Electrical problems
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 174
Likes: 0
From: whippany NJ
Electrical problems
I have a 66 coup with an an L-79.It had the orig.harnesses and while driving it for about 1 hr. one day smoke appeared from behind the dash.I shut it off at once.Found that the wires from the blinker switch had fried. I cut the blinker wires (because I had no access to a phone & I forgot my cell that day) and restarted the car and all else seemed fine so I returned home (about 10 min.).I replaced all harnesses in the car.When replacing the harnesses I found that the blinker wires were pinched in the colum and some of the wires for the engine compartment had melted insulation but not compleatly gone.After installing all new harnesses everything works(lights & motors,horns,
marker lights,blinkers,all dash lights,interior lights,Power antenna,etc.).
When I start the car the battery guage works like a tach. the needle goes up and down with the rpms. Could it be a bad voltage regulator or bad ground? Something else? Also where should all the grounds be? I have one from the engine to the frame,exhaust to frame,throttle linkage
to the intake,power antenna,and all harness grounds. Am I missing any?
Thanks in advance for any help!
marker lights,blinkers,all dash lights,interior lights,Power antenna,etc.).
When I start the car the battery guage works like a tach. the needle goes up and down with the rpms. Could it be a bad voltage regulator or bad ground? Something else? Also where should all the grounds be? I have one from the engine to the frame,exhaust to frame,throttle linkage
to the intake,power antenna,and all harness grounds. Am I missing any?
Thanks in advance for any help!
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 38,897
Likes: 1,927
From: Washington Michigan
There's a black ground wire in the forward lamp harness near the voltage regulator with a ring terminal on each end - one end goes to the threaded ground stud on the back of the alternator, and the other end screws to the voltage regulator base. If that ground wire isn't connected at both ends, the voltage regulator won't work. 
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 15,576
Likes: 118
From: Conroe Texas
The harness ground is a black wire that attaches to the "Z-bar" behind the dash.
The cluster ground connects to the top of the instrument cluster at a male tab, above the tach.
