Found my dads original 1971 duster!

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dads71 said:
That would be great! Thank you! Would you mind taking a pic of your engine ground?
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Yes, that engine ground is pointless, it should go directly to a hole on the firewall, and yes it and the headlight ground must be to bare metal.
 
CFD244 said:
Let me know if you want a pic of the light switch plug. I can get it for you tomorrow if you want.
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I’m pretty sure mine is grounded to a bad spot and it’s a very thin wire
missing linc said:
You're doing great so far, learning new skills and working out the problems.
:thumbsup:
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Thanks a million! I feel like a pain, but don’t know what I’d do without the help on here. Pretty amazing stuff :)
 
missing linc said:
Yes, that engine ground is pointless, it should go directly to a hole on the firewall, and yes it and the headlight ground must be to bare metal.
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Thanks. This guy sure messed a lot of things up. I’m told that grounds are super important on these older cars
 
dads71 said:
That would be great! Thank you! Would you mind taking a pic of your engine ground?
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That may be difficult.................. :)

You'll be able to help me out when that time comes.

I'll get that pic out to you tomorrow.

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dads71, im sorry your going through this with your builder but i commend you for the way your solving each new problem as it arises, I am lucky to have a very knowledgable friend that lives right down the street and he helps me all the time, sometimes i feel like a pain in the *** but in the end he helps me work through each problem. FABO has so many helpful members, dont be afraid to do exactly what your already doing, these guys help me all the time , im very grateful. Your car and your story are amazing, dont give up, one step at a time. I will be following along as you work towards that first ride in your Dads 71, he would be proud!...Rich
 
mad dog said:
dads71, im sorry your going through this with your builder but i commend you for the way your solving each new problem as it arises, I am lucky to have a very knowledgable friend that lives right down the street and he helps me all the time, sometimes i feel like a pain in the *** but in the end he helps me work through each problem. FABO has so many helpful members, dont be afraid to do exactly what your already doing, these guys help me all the time , im very grateful. Your car and your story are amazing, dont give up, one step at a time. I will be following along as you work towards that first ride in your Dads 71, he would be proud!...Rich
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Thanks a lot for the message. I’m trying to keep positive! Some days it’s tough, mostly because I paid for and expected a finished, show quality car…..not a project car of poor quality. But one day the car will go to my kids and it will all just be an interesting story!
 
Hey guys! Progress! I got the rear shelf, blower and trim installed and fixed his carpet mistakes. He cut it way too small for the rear trim panels to cover, so he glued little pieces to try to hide it. But they were still an inch short and you could see an inch of body metal below the panels. I just glued bigger pieces on for now. Until I get new body, paint and carpet one day

I also put the rear window gasket on. It fits nicely from the outside, but there are a few bulges on the inside (see pics). Any tricks or will this lay flat once window and locking strip are in? There seems to be mixed reviews on whether or not to use sealant when installing the glass. Should I be?

Also!! I have all lights it seems except headlights now! And the ignition works now, with the wires hooked to the ammeter! So here was the deal, I think:
Idiot used a speed nut on one of the wires going to the ammeter. Someone on here suggested that this could be an issue at one point. Another person explained it: the black and red wire need to be connected one way or another (it’s a series circuit), to provide power to the car. Whether it’s via the terminals on the back of the ammeter or bolted together to skip the ammeter

So with the speed nut on there, there wasn’t contact at that terminal to complete the circuit. I’m still not sure why I had no lights before, but I also grounded the cluster separately to the dash this time.
So now I just have to figure out why headlights aren’t working and get all of the accessories working!

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This post made a lot of sense to me. I can’t find who posted it. Maybe I found it during a Google search

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Check the headlight dimmer switch on the floor. I’ve seen it cause all kinds of problems if not grounded.
 
So I hooked up the battery again to see what all lights aren’t working:
The headlights, signal lights, dash gauge lights aren’t working. Could one issue cause all of these not to work? I’m seeing a lot of stuff online about bad grounds. The gauges themselves seem to be working. Thanks guys!
 
Of course its not the dimmer switch. That's makes little sense. That wouldn't effect parking lights or turn signals.

dads71 said:
This post made a lot of sense to me. I can’t find who posted it. Maybe I found it during a Google search

View attachment 1716271752
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Glad that person's description clicked with you. Different peaople have different ways of learning, or respond better to different explanations.

www.forabodiesonly.com

Found my dads original 1971 duster!

I haven't done a '71 dash removal. You can approach it a couple of ways. One is just remove the components - that's what I've done on my 67 with ralley panel. Other is remove the dash frame itself. I've not done that. Do look for ground wires. On the 67- there is one from the capacitor on...
www.forabodiesonly.com www.forabodiesonly.com
Sorry above was the best I could do.
 
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dads71 said:
The headlights, signal lights, dash gauge lights aren’t working.
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Two of those circuits use the headlight switch, turn signals do not.
I would start where you know there is power and then follow each circuit until you get to connections that have no power when they should.

If it was me, I'd start by testing the horn or measuring voltage at the alternator stud with the key off.
Voltage at the stud means there is a connection through the main splice. We kindof know that because the car starts. Blowing the horn sends power to the horn relay. That's better proof of a good connection. Observe the ammeter - it should go to discharge with the horn blow.

Then check for voltage on thealways hot buss of the fuse box. Then check the output side.
Now here's a problem with voltage checks. Just because there is a connection doesn't mean its a good connection. When current tries to flow througha poor connection there is resistance. You won't know there is resistance until turning something on. Lets say the fuse has poor -oxidized contacts. Turn on the parking lights and the votlage on the feed side fuseholder is 12.3 V and on the downstream fuseholder is 6 Volts. Now we know there is poor connection. (This was a recent FABO diagnoses)
 
Mattax said:
Of course its not the dimmer switch. That's makes no sense.


Glad that person's description clicked with you. Different peaople have different ways of learning, or respond better to different explanations.

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Sorry above was the best I could do.
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You don’t think it could be the dimmer switch then? My actual headlight switch is new as well. But this black wire was hanging beside it. Not sure if it should be pushed into the harness or pushed onto the tab on the switch. I’m also wondering if the wires are in the right positions within the harness

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Mattax said:
Two of those circuits use the headlight switch, turn signals do not.
I would start where you know there is power and then follow each circuit until you get to connections that have no power when they should.

If it was me, I'd start by testing the horn or measuring voltage at the alternator stud with the key off.
Voltage at the stud means there is a connection through the main splice. We kindof know that because the car starts. Blowing the horn sends power to the horn relay. That's better proof of a good connection. Observe the ammeter - it should go to discharge with the horn blow.

Then check for voltage on thealways hot buss of the fuse box. Then check the output side.
Now here's a problem with voltage checks. Just because there is a connection doesn't mean its a good connection. When current tries to flow througha poor connection there is resistance. You won't know there is resistance until turning something on. Lets say the fuse has poor -oxidized contacts. Turn on the parking lights and the votlage on the feed side fuseholder is 12.3 V and on the downstream fuseholder is 6 Volts. Now we know there is poor connection. (This was a recent FABO diagnoses)
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Ok. Sounds good. I’ll try that tomorrow! Thanks! I forgot to mention that the horn isn’t working either
 
Mattax said:
Two of those circuits use the headlight switch, turn signals do not.
I would start where you know there is power and then follow each circuit until you get to connections that have no power when they should.

If it was me, I'd start by testing the horn or measuring voltage at the alternator stud with the key off.
Voltage at the stud means there is a connection through the main splice. We kindof know that because the car starts. Blowing the horn sends power to the horn relay. That's better proof of a good connection. Observe the ammeter - it should go to discharge with the horn blow.

Then check for voltage on thealways hot buss of the fuse box. Then check the output side.
Now here's a problem with voltage checks. Just because there is a connection doesn't mean it’s a good connection. When current tries to flow througha poor connection there is resistance. You won't know there is resistance until turning something on. Let’s say the fuse has poor -oxidized contacts. Turn on the parking lights and the votlage on the feed side fuseholder is 12.3 V and on the downstream fuseholder is 6 Volts. Now we know there is poor connection. (This was a recent FABO diagnoses)
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Also, I don’t have the cluster or dash installed, I just have it sitting on a towel on the steering column. But I did add a ground wire and connected it to the underside of the dash. I’m reading a lot of stuff saying that lights etc won’t work unless the cluster assembly is fully screwed into the dash. But a ground wire should do the trick for testing, no? I just didn’t want to put it fully in until I know it all works
 
dads71 said:
Could one issue cause all of these not to work?
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Yes its possible, but probably not a harness problem, but a bench test problem
dads71 said:
Also, I don’t have the cluster or dash installed, I just have it sitting on a towel on the steering column.
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dads71 said:
I’m seeing a lot of stuff online about bad grounds.
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There's a lot garbage online too. Since you want to bench test, you will have to make sure the circuits have a return to the power source. Your challenge will be to understand each circuit you are testing. The horn uses a relay. When you look at the circuit, I suspect you'll see the horn doesn't work because either the circuit to trigger the relay or the circuit tp power the horns is incomplete. Maybe both.

dads71 said:
You don’t think it could be the dimmer switch then?
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My goal here is for you to decide that yourself if that makes sense. ie. The best thing I can do is help you learn.
Go back to the diagram and follow the path to the headlights, and then to the hi/lo switch. (I didn't include it in the main circuit drawing, but you can draw it in). Then follow the path to the parking lights. Finally follow the path to the turn signals.
My actual headlight switch is new as well. But this black wire was hanging beside it. Not sure if it should be pushed into the harness or pushed onto the tab on the switch.
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Look at that terminal and compare it to the proper terminals. I don't know what that wire is yet, but doubt it will stay in the connector.
Look in the service manual and you will see which wires go in which cavity. Also on the headlight switch, the terminals are labelled. The terminal labels are often a little different than the wire codes in the manual. For example. B on the headlight switch tells us that terminal connects to 'Battery' power. ('Battery' used this way just means system power.) For the headlights wire L1 (black with tracer) connects to terminal B1. L(some other number) connects to terminal H and goes to the high lo switch.
You can do a search on FABO for more examples in color. But even so, the diagrams in the shop manual are your friend and guide.
While its nice to test every circuit on the bench, it may not be practical. It may be more practical to check the wire position and terminal retention and condition at all of the connectors. Any splices in line make use of flexible shrink tubing, etc. There's threads here (FABO) about splices and crimping open barrel terminals which may be helpful.
 
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