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Interior electrical problems

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  • Darren61

    Interior electrical problems

    I posted this message on CorvetteForum, but I thought I would ask here as well. I just joined NCRS with my '61 purchase last week, so I am still learning a lot about this car. Here is my problem:

    At idle with the brake depressed, lights still dim considerably to the point that the interior lights almost completely out. The radio dies as before, and headlights dim. The car still runs during this time, so spark plugs are still firing. When I take my foot off the brake, power does come back, although not 100%, due to the brake lights turning off. The problem seems to get worse the longer I am driving in stop and go traffic (and therefore idling a lot more than usual.)

    One small quirk that might be relevant: the "Beam" indicator light is slightly illuminated even though the hi-beams are not switched on. (When I do turn the hi-beams on, the indicator light gets brighter--the "Brake" indicator light does not show this behavior)

    The ammeter indicates that the car is charging in the normal way, at least as described in other posts--the voltage regulator change seemed to clear up those issues. After starting--positive charging, at idle--negative discharge, most driving just around 0. If I kill all electrical draw at idle, the ammeter will show a reading around 0.

    If I shift the car into neutral instead of drive, electrical power returns, although again not to 100%. Once I start moving, all the lights and radio come on strong.

    The car idles very smoothly at 500 rpms when the PowerGlide is in gear and about 800 rpms if I shfit it into neutral.

    My guess is that a 500 rpm idle is not fast enough to produce a strong enough charge from the generator to keep everything at full power. I am not sure why the system does not draw from the battery, and then recharge it when moving. Maybe the battery is on its way out? Perhaps it has something to do with the "Beam" light creating a short circuit and sucking off too much power. Or is it as simple as increasing the idle to a higher level to get the generator working harder?

    I have read in some of the NCRS archives about a "dancing fuel guage" problem caused by a poor shared ground circuit. I have not noticed my fuel guage dancing in this way, but it has never read 100% full, although it has been accurate across the 3/4 span it operates. Could all this becaused by faulty grounds? If that's the case, does the engine/distributor run of the same ground circuit, creating a potential stalling problem?

    Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all your help
  • Dave - NCRS#24235

    #2
    Re: Interior electrical problems

    The high beam indicator light indicates a grounding problem. The car has several ground lines to the frame and engine. Work your way through them, cleaning the ends as you go. Ten years ago, I went to an electrical contractor supply shop and got a lubricant that conducts electricity while preventing corrosion. I have coated all the connections on my 66 with it. It also makes it easier to disengage the connectors.

    After the grounds have all been cleaned and checked, be sure to clean and check BOTH ends of BOTH battery cables. Then check the battery. - Dave

    Comment

    • Mark L.
      Expired
      • January 1, 1996
      • 121

      #3
      Re: Interior electrical problems

      Darren,

      The dancing fuel gauge is merely one of the poor ground symptoms, I suspect you have more than one problem here. It sounds as though you may also have a bad headlight switch.

      A while back I wrote an article titled "Grounding 101" addressing C1 ground problems, I will e-mail it to you.

      C1's do not charge at idle. Your charging system seems to be working correctly.

      Comment

      • Bill Baird

        #4
        Re: Interior electrical problems

        A C1 is a bit out of my area (I tend more to the C3's), but I've seen the hi-beam light come on mysteriously when the lights weren't even turned on. This turned out to be caused by a blown fuse in another circuit, which somehow set up some kind of an odd ground-loop type of problem.

        A friend with a 1980 discovered this, and he told me about it when I had a similar problem on my 1975. I thought he was nuts when he suggested a fuse, but, sure enough, I had a blown fuse in my power window circuit. When I replaced the fuse, all was well. Most strange.

        Bill Baird

        Comment

        • Joe Fisher

          #5
          Re: Interior electrical problems

          I have to agree with the possible ground problems. The first thing you should do is have someone check the condition of the battery, if the battery is low, the generator will try to charge the battery, and what ever the generator has left of its rated output will be available to the accessories. For instance, if you have 35 amp generator, and the generator is using 20 amps to charge the battery, then only 15 amps is available to take care of other electrical loads. If the battery checks OK, make sure it is fully charged, then have someone with an inductive ampmeter, check the rated output of the generator, if the output is lower the specs., no matter what you do it will never be right. Sorry for the long answer, but these things must be checked first, regardless what car you are working on. Joe

          Comment

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