_____
From: Tom Laferriere [mailto:]
Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2008 12:18 PM
To: edprice@cox.net
Subject: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-20119] Electrical Problem driving me
crazy!
Gentleman,
Got a problem with a 1962. The whole car loses power, but the engine will
turn over with the solenoid button. Cleaned all battery connections and
changed solenoid to a known working one. Cleaned connections on regulator.
For no consistant reason, the whole car dies and there is nothing I can
"jiggle" to make come back on. Then, it just powers up again when it feels
like it. There is no bilge blower set up.
Has anything similar happened to anyone here?
Thanks,
Tom Laferriere
401.651.2295
Remember that electrical problems are always a "circuit" problem. For the
electric to do its stuff, it has to be made to flow where and when we want
it. Everything starts at the battery, and it all has to also flow back into
the battery. Two ideas:
1.
If the engines dies, is it really "the whole car?" No headlights? No
brake lights when you step on the brake? If the whole car goes off, then the
problem is in your very primary power distribution, probably the battery
terminals, battery connectors & leads, battery ground or first common power
distribution point.
2.
If the engine dies, but you still have all your auxillary stuff,
like horn and lights, then the problem is in the ignition circuit. That runs
from ignition switch to coil to breaker points to engine block and back to
the battery. Take a voltmeter when this happens and see how far the power
goes. Is there power to the high side of the coil? Is there power to the low
side? Are the points open or closed? If open, the voltage should drop to
near zero when the points close (or you short them with a screwdriver).
Common problems are bad switches, broken or intermittent wires, bad coil
(can short across the terminals, can short to case, can go open), bad points
or bad capacitor (condenser).
Most all of these problems are also vibration and temperature dependent;
that is, they wait for the right temperature or bump, then act up, and
temporarily fix themselves after a bit of cool-down or another bump. You
have to be ready to start diagnosis quickly, then move along methodically,
without causing much disruption yourself, until you find the bad part of the
circuit.
Ed Price
El Cajon, CA USA
61 Rust Guppy
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GORDON IMPORTS INC.. The world's largest source of Amphicar parts and accessories. Visit our new website today.
Linear Mode
