power. That may be the wire causing my problem. I have been busy this past week and haven't had time to drive the car to see if it does it again after I reconnected the wires to the junction terminal. Can the horn relay cause this problem?
Sounds like the battery is not your problem. Sounds like a connection issue somewhere. Less expensive/harder to find. I had a similar issue that ended up being the connection where all the charge wires come together just rear of the alternator. Basically all the power that runs the car goes through that one splice. I could shake the harness that ran next to the carb along the side of the intake and get the car to start again. Eventually when I did unwrap it there were melted/burned/nasty looking wires in that bundle. Lucky I found it before the fire.
My 68 doesn't have the harness running next to the carb. But I do have one that runs from the fender well by the horn relay to the alternator. It may be because my 68 has a 1975 Pontiac 400 with the 75 alternator and power steering pump and brackets. I will drive it and if it does it again, I will start shaking wires in various places and see what happens. I will post back as soon as I find out what the problem was.
Well wherever the charge wire runs back from the alternator there is a splice with a bunch of power wires crimped together. There's a fusible lnk in there too. Mine was pretty crusty and several of the wires were melted. Pretty scary stuff.
My 68 doesn't have the harness running next to the carb. But I do have one that runs from the fender well by the horn relay to the alternator. It may be because my 68 has a 1975 Pontiac 400 with the 75 alternator and power steering pump and brackets. I will drive it and if it does it again, I will start shaking wires in various places and see what happens. I will post back as soon as I find out what the problem was.
Thank you for your help.
Your correct, your 68 harness goes to the alternator from the front fender. The junction box behind the battery is the power source connection directly from the battery to the horn relay (then to the fuse box....I think). That connect gotta be clean cause that feeds the power to most things in the car.
50+ year old wire is the culprit. The wire gets oxidized over time. Best to put "complete wire replacement" on your TO-DO restoration list. It's expensive but you may have wire issues for a long time as it could affect a lot of devices.
Engine Test Stand Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwoxyUwptUcdqEb-o2ArqyiUaHW0G_C88 restoring my 1968 Firebird 400 HO convertible (Firedawg) 1965 Pontiac Catalina Safari Wagon 389 TriPower (Catwagon) 1999 JD AWS LX Lawn tractor 17hp (my daily driver) 2006 Sequoia 2017 Murano (wife's car) 202? Electric car 203? 68 Firebird /w electric engine 2007 Bayliner 175 runabout /w 3.0L Mercuiser__________________________________________________________
Well I drove around for a while and didn't have any trouble. I think it was the junction terminal. I am going to clean it up and hopefully no more problems.
If it happens again, I may have to look into doing a complete wire replacement. Are the Painless Wire kits easy to install?
If you prefer plug and play, the factory harnesses from Autowire and M & H are really nice.
2012 Mustang Boss 302 #1918, Competition Orange. FGF replacement 2006 Mustang V6 Pony, Vista Blue. Factory ordered. 2019 BMW X3 (Titled to the wife, but I'm always driving it for her. So I'm claiming it) Old projects, gone but not forgotten: 1967 FB 400, original CA car. After 22 years of work, trashed by the guy who was supposed to paint it. I had to sell it. 1980 Turbo Trans Am 1970 Mustang fastback, 351C 4Bbl, auto 1988 Mustang GT, 5 speed 1983 F-150 4x4, built 302 1994 Chevy K2500 HD 4x4, 454 TBI
One of the most common causes of electrical problems is ground connections. Power can be supplied from the battery or the alternator but if the ground is not secure there will be an open circuit. Try removing, cleaning and reinstalling the ground wire from the battery to the block.
Your battery charging wire should go from the main splice to the rad support junction-block then to your battery via a fusible link. The junction-block is to connect the fusible link to the power charging wire. The splice is also where the BATT power wire from the alternator connects as well as a wire to the voltage regulator and the main power up wire that connects at the horn relay. All the power for any part of your car has to pass through the main splice. Work your way from there to your car's circuits.
I wouldn't think it would be the junction at the rad support that is causing your problem as the alternator is supplying the voltage when running not the battery, but you can bypass the block bu connecting the charge wire from the splice directly to the fusible link that attaches to the battery + post.
There is a black fusible link at the horn relay that connects to a red wire which goes to the firewall junction block and supplies power to the dash area of the car. I would check the connections at the horn relay where the wire from the main splice attaches and where the fusible link to the power-up wire is attached. Take the wires right off the horn relay and make sure they are clean then reconnect them tightly.
Another common place for power interruption is the firewall junction block. Wires enter the firewall side and exit on the cabin side of the blocks. The firewall junction block is a large junction with pins connecting the engine side wires to the cabin side wires. After time these tend to get corroded and interrupt current flow. If your car powers out again and you determine you have power from your battery to the main splice then to the horn relay, through the fusible link to the main power-up wire, but no power in the cabin, chances are the firewall junction block isn't making a connection. They can be removed and cleaned.