foothilltom

Did your surging problems begin with the migration of the battery to the trunk? Was that the only change you made prior to you noticing the problem? Voltage drop is relevant depending on the length and gauge of the wire, but given the distances involved here, I can't imagine that's an issue. Even if it were, it wouldn't produce a surging effect, just reduced voltage consistently. I would suspect your voltage regulator. Its job is to "smooth out" the voltage generated by your charging system. Its a pretty cheap part, but I normally like to diagnose more thoroughly before I buy stuff. If you can reproduce the surging behavior in the driveway, get a meter on there and see what you're producing at idle, then rev it up to cruising RPMs and see what gives. Good luck. Tom

Here's a really good YouTube video that shows a strategy for locating a short. He uses a circuit breaker wired across the fuse panel which is pretty cool (instead of just popping fuse after fuse). After that he's just "dividing and conquering" by disconnecting convenient points in the circuit along the way. I think this is a pretty intuitive approach. Try it out...the example in the vid is a short when activating the horn! Tom

My advice: use your horn in emergencies only. :) Seriously, you have a short in your horn circuit. You'll blow a fuse every time and you don't want to keep increasing the size of the fuse unless you want to melt something or start a fire. Diagnosing a short is kind of a pain, but if you approach it methodically, you can do it. You'll want to get used to using a multi-meter (one that measures resistance as well as voltage). Basically, you're looking for a low-resistance situation that, for example, could be caused by a horn wire exposed and grounding against the frame. Fortunately, the horn circuit is pretty dang simple. You could also try disconnecting one horn at a time and seeing if this eliminates the problem, but you'll go through several fuses along the way. There are a few things to suspect: * Short in your actual horn switch (below the wheel) * Short in your wheel hub (that activates the switch) * Short in one of the wires to the horns (suspect those near sharp corners) * Short in the horns themselves You can test each of these circuits with your multi-meter. I can provide more info later if you need it. Get a wiring diagram if you can't trace the wires back from the horns. Good luck. Tom

Methinks you will want to remove the speedo cable before removing the gauge pod. There is probably a little plastic sleeve on the speedo cable connection to your speedo whose purpose is to lock the cable in place. It might have broken off over time. Just rotate that sleeve out of the way and pull straight back on the cable toward the front of the car. It might seem stuck, but there's nothing else holding it on there, so have at it. You could consider detaching the speedo cable from the tranny first and pulling it through the underside of the car, through the firewall and out as you remove your gauge cluster with the cable attached, but this sounds like a pain. Good luck. Tom

And before you lose any sleep over it, I've only seen the parking brake illuminate the "Brake System" light on a Grande that I bought as a parts car. I don't have that car anymore and never took the time to see how it was wired. The 2 other coupes I have now don't set the Brake system light via the parking brake, so it might be a Grande-only thing. I'm sure the fellas here know the actual option.

I'm 99% there was no buzzer. You have some kind of Seat Belt relay that turns off after 5 seconds. I'm pretty sure that's the standard setup though I have no such relay in my coupe. My Seat Belt light goes out immediately when the ignition is in start. There's a Brake System light on the left that should illuminate under the following conditions (i'm pretty certain of this): * Parking Brake set * Some kind of problem in your brake system (proportioning valve ball is not centered) * Maybe another reason To relic: my Brake System light would stay on forever as well if not for unplugging the socket on the proportioning valve. Haven't solved that one yet, but I think you're in good company.

I can totally relate to you, rangerdoc. To some folks, this stuff is 2nd nature, but for the rest of us, these things can seem incredibly daunting...until you actually roll up your sleeves and have a go at it. I felt the same way as you when I took on the rebuild of my 4 speed toploader. A year ago, I would have laughed if someone would have suggested I try that, but now that I did, it feels great and makes everything else seem so much simpler. So congrats for taking this on. It feels good, don't it? Tom

Hey Jayru, I did *not* solve my brake light mystery. I'm reasonably sure my ball valve in the distribution block is just "stuck" as this car sat for 20+ years, but I may be totally wrong. I've replaced the MC, Power booster, brake cylinders, shoes, etc. and the car stops just dandy. I wimped out trying to replace the distribution block because 1) I couldn't remove the damn brake lines without bending them (they were stuck), and 2) I didn't want to take on the re-routing of brake lines by buying a new distribution block. I'm uneasy about this, but I just disconnected the light switch from the distribution block. To answer your question about function, I just pulled the wheels and made sure that the front and rear brakes where "moving" with appropriate pedal pressure. That combined with a road test was enough for me...but again I'm not sure if I'm overlooking something important by not replacing the distrib block. Tom

My $.02: take your time with the electronics and be sure of your connections before you hook up your battery and turn that key. Perhaps you are totally comfortable with this part of the process, but I wound up taking LOTS of pictures when we pulled the boys motor a couple years ago and eventually bought a parts car to have as a working model for reassembly. Between those two, reassembly was a breeze. Good luck and wear your headphones if you have no exhaust yet. Hearing loss is cumulative. I would know. :) Tom

Are you aware of the little felt stripping that attaches to the insides of both sides of the window channel? This pretty much snugs the glass up completely from what I could tell. I'm struggling to remember the name of the kit, but I'm sure someone will come up with it. It presses into small holes on the inside of your doors. Window belt kit? Nah...though I remember the word belt in there.

I would start suspecting your solenoid if you've ruled out good grounds. If your motor cranks easily by hand, I think you're out of the woods on the "tight motor" theory.

You are a man of few words...to few to be very helpful here, I'm afraid. Here are some thoughts to get you started: Your turn signals are actuated by a lever which is just a switch below your steering wheel. This switch itself is a very fragile gizmo made out of plastic that can easily break. I've had 2 69's and both had bad turn signal switches. If the plastic is broken, your lever will not engage the electrical switch and you will need to replace the plastic cam (not very expensive). In my case, I had to replace the entire switch (including 10 or so wires that run down the column to the main connector and this gizmo is about $80 or so. It's also possible that your turn signal switch is just dandy but your flasher is out. The flasher is a little can under your dash that acts as a relay and breaks the connection to your lights so they flash. The flasher is cheap and easy to replace. You could have some wiring issue that could be anything, but since it sounds like it just stopped working, I'd be surprised if you have a big problem. So, did both sides quit? Have you walked around the car to see if any of the lights blink with the lever engaged? Does the lever "click" into place as it should or does it feel "mushy" when you engage it? Do the emergency flashers work? This is good info to explain on your followup. Good luck. Tom

[ATTACH]6664[/ATTACH] It sounds like you've got a plan, but I couldn't help but think I wasn't explaining myself well. This image might clarify some stuff. The large assembly on the top is called the "headlamp bucket" in some circles but could also be called the fender extension. In any case, isn't this where you have to install the new nut (from the backside)? The little bowl that holds the actual headlamp is attached with the adjusting screws, spring etc. to the light bucket. Not sure what this bowl is called. So, unless I'm mis-remembering (very possible!), I think you need to remove this bucket and install your new nut. This bucket is an SOB to remove, but it can be done. Let me know if I'm smoking crack here. With all this said, it sounds like you've got a plan that might require far less dismantling. Tom

Geez, I would really start thinking about what is breaking those cables. You clearly have some kind of issue in your setup. I'm assuming your original cable broke to start this whole game?

I think what you're describing is what is referred to as the "headlight bucket" that attaches to the fender. I'm not sure I'm following you 100%, but it sounds like the little square "nut" the adjustment screw goes in is broke on your bucket and you need to replace it? Getting the bucket off the fender isn't that easy due to the tight angles of the studs, but I recall its 4 stud-nuts and it comes away from the fender. It's been over 2 years, but I recall they were kind of a bummer get a socket on one or two of them. I recall wishing I had a flexible socket extension. The other option is to remove the fender entirely but this is probably more work than you're looking for to replace headlamp adjustment hardware. I'll check my shop manuals for a pic of that arrangement and post it if I can find it. Good luck, Tom

It does indeed help, thanks! The PO had them upside-down apparently and it was too much of a puzzle for my geometrically-challenged brain. Thanks again. Tom

Howdy. This should go down as one of the dumber/simpler questions I've axed in quite some time. Is the driver's side seat belt installed on the driver's side of the tunnel or the opposite side? In other words, should the belt cross over the tunnel or stay on the same side? My guess is they stay on the same side of the tunnel, but no matter how I orient the belts, they seem to "twist" in order to make the release button sit on top. Am I making any sense? Can any body shed some light here? The front belts seem to be the same between driver/passenger so I don't think that's the issue. I'd really appreciate a nice layman's explanation for how the front belts should lay in relation to the tunnel and the seats so they don't twist when buckled. Thanks! Tom

Old guys rule.

Unfortunately, I have no advice for where to buy this stuff...hopefully somebody else does. I'll post the front band pic tomorrow AM as that stuff is on my work computer :) Tom

Wise words...who said them? Oh, right, I did! Silly me. :) To be fair, it sounds like it took some time for your points to fry and you wouldn't have necessarily equated that with a coil change. But most importantly, great job and congrats!

[ATTACH]6632[/ATTACH] Let me know if this is helpful. I have the same diagram for the "front band" as well and can post that.

I'm guessing the marble rolled out the exhaust. Seriously, I agree with Angel: pull the valve covers and check the rockers and push rods. I had a rocker arm stud come unpressed and it caused all kinds of terrible racket when it resulted in a bent pushrod and a rocker that had come all the way off the valve. Sounded loud as hell. I'm sure there are other good reasons but this one I experienced. Tom

DJ, it sounds like you're taking a very good approach to this. I should have realized that it's difficult to do some of these tests if you can't keep it running. A couple of thoughts: If you can, adjust the idle screw until your throttle is open enough to keep her running. You may need to shim it somehow to get the throttle to open far enough. Checking timing at 2000 (or more) RPMs is just fine. In other words, whatever you can do to keep it running is a good idea so you can work through your various tests. Perhaps you could disengage your electric choke and keep her choked so you can keep it idling? I'm still leaning toward a clogged idle circuit, but it's nice to rule out other suspects if you can (vacuum). A simple test is to leave everything connected and spray some starting fluid (or something appropriately combustible) near and around suspect leak areas (stay away from the mouth of the carb). If you can hear a change in RPMs, you may have found a leak. Focus on the IM vacuum ports as the ports connected to the carb draw a tiny amount of vacuum in comparison to the IM. I know this may not be feasible, but if you have a known, good carb laying around (or can borrow one), it might be simpler to just throw that carb on there and see if your idle problems vanish. A carb is an incredibly complex gizmo with passages that are super-tiny. I know you've cleaned it up, but I am still betting this is a idle-circuit problem based on everything you've said so far. Soaking the entire carb for 24 hours would probably be a cheap experiment. I feel your frustration, but take heart. We've all been here and you will solve it. The dudes here are smart (present company excluded). Best, Tom

Hmmm...I was mildly put off by this admonishment. I find the advice here to be almost always spot-on and I wouldn't discourage folks from chipping in. Anywho, my suggestion would be to think on any changes since your car idled perfectly. What has changed? The passage of time only? It's crucial to start there, IMHO. Your engine idles well when it's cold, under choke, which is a rich mixture. As your electronic choke opens the butterfly, the mixture leans out and it begins to run poorly. So that's a big hint: you are running too lean. Mach1 already told you this, but the fact that your idle-mixture screws have no effect is also a tell-tale sign. Your idle circuit is not working as it should which could imply clogged idle fuel passages. You didn't mention this, but does your engine run well after it is warm (outside of the poor idle obviously)? Can you adjust the idle screw to a high RPM and keep it running? Can you open the throttle and keep it running? Can you rev it under load? These are distinct fuel delivery circuits in your carb so it's important to know if your problem is limited to bad idle. You mention a scrupulously detailed inspection of vacuum hoses and whatnot but are you actually using a vacuum gauge? If not, you're just messing around. A vacuum gauge will shed much light on your problem. Get one, hook it up and see what it says as your car warms up. Finally, you talk about messing with the timing but are you using a timing light? I understand the desire to leave no stone unturned but if you're not using proper equipment, you're just winging it and could wind up chasing your tail. More detailed info from you will increase the value of the responses! Good luck, Tom

Hi Dan, I'm 99.5% certain the door panels are the same for all 69 body styles. The deluxe panel will fit on any door as will the standard panels. The door handles are attached to the door, not to the panel. The deluxe panel takes a little monkeying around to get the handle properly positioned, but it isn't hard at all. Good luck! Tom