Pops Toy Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Was out cruising last night and when I hit a bump, radio/dash/headlights shut off but car stays running. While on a smooth road to the house everything kept shutting off and on. Made it to my driveway, got out to move my truck and when I got back into the Monte and stepped on the brake pedal, all cut out again. Any ideas where to start? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 I would first start with checking your battery cables, both ends. make sure they are tight in the terminals and have a good connection. I think also there is a insulated stud that mounts on the radiator core support right behind the battery. It connects the positve wire from the battery to the car wiring harness. I have also seen some goofy electrical problems occur because of bad ground straps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footballubet Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Sounds like a ground to me. Check the small wire from the negative battery terminal to the fender. Make sure it has a clean ground at the fender and the wire isn't broke inside the insulation. A lot of problems come from that wire being broke. If that is all good keep checking the rest of the grounds for looseness and make sure they are clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops Toy Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 After checking connections first because it was easiest all looked and seemed fine. Then I went for checking behind the battery and long story short, found where the problem was after putting the fire out. Yes, I did say fire that went from behind the battery all the way across the front of the radiator under the upper radiator support. I guess tomorrow I'll call American Autowire for a new harness. After removing the harness,c an I at least start the car without that harness just to pull the car out of the garage to clean up the mess? I can push it out but my driveway is to steep to be able to push it back in. BTW does anyone know what that harness is called (engine harness, headlight harness, etc)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I think it is called Forward Lamp Harness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam (Bones) Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I'm glad you found your problem, but like I said in my first post though, make sure you check your ground straps also or you could be revisiting this issue again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops Toy Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 Thanks. The problem found me.Grounds were the first thing I checked and am going to check again. It was the wiring behind the battery that was ran through a cut out and had been rubbing it seems over time. There were some accessories installed and they ran the cable through a non factory cut out that has jagged edges to try and make it clean. When doing the accessories, I had them replace the battery tray which is when they obviously made the cut out for neatness but should've placed a grommet there. Since it was a so called friend of mine, I didn't bother to double check their work. On other question, I think it should at least run with the battery cables and alternator cable hooked up? I just won't have headlights, blinkers, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops Toy Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 You were correct on that it's called Forward Lamp Harness. I removed the whole harness. Do you know if it will run without the harness with exception of not having lights, instrument panel, etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam (Bones) Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 NO! Â the forward harness supplies power to the fuse block Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops Toy Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 Thanks Sam. any suggestions besides American Auto Wire for a new harness? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops Toy Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 Anyone have suggestions which company is best for the forward lamp harness? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam (Bones) Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I used M&H and was very happy with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops Toy Posted June 27, 2014 Author Share Posted June 27, 2014 Got my new harness from M&H today with the new battery cable junction block. M&H harness looks great. Got it all installed but the car still has no power at all anywhere. Any help is greatly appreciated as I'm frustrated and confused at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallaby Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 There is a fusible link that runs from the positive battery terminal to the junction block hidden behind the battery on the radiator support. Check this wire for flexibility; when the link blows, it still looks intact but the conductor running through the center burns in two. If it feels stiff or rigid in places and bends easily in others, it's gone bad. Or check it with a meter. Don't replace it with a normal wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops Toy Posted June 28, 2014 Author Share Posted June 28, 2014 I need to replace that fusible link. The auto parts store fusible links are just a wire without the bulge in it. Is it ok to use that and if so what guage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallaby Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 You want 14ga. I bought a small roll of the wire (it's grey in color) and put my own ends on it. If you go this route, you will find that inside there is very little wire under a thick layer of insulation. I had to strip back and expose a longer length of conductor, then fold it back on itself to make it substantial enough to use a crimp terminal end. (A standard 14ga crimp terminal fits the outside diameter if the wire just fine, but there is too little wire inside for the crimp to squeeze down on). I still wasn't satisfied, so I also soldered the connection. While I was at it, I made a few extras and threw them in the glove box... you never know. My original got fried when jumper cable clamps shifted and found a ground. Here is some more info: LINKY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops Toy Posted June 30, 2014 Author Share Posted June 30, 2014 I replaced the junction cable with 14ga so now that part is correct. The main problem turned out to be the horn relay. The car is up and running and now all the other little problems I had that I thought were separate and individual apparently were not. I didn't think the forward lamp wiring harness and the horn relay pretty much control power for everything. Thanks again everyone for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops Toy Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 New problem today. Actually this happened when the forward lamp harness burnt up. Went to start the car and got one click then one click each time. After 3rd time it started and the starter kept running also and when I turned the key off everything kept running (engine and starter). Rushed under the hood and pulled the positive wire from HEI distributor to stop the engine and had to disconnect battery cable to get the starter to stop. Starter is brand new Duralast only 3 months old. When I went to hook the positive to HEI up I noticed it has 2 wires (red and blue). Red goes towards passenger side of engine compartment and blue goes behind wiper motor into a harness on the left side of the block on the fire wall. Thinking about it, the single clicks started about a month ago before all the electrical problems. My thought is the starter is bad and/or the ignition switch. Anyone else have any other suggestions? Sorry for the long post but just want to be thorough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam (Bones) Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 starter should be under warranty... take it back the solenoid on the starter contacts have welded together  the only other possibility is the ignition switch at the bottom of the steering column stuck see if there is power at the "S" terminal of the starter, no power...starter, power... ignition switch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pops Toy Posted July 2, 2014 Author Share Posted July 2, 2014 You were right, it was the starter and it had a limited lifetime warranty. This fire with the harness seemed to have surged quite a few electronics. Now, other little problems popping up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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