Slowhand63

Finally got my '65 L79 Roadster insured and registered today. Took it out for the first ride - loved every minute. Got it home, left it in the driveway, and went out to dinner. Came home, and decided to put her away for the night. Was backing her into the driveway - and she died right there on the spot. Stalled out - no electrical power whatsoever. No lights, no radio - DEAD.

Battery has juice, ground connection to the engine block is tight... any ideas appreciated.

Thanks

Bluestripe67

Check the bulkhead connector under the master cylinder. Carefully disconnect it and clean the connectors. The pin connectors in side (back side of fuse panel) can have corrosion on them especially the large red wire. This is a common problem. Dennis

Slowhand63

Dennis - thanks - I'm heading out to give it a try. I found a few posts re. the "red wire" - will attempt to trace that out and see what I can find. Will repost my findings in a bit. Thanks

65GGvert

What he said.

I'd turn the switch to ACC, turn on the radio and wiggle the wire bundles at the bulkhead under the master cylinder. If you hear the radio come on, you know you have a loose or corroded connection on the red wire. It'll probably start a few times after you wiggle that, but it needs to be cleaned and tightened (or bypassed into the fuse block).

Slowhand63

No such luck so far. Realized that putting the switch in ACC and leaving the radio on would give me a clue if/when I touch the right wire - haven't found anything so far. Since it is literally my first day (hour!) with the car out, I'm learning as I go. It is the first time I had the lights on also, and I had a red indicator light on the center of the dash, which I noticed a minute or two before the car died. I believe this is an indicator telling me the lights didn't open fully - and sure enough - one was 3/4 open. I don't think this has anything to do with it - but thought I'd mention it anyway to provide the full picture. Thoought it could also be the ignition switch wiring - but moving those wires hasn't done anything either. The only additional information I have is that the horn doesn't/hasn't worked. The previous owner told me he sent the wheel out for restoration, and when he put it back on the horn didn't work. Again - don't think it's related, but...

Appreciate any other ideas.

66jack

Light on center of dash between tach/speedo is your hi beam indicator....

When head lights are closed and head light switch on...you should get a blinking light 'right side upper light' telling you your lights are not "up"...the left indicator tells you your e brake is on...

Maybe your horn relay is bad for horn to not work...

EDIT:

Your horn relay also has a lot of things it divides power to other than your horn...

Slowhand63

There are two multiplugs under the master cylinder on the firewall (opposite the fuse box). When standing in front of the car, the plug on the right hand side (that leads to the driver-side light bay) has a pushed in pin (upper right corner) on the firewall-side connector. I put the cover on and I'm hoping to get help tomorrow.

DansYellow66

- I've never understood how the horn relay came to play such a critical role in the car's wiring harness but it does. Could be an issue if the horn isn't working. But most sudden and complete losses of power invovle the bulkhead connector.

65GGvert

That's the connectors we were talking about. Is the pushed in pin the one that is in line with the larger red wire in the bundle? That red wire IS connected to the corner of the right hand connector, and makes connection from the lug on the horn relay to the red circuit inside that feeds the fuse box, the cig lighter, etc.
The horn relay is only used as a connection point and has no function in the other wiring. The ammeter (actually voltmeter connects there, but externally). The relay won't cause your issue. It's just a convenient place to make a connection, like twisting two wires together.

RK-TECT

Although your battery is showing a charge, your battery terminals could be loose and/or have corrosion which can cause your problem. I would remove the terminals from the battery, clean them and the battery posts with Emery cloth, and then tighten them down nice & snug. You might be surprised... it happens.

Good luck, Roger

65GGvert

An easy test for this is to measure from the red wire on the side of the horn relay to a good ground. If you have a good 12v, the problem is more likely in your connectors. If you don't, the more likely is the battery cable connections. It's possible that your battery is failing under load, or that the cables are corroded but making enough contact to read, but fails when a load is applied. Eliminate the easy stuff (battery cable connections) first. However, if you have a pushed in pin as you said on your bulkhead connector, you need to address that for sure.

Slowhand63

Thanks to everyone for thieir suggestions. I don't think it is the battery - no corrosion, cabes are tight (tried to snug them up last night - they are tight and look good). I did connect the charger while the battery was still in the car and the meter didn't peg, but went into the green/good zone.

Re. the pushed in pin - there are two multiplugs. The one with the pushed in pin does not have a red wire, but it IS opposite the fuse block inside the car where all of the fuses are. The other connector (to the left when standing in front of the car) has the red wire that comes from the battery - but on the inside of the car the fuse block is empty (no fuses). I know the pushed in pin will need to be addressed, but it seems odd that it was fine one minute and dead the other.

I am going to pull the battery and throw it on the charger for a few hours. Agree this is simplest/easiest to rule out.

Any ideas on a quick way to check if its the pushed in pin? If I pull the multiplug and run a wire between the connector and pin - will I get power or do I need ALL the pins to make contact in the connector. There are 6 or 8 - I'll be short hands trying to check them all at the same time.

Thanks to everyone for their help. I also plan to contact the local chapter NCRS President to see if he knows someone local and more knowlegable than me to come by and take a look.

Thanks

65GGvert

What color is the wire going to the pin that's pushed?

65GGvert

Most of the wires on that left hand connector go to the headlights or rollover switch for the lights. The red wire that could cause your problem is in the right hand connector. You should be able to find this problem very easily by connecting your negative meter to chassis ground. Measure at the battery, then the horn relay red wire, then the fuse connector block. When it's completely missing it should be easy to trace. You could have a loose connection in the ignition switch. Don't overlook the possibility that you don't have a good ground to the frame from the battery through the starter and engine bolts. When you find someone to troubleshoot, here's a wiring diagram in case they need it.

65hihp

Hint- Someone from this board would probably offer to come over and lend a hand, if we had any clue who you are and where you are. Everyone in this thread has listed their location in their profile, except one.



OK, Long Island NY, going to have to defer to another member to assist you. PS, when my car went deader than kelsey's nuts like you describe, my solenoid had shorted out. Put in a new one, and bam! Rolling!

Frankie the Fink

Wouldn't be the first road trip I've taken to help out a forum member

Slowhand63

Popped the connector, pulled the pin out the best I can, reconnected, no change. Checked the battery terminals - they seem fine - used a little emory cloth - reconnected. Also put the battery back on the charger - so far no luck. Next step is to get my voltmeter and to see if I can find where I'm losing power. Many thanks for the wiring diagram. Will repost with more info when I have more info (or not).

Sorry about not including my location - I'm a newbie in every sense of the word. First vette - new to the forum (or any forum for that matter). I'm located on the south shore of Long Island (NY) in Babylon.

Slowhand63

Good 12v at the horn relay (at least I know where that is now - will replace in the future and see if it cures my horn problem). The pushed in pin has a dark green wire going to it. Traced it best I can - looks like it goes to the lights (likely the motor that opens them) - but access/visibility makes it a bit challenging...

Slowhand63

Struck out getting some help. Went over the Benchmark Restorations (recommended by NCRS Regional President) - apparently everyone is out enjoying the weekend - no one to be found on this beautiful Saturday. Also cruised by Corvette Restorations - closed also. Back to the wiring diagram and my voltmeter. Any forum members close by?

RK-TECT

Another Forum member recently had a similar problem. He was cruising on I-95 to meet me and a few other CF members at a cruise-in when his car went completely dead in the Express Lane during rush hour. I suggested that he check the firewall connectors and battery terminals, but they checked out fine. He had to call a flatbed to take him to his mechanic's shop (he missed a good cruise-in... bummer). I was surprised to hear that the culprit was a bad alternator. So now you have something else to check out.

, Roger