Midlife

OMG! With all that's missing, methinks you've been out in the sun waaaay too long! Just remember, when you come back pissing and moaning about something, we'll remind you about how much you love this stuff!

Running lights don't go through the turn signal switch, but brake lights and turn signals do (mixed at the turn signal switch). Parking lights will work only at the first detent of the switch. Dash lights go through the fuse box, so I would double-check you have voltage on both sides of the smallest fuse. Sounds to me like a combination of problems, but the turn signal switch is always suspect given most of your symptoms.

Awww shucks. Thank you!

The wiring itself doesn't degrade, except in the engine compartment under intense heat and owner butchering. If the insulation is brittle there, time to simply replace it with reproductions. Most of the problems with wiring is due to corrosion at connections, particularly the fuse box. About 20% of all pins need re-crimping and molded connectors need the wires pulled/tugged away from the connector to "tighten" the molded crimps. For tail-lights, corrosion is the biggest problem as well as the need to recrimp any ground lugs. The large fraction of my work deals with PO butchery and bringing that back to stock configuration. If a wire gets overloaded and burned, chances are poor that the harness can be refurbished; it all depends upon the particular wire and how extensive throughout the harness the issue extends. Any power lines that are burned means you need to replace the harness.

A common problem with 69/70 dash clusters is that the gauges (except ammeter) don't work. The reason is that one of the various posts of the gauges is touching the metal housing, which basically shorts all of the gauges. This often happens when one replaces the circuit card. To solve, take the dash out and loosen the 2 bolts for one of the gauges and re-set the gauge in the housing and re-tighten the bolts. If you have a multimeter, measure the resistance between any one of the posts and the metal housing of the dash cluster. If you see 1 or 14 ohms, then one of the bolts is touching. You will spend a fair amount of time re-setting the gauges until you get a reading of kilo- or mega-ohms: that is the reading you want. You can't see the issue, as the view is obstructed by the circuit card and the cardboard insulation pad underneath the bolt nuts.

Idle is waaaay too high. Should be somewhere around 800 rpm; 1600 when cold.

Phone chargers are typically fused BAT power, so leaving a voltmeter hooked up will draw power from the battery over time. If you unplug that charger when not in use, you'll be OK.

A voltmeter inside the passenger compartment simply needs to tap a fused ACC line. The simplest/easiest wire is the yellow/black wire for the factory radio. Simply splice into it. You'll need a ground wire, but that's easy to do: simply attach it to any good chassis point.

Best/simplest way to avoid in the future is first, replace the voltage regulator and battery, then get a simple volt-meter and monitor it for anything beyond 14.8V.

While the engine is running, the only thing the starter solenoid does is provide a connection point between the main harness, battery, and alternator via the large post on the side. I don't think the starter solenoid is your problem, unless the connection is loose.

The 8.8 rear end is an entirely different design than the vintage Ford rear that came with first generation Mustangs. I believe the 8.8 was introduced sometime in the late 70's or early 80's. It is not at all compatible with the earlier 8" or 9" design.

Sounds like something going on at the fuse box, as radio, backup lights, and blower motor/AC are powered by ACC and fused by 2 fuses. Might be a bad ignition switch or bad/nearly broken wire for ACC at fuse box. Usually, it is the BAT line that breaks, not the ACC line. Something is going on that when more power is pulled through those lines, continuity is lost due to higher resistance. I'd check your fuse clips first.

OOooh! You're a Dr. Pepper fan? Me too, but can't find diet cherry Dr. Pepper in Tucson! Aaargh!

Nope: when you replace the circuit board, you have to loosen the nuts holding the various gauges. The posts can easily contact the metal housing when reinstalling and tightening the nuts, shorting out the CVR output and the gauges will not work. This is a chronic problem for 69/70 dash clusters. The cheapest solution is to remove the circuit card and place black electrical tape over the rectangular cutout sides so that the posts won't contact the metal housing. Re-install the cardboard insulation pad, the circuit card, and tighten the nuts. As a check, you can measure the resistance between each post and the housing metal. If you see 1 to 14 ohms, one of the gauges is shorting out, causing the others to short out too. The ammeter, if shorted, will cause a massive short and because the lines are not fused, can cause a fire. Bad design by Ford.

Use an export brace to ensure the upper structures of the shock tower are in alignment.

Did you run into an Internet Ax Murderer by any chance?

867-5309

Damn. If I had your money, I'd throw mine away!

I've removed the molded cover a couple of times. Just be careful with a knife and don't nick the wires.

That's a factory molded crimp; shouldn't have a part number associated with it, as it is molded into the wire harness itself.

Those are only for the 65/68 terminal blocks. The 69 and up require a different style fuse clips. The aftermarket fuse clips are not make of the same material and are difficult to crimp due to brittleness compare to originals. Your best bet is to try and solder the tab to the existing base structure.

That's the Battery (always on) line.

1970 Standard Dash Cluster Wiring:

Standard or tach dash?

Almost; there are subtle differences between the 69 and 70, but the functionality of the dash cluster and circuit card are the same.