<VV> electrical problem - SOLVED!!!

[BBRT]

Thanks,

Good explanation. Glad you found it!

Chuck S
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <judynrandy at comcast.net>
To: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2014 3:48 PM
Subject: <VV> electrical problem - SOLVED!!!


>
> A little while back I sent an e-mail requesting help for a weird 
> electrical problem. After installing a Spyder dash in my '60, when I 
> hooked up the
> neg cable to the battery, the temp/press and gen/fan lights came on, with 
> the key off. In the midst of this dilemma, an old friend stopped by. He
> just happened to be a 'sparky' from his Navy days. [ That's electricians' 
> mate for all you landlubbers ( : ] The first words out of his mouth were " 
> you
> have a short circuit." But where? We worked all day checking things, 
> pulling fuses, etc. and found nothing. He told me the only thing left was 
> to backtrack
> and take everything back apart and double check anything I had worked on. 
> He told me as he left, "It's probably something stupid. Don't worry-you'll
> find it." The next day I did just that. Disassembled and double checked 
> and still didn't come up with anything. Then, as I poured over the wiring
> diagrams yet again, I noticed something we hadn't checked. I noticed the 
> starter solenoid was in the gen/fan and temp/press circuit that was 
> causing
> the problem. I headed under the car with a test light to check and see 
> whether the 'run' terminal was hot or not. Could the starter solenoid be 
> the culprit?
> I looked into the wheelwell at the connections. Everything looked normal. 
> Once under the car, I proceeded to hook up the test light.
> I then looked up..................and saw IT. It seems that what was 
> causing all of this hate and discontent was, quite simply, the battery 
> cable end being tilted
> just enough to the side to touch the "run" terminal nut on the 
> solenoid!!!!!!!
> Further clarification (for those who didn't know this) is that the '60 
> starter wiring is hooked up from under the car. The starter is mounted 
> upsidedown.
> Also, this was NOT an original gm battery cable. A generic aftermarket 
> one. The terminal had an oblong shape to it and really didn't fit that 
> well on a
> '60 starter. All it took to fix it was to bend the end of the cable to a 
> 45 degree angle and CAREFULLY re-attach it. Now I see why the factory 
> changed
> the starter setup and wiring after '60!!!!!!!!
>
> Randy (Cap'n) Hook
> Hopewell, PA
> '60 700 4dr -'64' 110/4spd
> '63 ragtop 110/pg
> '65 Monza 4dr 84/pg
>
>
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