| Moderated by: Greg Fletcher | ||
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Jh092 Member
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I’ve had my car (20092) for over a year and other than some initial problems, the car has run great. I thought I found a well cared for car and didn’t expect any major problems. Recently though, an ignition problem has popped up. Started to run rough and very difficult to start. The problem ended up that there was not enough voltage to the coil. I’m not sure but I think the problem lies in the main harness. The DPO spliced a 20” piece of 12 ga multi strand green wire in each of the wires under the hood except the lighting circuit. Correct wire Gauge didn’t matter, they must have only had 1 spool of wire. Where a heavier gauge was needed, they used two lengths of wire in parallel. Did I mention that all the splices were only twisted together and taped. Once I rebuild the harness with the right gauge and colored wires, I’ll be able to tell if I solved the problem. I don’t think it will be that easy, I pulled the dash and found 3 bare wires bouncing around. Once the harness is fixed, I’ll start tracing wires to see what else was “improved” by a previous owner I think the real adventure is just beginning. |
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redracer Member
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Interestingly, I'll be giving 3 wire harnesses for auction at this Jensen National this year in Hiawassee, GA(the site of the first east coast one in 2000). The standard wiring diagram that is supposed to be for a 1974 J-H, is actually a '73, but still helpful. You will have a different colored wire running from your tach to the coil, which is a resistive wire, nickel-chromium. The earlier cars had a regular copper wire going to a ballast resistor, which your car does not have/need. Also, the diagram shows a white wire running to your fuel pump(unfused), which is also incorrect; yours actually goes through the middle fuse to a green wire that runs to your fuel pump. If you wish, you could SKYPE me for a "real-time" fix/whatever to help, or just email me with photos at RedRacerbm@gmail.com good luck, bruce |
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noomg Member
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Jh092, I think the real adventure started the day you bought the car! When you're encountering these PO "fixes" keep in mind they were done to keep the car on the road rather than keep it concourse. Also they weren't worth very much so there was no incentive to maintain them correctly. Easy, quick, simple, and cheap was the order of the day. When I've dealt with PO "fixes" I try to work backwards; what failed, what caused the failure, and how effective was the "fix". The question for me would be why did the PO replace the wiring, was it a meltdown or something else? It might help keep the original problem from popping up again. |
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Jh092 Member
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Noomg, We’ve all done things to keep a car on the road in ways that may not be correct, but as you implied, you do what you have to. But when you do some shade tree mechanic fixes, at least do it to some set of standards and make it safe. I’m guessing a meltdown, but to take the time to redo the harness and not use at least a crimp butt connector makes one wonder. |
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noomg Member
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Jh092, You and I are car guys and like doing things right the first time but not everybody who drove these cars were. There was a time when you could get a solid driver for $1500 or less. A number of POs were just looking for a cheap set of wheels that would get them to and from work or school until they could afford something nicer. |
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