a lost kid and his devious six

[jmon1123]

Here’s a long one incase you need someone else’s problem on your mind, This one has thrown me for a loop around the sun and back (not that I have the knowledge to diagnose it in the first place… This learning curve is not what I expected

Here’s a breakdown of how I violated my poor truck over the past year:

Started with my buddy giving me a jump and he reversed the leads, and incinerated the power wire going to the junction from the positive cable and likely more somewhere else. To get home I trimmed the cooked wire, shoddily connected the wires with some electrical tape and went on my way

I was out one night with the lady and had to coast in neutral home because of a loud burst, killing both my headlights, frying what I believe is my ignition switch/aftermarket radio, and shutting my engine down.. and of course cooking through my shoddy electrical tape patch.

In my infinite wisdom, I took it upon myself to further trim the junction to cable wire and wrap it double the first time. Drove around for a while and took out the radio when I saw smoke from the dash while it was running.

Battery started dying overnight, so I simply took off the negative wire whenever I parked it. After putting in a new battery, my generator light would come on at lower rpm and i watched the needle spike to 16 volts which I assumed meant the alternator was on its way out.

Replaced the alternator and put in a new solid state voltage regulator, soldered the wires, solid connection, pulley was taught but my problem never went away. Now the voltage regulator buzzes with the generator light. The truck eats headlights, tail lights, batteries, etc.

Took it upon myself to do a valve adjustment thinking there was clatter, and when I cranked the motor, it sounded like the motor was fighting the starter, so I loosened everything up a bit and it ran.

Was in a parking lot one night, and jokingly blipped the throttle around when all of a sudden the car died and was near impossible to get it running and keep it running. It idled below 500 RPM, sputtered and coughed on accel and decel… I played around with timing a bit on the fly to see what it liked but it was never consistent.

Parked the truck for some time and tended to other life matters, then went in and replace the ignition system from points to plugs, and installed a new carburetor, to see how the engine responded, and frankly it didn’t at all.

Now I’m here replacing the ignition switch, soldering the junction wire, taking all the fuses and connectors that aren’t necessary for it to run. from what I’ve seen, and I haven’t looked very hard, but all the wires appear to be okay but the truck is still running like it’s got no legs. I did another valve adjustment the right way, and while running slightly better at an unknown timing mark, I took a video of how it sounds now.

https://youtu.be/fgykdOzAUxY

If you like murder mysteries, have at it! any questions, ideas, answers, throw them out there! I clearly need some old school education. When I realize what I’m leaving out (because there’s always something) I’ll either edit or reply to this forum… I look forward to adding ideas on my to-try list for this thing, I’ve got big plans for this truck but I want her happy again and ready for her second lease on life. Thanks guys.

[Chevyland]

I watched your video
I probably can offer you nothing on your problem
Any pictures of the truck ?

[jmon1123]

Originally Posted by Chevyland

I watched your video
I probably can offer you nothing on your problem
Any pictures of the truck ?

Of course! Thanks for stopping by lol

[jmon1123]

HO455, thank you for the thorough replies, definitely helps to have a track to stick on, I tend to bounce around. A wealth of knowledge coming outta the 503 right here.

[cornerstone]

Originally Posted by jmon1123

A wealth of knowledge coming outta the 503 right here.

I think the 503 reference was for the light green paint code, not the area code. lol. But I may be wrong. I was curious so I looked up Portlands area code, and sure enough it's 503 also.

I agree with the others in regard to taking care of the electrical problems first. Timing and carb issues may still be a problem, but I don't think they are related.

[HO455]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

I think the 503 reference was for the light green paint code, not the area code. lol. But I may be wrong. I was curious so I looked up Portlands area code, and sure enough it's 503 also.

I agree with the others in regard to taking care of the electrical problems first. Timing and carb issues may still be a problem, but I don't think they are related.

I have the 503 area code and didn't catch that.

[HO455]

There is a a 71 at Ram Light Trucks parts off of Columbia Blvd. It was a running truck that was wrecked and it may have a better underdash harness than your current one. The truck is a V8 truck so the engine harness wouldn't be right and the front was hit so the headlight harness is likely damaged. Those guys aren't the cheapest so ask the price before you pull it.
I would start by taking the alternator off and have it tested. It may be over charging. New may not mean good. If it is good then the wiring between the alternator and the regulator has a problem causing the alternator to over charge.
Your electrical problems may have damaged the coil and or points causing the poor performance. So for the short term I recommend concentrating on getting the electrical side back on track. Before doing anything with the carburetor or engine.
I also recommend doing a thorough inspection of the underdash harness for any signs of overheating.
Do a search here for wiring diagrams. Then a search on alternator light problems. My guess is you have a damaged/missing wire in that circuit to that light.
I am assuming you have an aftermarket voltmeter installed?
Good luck neighbor and keep us posted.

['68OrangeSunshine]

The ''wire'' you kept shortening is a Fusible Link that needs to needs to run from the Positive battery terminal to the junction on the Passenger Side fender where it connects to the rest of the harness. You can get new fusable link wire at the auto parts store.
It's meant to melt thru with a system short and create an open in the system, so further damage can't occur. Unless you bypass it with straight copper wire. Then no fail safe.

[Big Kev-O]

Start by replacing that Fusible Link as 68OrangeSunshine suggested. You need a 16 gauge fusible link. I understand doing what you need to do to get your truck home but driving it around with out a Fusible Link puts you and your truck at risk. Fusible links are sacrificial and designed to burn up without catching on fire. Ordinary wire can & will flame up. I recommend keeping a fire extinguisher in the truck especially if you are going to drive it around without getting all the wiring sorted out.

After you replace the fusible link get you charging system working properly. The points in you distributor won't last long if they receive too much voltage which is why they are powered by a "resistance" wire. HO455's advice is always spot on.

The day I bought my truck one of the wire under the dash caught fire on my drive home. The first thing I purchased was a aftermarket wiring harness. I got one of the cheaper $200 kits that was not exactly easy to install but I figured it out with help from this forum.

[body bolt]

New wiring harness++

[HO455]

Aw shucks Kev, thanks.
Watched the video and forgot to say, Nice 503 truck!

If you're interested here is a link to when I replaced my Burban's alternator when it went into overcharge. I converted to a newer style alternator but, there are diagrams and links on the stock charging system.

Starts on post 467.

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...698377&page=19

I would also recommend spending some time on the Mad Electrical site's tech section. A great resource not often found these days.

http://www.madelectrical.com/electrical-tech.shtml

[jmon1123]

yeah fire extinguisher was quickly put in, that sounds like a mission sorting that out, glad to gear it sounds like it was a success, maybe I’ve been using the wrong wires? is the wire from the positive terminal fusable too? I’ll probably just get a new cable to be safe. appreciate your time Kev

[HO455]

Nice I do love the 503's with white bumpers. I have set for my Burban but they need work and unfortunately other things have a higher priority.
Post some pictures of what wires you are referring to to prevent confusion.

[Big Kev-O]

There should be two wires leaving the battery post terminal. The large one that goes to you starter is not a fusible link. The small wire that connects to the junction block on the fender should have a fusible link. If you use the search function and look for "fusible link" you will find detailed photos.

This thread has full wiring diagrams in color for our trucks.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=185856

Here is is the engine compartment wiring diagram. It shows what you should have.

[68 P.O.S.]

Sounds like a new wiring harness is in order. You need to scrounge one up or just buy a new one.

['68OrangeSunshine]

M & H Wiring Fabricators produces perfect replacement wiring harnesses, if you're keeping the truck, and not flipping it. They are American-made, [and have a tag signed by the guy who built it up] the lengths of the lines exactly match the original, and have the proper Packard connectors, Color codes are true. A lot better than trusting 50+ year-old, brittle lines and patched connectors from a junkyard rig.
They are not cheap.
www.wiringharness.com
I use them on both of my trucks.

[bnorth]

Check your grounds over as well make sure they are clean and not burned up or suffering the green death.