rcantu01

Cool, Trinitys - I see you're in Splendora: i'm over by Lake Houston in Summerwood. Cool to know another forum member (with '69 Coupe, no less) is nearby (-:

Sorry for resurrecting such an old thread, all - I'm dealing with this now, Any know if these are now being reproduced (4yrs later)? Thanks!

Same thing just happened to me, following a trip to the muffler shop to replace the exhaust lead pipe. The guy moved the heat riser tube (that goes to the carb), and wedged it into the throttle spring! It was under the air cleaner, so I didn't see it until the throttle stuck.

This is motivating me to give it a shot as well - no show car here, either. Does anyone have a sense of how much easier -or more difficult- it will be for a coupe versus the fastback, also leaving the windshield and backlite on?

Well, I was going to say "yes and yes," The headlights and interior and dash lights (including dimming) are now working well when I activate the new headlamp switch, and the gremlins do appear when introducing the turn signals. It appears,though, that I've solved the problem, but the fix came from left field. I tried to start the car, and found that the battery drained (slowing revs down to clicking). I jumped it, and took the car for a quick spin around the block, discovering that the signals seemed to be working. I then took the battery to get fully recharged and found out it was bad. A new battery later and all the gremlins I saw seem to be gone! While I never started the car during my diagnostics, the lights always turned on very brightly, so I never suspected that the turn signals drew enough power to make a difference. So while I'll still need the TS switch (or at least the cam) to hold the lever in place, it apparently wasn't the problem. I find a final thing (is there ever a final thing :-) running through all the lights: the reverse lights are coming on. The turn on briefly as I switch into reverse, but then turn off. I'm hoping it's because the shifter is sloppy (will next take a stab at putting in AT shifter bushings), and assume that the switch is tied therein somewhere. Lessons learned so far: 1. Some bulbs were bad, so cluster removal was necessary. 2. Don't bite off more than you can chew at once: I hadn't mentioned that - with the dash already off (the dreaded "while I'm at it"s) - I tried to get the radio to work. Connecting a new speaker I'm sure killed the fuse I didn't know existed. This led to $s for the new HL switch I didn't need. Regardless, there is progress! (-:

@#$%&! :cursing: A new fuse and the lights were back. I checked them again before bolting everything down, and all seemed well. A check at the end, though, threw me for a loop. Now the turn signals and flashers work (weakly) with the lights off , but not at all when i turn them on. After trying different combinations they quit working entirely, then start working again after waiting a few minutes. Weirder still, when they are working, they interrupt the radio signal. I have noticed that the turn signal lever stays locked for the left, but not the right, so I know the TS switch is due for a replacement. But, does it interact with that many circuits? For an average of $99 it must do some kind of magic! (-:

You gave me too much credit, Tom, I was re-reading the thread, and realized it didn't occur to me that the non-indicator dash lights might be on a separate circuit with it's own fuse. A quick scan of the manual, and 10 minutes later I'm staring at a blown 4 amp fuse (-: I'm chomping at the bit to find a 24-hour Wallyworld or parts store to get fuses, but I'm letting reason prevail and waiting until tomorrow. This doesn't mean something else isn't wrong and it won't blow again, but I'm almost sure this'll do it. Thanks for the guidance, Ramon

LOL, Pak! Talk about delayed response! I've been working too hard, and unfortunately away from the 'Stang and the forum. I'd like to say, "yeah, try to find where I covered the Lime Gold with Ford's new Legend Lime," (-: but in truth my signature somehow got tweaked. Anywho - I finally had time to trim the generic bracket for the NAPA light switch and properly install it, but no luck - still no dash lights. I'm still puzzled that the HB indicator and turn signals work, and they're in the same cluster as the background lights. I haven't pulled fuses, but I didn't think there was one dedicated to just the background ones. I'll stay on it - almost ready to resort to velcro (-:

Bumping this again, due to much progress and a new issue, I did finally remove the dash and bench test all the lamp holders and replaced all the bulbs. Everything worked when I first reinstalled the dash (including the turn signals and high beam light, and the odomoeter after 15 years :-), but the dash lights flickered when I dimmed them via the headlight switch, and eventually turned off. I swapped in a new NAPA headlight switch, but the dash background lights won't come on again (signal and high beams are okay, and the dome light turns on when switch is turned). I tested the switch while it was hanging: does it maybe need to be grounded to the dash? If so, wouldn't none of the lights work in that case?

Bumping this topic to ask if maybe the headlight or dimmer switches are variables? I thought the circuit board was suspect only when the entire dash (gauges and lights) quit. In my case the dash lights are fine, and even dim if I turn the headlight switch. Other suggestions? This is thwarting me getting get her inspected (after getting the C4 rebuilt, she's running better than ever, with no leaks in sight!). Thanks, Ramon

Hi, all, I'm contemplating having the '69 vintage c4 in my car rebuilt (takes several minutes to engage reverse, and lays a good smokescreen in the process :-), but have a choice to make. I've got another c4 connected to the 289 (both '68 vintage) in my convertible which also needs a rebuild. Are there any internal differences between a c4 factory attached to a 289, and one attached to a 250? If they are different, and considering I'd like to eventually swap in a v8 (maybe the aforementioned 289), it'd make more sense to have the 289-connected one redone. I'd rather not, though, go through a series of swaps right now if they are the same and there'd be nothing to gain. Thanks for the always-sage advice, Ramon

+1 on a vinyl top not confirming a Grande. Mine's a 250 6cyl with few options... RC

Crud, My '69 failed inspection, because the interior turn signals and high beam indicator stopped working. Both were working the last time I remember checking, and - strangely - the hood scoop-mounted signals work just fine (sheesh - you'd think this might have satisfied the TS requirement). I doubt three bulbs would burn out at once. Any ideas about what to check or may be at fault? The instrument panel has never been off, and I'd rather not disturb it if it's not necessary. Thanks, Ramon Posted also on VMF