Jacob D Coates
New Member
Nice to hear someone from Columbus here!! As for the headlights and the courtesy lights they're run right off the battery with only the fuse box and the switch between them.
67 Newport: no juice at the key
- Thread starter Scoopy G
- Start date
jct
Senior Member
you might need a new headlight switch since there's a circuit breaker in there no fuse
Thanks JC, so where can I buy a replacement headlight switch? I didn't find the dash disassembly that difficult (and I did loosen as many bolts as I could find to drop the steering column, but it didn't drop that much...but I could pull down on it and got the dash frame out),
so I would be OK with replacing the headlight switch if there was one available.
so I would be OK with replacing the headlight switch if there was one available.
You cannot just buy a toggle style headlight switch for 67/68 C's from Rock auto or any erst jobber...NOS or good working used ones.
Get me the part number of your switch I may have a good working spare.
PM me
Get me the part number of your switch I may have a good working spare.
PM me
Thanks cbarge, I much appreciate you kind help. Let me get through this holiday weekend (celebrating when we kicked the Limey bastards out of the country we stole from the Indians and the Mexicans,who also stole it from Indians, but I digress), and I'll resume work on my own C barge and I'll be back in touch.
OK, NOW WHAT?? Hi again fellas, here's the latest from the 67 Newport....
I connected the ammeter wires as mentioned in an earlier post, and this restored most of everything, and gave me juice at the key and 12V at the coil with the key in the ON position. The ignition switch even cranked the starter at that point. I thought I had it made in the shade.
I then commenced to replacing the water pump, fuel pump, hoses, belts etc. I put it all back together, and today it was time to crank the engine, which I was able to do at the key. The car started right up again, and ran fine. After about 5 minutes, I shut the car off to adjust the belts, but when I went to re-start the engine....no juice at the key again. So, I followed Cbrge's suggestion and connected a temporary wire from the + side of the alternator to the starter relay. Presto, everything came back the way it was after the ammeter fix. I was again able to crank the starter from the ignition switch, and the car again fired off and ran fine. I even disconnected Cbarge's wire as the car was running, and the car did not die. Go ahead Cbarge, say I told you so!
So what the hell happened to the juice at the key all of a sudden? If I install a permanent Cbarge wire from alternator to starter relay, is that OK to just leave it and drive the car like that?
Many thanks to all who have messaged in on this thread, I greatly appreciate the help.
Rich
I connected the ammeter wires as mentioned in an earlier post, and this restored most of everything, and gave me juice at the key and 12V at the coil with the key in the ON position. The ignition switch even cranked the starter at that point. I thought I had it made in the shade.
I then commenced to replacing the water pump, fuel pump, hoses, belts etc. I put it all back together, and today it was time to crank the engine, which I was able to do at the key. The car started right up again, and ran fine. After about 5 minutes, I shut the car off to adjust the belts, but when I went to re-start the engine....no juice at the key again. So, I followed Cbrge's suggestion and connected a temporary wire from the + side of the alternator to the starter relay. Presto, everything came back the way it was after the ammeter fix. I was again able to crank the starter from the ignition switch, and the car again fired off and ran fine. I even disconnected Cbarge's wire as the car was running, and the car did not die. Go ahead Cbarge, say I told you so!
So what the hell happened to the juice at the key all of a sudden? If I install a permanent Cbarge wire from alternator to starter relay, is that OK to just leave it and drive the car like that?
Many thanks to all who have messaged in on this thread, I greatly appreciate the help.
Rich
It closes the loop in the electrical system when there is an open circuit like you have been experiencing.
The "shunt" wire I have been preaching about for years is a permanent fix.
Just make sure you install either a fusible link or in-line fuse on that wire. Best to have the the fuse or link at the starter relay for easy future repair.
Thank you and I told you so...
As mentioned,Mopar Action put me on this trick.
So I cannot take full credit--I just apply it to every 60's & early 70's Mopar I work on.
FYI, this would be the guy I would recommend for any switch rebuilding.
SA67NEWPORT
New Member
Hello,
if you are sure that the 2 ammeter wires are securely connected together and again I have to recommend that this connection NOT occur on one of the ammeter terminals then the problem is either that the bulkhead connector connections for these 2 wires are deteriorated more than they look. Its easy to be fooled there, or one of the 2 terminals that you connected together from the ammeter is no longer internally connected to the wire it is on. This happens as well but is not as common as the ammeter itself failing. Leaving the CBARGE wire in place IMO is only safe if both wires are disconnected from the ammeter to eliminate the very real possibility of either of them grounding out to the metal dashboard if the ammeter deteriorates further. BTW if you make the CBARGE wire permanent then you don't even have to jump the 2 ammeter wires together, please just make sure they are disconnected from the ammeter itself to eliminate the possibility of a disaster later when you are out and about somewhere.
steve
if you are sure that the 2 ammeter wires are securely connected together and again I have to recommend that this connection NOT occur on one of the ammeter terminals then the problem is either that the bulkhead connector connections for these 2 wires are deteriorated more than they look. Its easy to be fooled there, or one of the 2 terminals that you connected together from the ammeter is no longer internally connected to the wire it is on. This happens as well but is not as common as the ammeter itself failing. Leaving the CBARGE wire in place IMO is only safe if both wires are disconnected from the ammeter to eliminate the very real possibility of either of them grounding out to the metal dashboard if the ammeter deteriorates further. BTW if you make the CBARGE wire permanent then you don't even have to jump the 2 ammeter wires together, please just make sure they are disconnected from the ammeter itself to eliminate the possibility of a disaster later when you are out and about somewhere.
steve
Some reading on the subject of bypassing the ammeter etc.
Some considerations about the charging and wiring upgrade and your worries about
Some considerations about the charging and wiring upgrade and your worries about
Battery stud back of alternator to battery stud of starter relay (the 1/2 inch nut one).
I agree that the anmeter wires should be checked for any shorts and/or grounding out on metal. A continuity test is what I usually do to see if factory fusible link is shorted out. Ditto same test on ammeter it self.
You can either keep ammeter wires connected to the gauge or disconnected your choice when the loop under the hood is made.
After the wiring has checked out ok and with a functioning ammeter,I am running the added wire with the ammeter gauge still connected. Been running the Boab like that since day 1 and many others before it with no problems.
Back in 2005 when I got the BoaB it was dead. Ran the wire and she came to life. I even fired her up with the dash ripped out and ammeter wires NOT connected! Fyi
You can either keep ammeter wires connected to the gauge or disconnected your choice when the loop under the hood is made.
After the wiring has checked out ok and with a functioning ammeter,I am running the added wire with the ammeter gauge still connected. Been running the Boab like that since day 1 and many others before it with no problems.
Back in 2005 when I got the BoaB it was dead. Ran the wire and she came to life. I even fired her up with the dash ripped out and ammeter wires NOT connected! Fyi
jct
Senior Member
I used a variation of this and mads bypass htt://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,33574.0/all.html
OK, 3 new questions: 1) The ignition switch won't mount properly in the hole in the dash. The switch has 3 little fins on it, and the hole has a stainless piece with one little notch at the bottom. But, I cannot get the switch to seat into that notch, and thus when I tighten the threaded ring, the switch will spin in the hole when the key is turned.
Am I doing something wrong, or do I have the incorrect ignition switch? The PO evidently went through a few ignition switches, probably trying to figure out why there was no juice at the key. One switch came from NAPA, part # KS6528SB. Any ideas?
Question #2: The lower bolt on the power steering pump bracket (which looks to be the bolt that is used to adjust the belt tension) won't thread in to it's hole in the block. So I fiddle with it and try to find a bolt the correct size, but then I realize the hole has no threads. What happened to the threads? It does not appear that the threads in the block were stripped, it just looks like there were no threads to begin with. Again, am I missing something?
Question #3: The alternator swing bracket bolts to the alternator and adjusts the belt tension of course. BUT, I can't find ANY bolt that is correctly sized to thread into the alternator body. I even took the alternator to the hardware store, and tried both metric and SAE bolts, (and BOTH threaded fully into the hole!), but neither bolt was nice and tight...there was slop in both the metric and SAE bolts. I tried different thread pitches, different sizes, but nothing worked perfectly. So, I have a bolt that's working OK, but I don't dare over-tighten it. What the heck is going on here?
Many thanks again for all your collective help. Rich
Am I doing something wrong, or do I have the incorrect ignition switch? The PO evidently went through a few ignition switches, probably trying to figure out why there was no juice at the key. One switch came from NAPA, part # KS6528SB. Any ideas?
Question #2: The lower bolt on the power steering pump bracket (which looks to be the bolt that is used to adjust the belt tension) won't thread in to it's hole in the block. So I fiddle with it and try to find a bolt the correct size, but then I realize the hole has no threads. What happened to the threads? It does not appear that the threads in the block were stripped, it just looks like there were no threads to begin with. Again, am I missing something?
Question #3: The alternator swing bracket bolts to the alternator and adjusts the belt tension of course. BUT, I can't find ANY bolt that is correctly sized to thread into the alternator body. I even took the alternator to the hardware store, and tried both metric and SAE bolts, (and BOTH threaded fully into the hole!), but neither bolt was nice and tight...there was slop in both the metric and SAE bolts. I tried different thread pitches, different sizes, but nothing worked perfectly. So, I have a bolt that's working OK, but I don't dare over-tighten it. What the heck is going on here?
Many thanks again for all your collective help. Rich
1) Just went through the same thing, the aftermarket switches I've found do not have the proper tang to seat into the mount and it will rotate. Find an NOS unit or a good used one.
Thanks Polara500. I spent a little time this afternoon trying to modify the tangs on one of the old switches, to see if I could shave/grind the thing down to slot into that one little keyway. I will continue to try that to see if I can get a fit.
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