Headlights, brakelights, heater, and gauges all dead?

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Cope

Cope

Fusing with fire
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My 2 step limit stopped working, it was not getting juice. so I wired it into my gauges hot wire and it worked for all of one second.
now almost the entire car is dead. I replaced 2 20 amp fuses under the dash but they look like they burned out in 1971....checked the headlight fuses on the fender skirt and there ok..

Where should I be looking and why would my 2 step be pulling so much power?
any help would be great..
Thanks again.

car is a 1971 dart.
 
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Is the wiring pretty much stock? The headlights is a "killer." With factory wiring, headlights are supplied "close to the battery," from the black ammeter wire. This starts to sound like fuse link bulkhead connector problems, or a FAILED "welded splice". This is the splice in the ammeter black wire.
 
Yes and no on the wiring being stock. The wiring has been hacked up bad before i got it. The gauges are all autometer non mechanical (face palm) and the ignition is MSD but headlights and such are all factory wired.

the only lights I get are parking lights and the're very dim.

Thanks again.
 
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With no headlights, I'm surprised you have anything else. Sounds to me like you need to disconnect the bulkhead connector and inspect it. If that doesn't show anything, pull the cluster out if necessary, and check over the ammeter wire terminals and the ammeter connections. While you are "up in" there I would check the black wire from the ammeter, follow it down a few inches and check the splice. You will have to cut open the harness for a few inches.
 
The cluster is long gone, its just autometer gauges in an aluminum face.
the ammeter is also long gone but i will pull the gauges out in the am and look around.
how dose one disconnect the bulkhead connector? i have tried before and just gave up..

also isint there a way to bypass the fusable link in the bulkhead?

Thanks again, I realy.need to get this fixed so I can drive on the street.....
 
Turns out I may be smarter than i thought... After pulling the gauge cluster I realised I had wired an inline fuse in the gauge hot wire. it was bad, so not having on I walked next door and got one off my buddys at A&J radiator. (good guys, just watch out on the late night when the clear liquor from Mexico comes out.. U may go blind..)

On to the headlights.. I spent all day testing wires and scratching my head when I decided to just start all over. I started at the bat and went forward. Hot, Hot , hot, cold... WTF? inside the headlight fuses on the fender skirt i was.getting voltage in but not across the 20 amp fuse? The fuse WAS NOT burnt.. after testing it 3 times I changed it and bam, headlight work...
Still not heater but as I junked the heater any way, F it. I may looj into why the heater hot wire is dead or I may just cut it out....
 
There IS NO fuse in the headlights, unless someone put them there......................WTF fuse are you talking about?
 
The ones umder the cover on drivers side fender well..

it has a cover over them..
Im sure its factory..?
 
Please........read.........this........carefully.

THERE IS NO FUSE in the headlight circuit in a factory A body

Post a photo?

The only ONLY circuit protection for the headlamp circuit in these cars was.......the main fusible link, which would "kill everything" and the automatic reset breaker built into the light switch.
 
Huh?
It sure looks factory..

the car is at our shop and im at home drinking beer, I will post a photo tomarrow.
 
I thought the ballast resistor was the ceramic thing on the fire wall?
 
It is but flipped over looks like two springs. Got a pic we are all lost on what it is.
 
Hey can it be a relay without the cover by chance? This is guess the part now fellers.
 
I bet it is the old style voltage regulator without the cover. The "fuses" are white ceramic rods with wire around them
 
That sounds like your voltage regulator........

vr012.png


440-1621-large.jpg
 
OK time to step back and start over...........You have a factory service manual? If not go to MyMopar and download it.

MyMopar - Mopar Forums & Information - MyMopar Tools/Reference

THIS ONE HERE

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/servicemanuals/1971_Plymouth_Chassis_Service_Manual.zip

This is IMPORTANT because I can tell you a page / figure number and you can look that up so we both see what both of us are thinking about

It is PROBABLE at this point that you blew the FUSE LINK which goes between the bulkhead connector and the starter relay. THIS IS the main power into the car interior

Page 368 of the manual above.....layout of the bulkhead connector

Page 372........engine bay wiring

bulkhead connector.jpg


bulkhead1.jpg


See where it goes to "J?" The big no 10 RED at bottom right goes to the great big stud on your starter relay

(A1B-10R) "10" means no 10 wire and "R" means RED
 
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