by eddie_c Thu Jul 26, 2012 11:13 amhello, new to the site. i bought a 69 handibus a few months ago and its been running great until last week, i was on the highway and it just died completely. no power, nothing. after going through things on the side of the road for about 20 min or so, i jiggled the wires going to the ignition switch and boom, it fired right up. drove it back home, no problem. well this past weekend i drove it about 20 miles and it died just as i was pulling into a friends driveway. this time i jiggled the wires and nothing. went to napa and got a new ignition switch and cylinder, hooked it up and nothing. finally after a few hours of testing things with the volt meter, i was stumped and just started jiggling wires and it started right up. i've checked my ground, and almost everything else and its killing me because i'm sure its something simple but its really got me puzzled. any ideas or input would be great.
3 posters
electrical problem?
eddie_c- Number of posts : 8
Location : norfolk, va.
Registration date : 2012-07-26
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12245
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
The test would be do you have headlights when the problem starts,,,,the whole circuit starts at the positive battery cable on the battery,,,,,the cable goes to the big terminal on the starter solenoid,,,,,there is a fusible link wire that then connects to a 12 gauge wire that goes from there to behind the fuse box,,,,,then it goes to the ignition switch ,,,,through the ballast resistor and finally to the positive side of the coil,,,,so start at the battery,,,,see that the negative cable is tight on the engine,,,,,I would say the connector on the back of the fuse box is #1 suspect,,,,but see if juice is getting to the fuses,,,,,and what is actually dead? lights,,,starter,,,,or it just cranks and wont fire up?
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12245
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
unscrew the fusebox and look behind it,,,,,these spade terminals are the battery and ignition switch wires,,,see what condition they are in,,,,,check to see if the rivets are still tight,,,, and if that fusible link on the starter solenoid blows,,,,,the whole truck looses power,,,,,
HandiVanMan- Number of posts : 1868
Location : Calhoun, Ga
Age : 58
Registration date : 2010-04-11
Welcome to Vintage-Vans!!! You're in good hands with Don.
eddie_c- Number of posts : 8
Location : norfolk, va.
Registration date : 2012-07-26
Ok, pulled off the fuse box and the rivet for the ignition terminal is loose. Should i try to rplace the fuse box? Pretty much all the fuse terminals are rusty/ corroded anyway.
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12245
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
Pretty much all 45 year old fuse boxes are like that,,,,,get 2 universal blocks,,,,hook the battery wire to one,,,ignition switch to the other,,,,transfer each equipment wire one by one to the block it belongs on,,,,some fuses are hot all the time,,,,some are key operated,,,,or go to the wrecking yard and find one you like,,,,,the little one here is a Nissan,,,,,
eddie_c- Number of posts : 8
Location : norfolk, va.
Registration date : 2012-07-26
Cool, thanks for the help! By the way, what do you do with the two relayson those universal blocks?
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12245
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
I think your horn relay is mounted separately from the fuse box, but you would have 2 flashers plugged into your fuse box,,,,,they both would just need female spade terminals plugged into them,,,,the turn signal flasher would need power from the turn signal fuse on the new IGNITION box and the Hazard light flasher from the fuse on the new BATTERY fuse box,,,,and the other wire on each flasher goes up to the turn signal switch,,,,,,
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12245
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
And there are brand new hot rod wiring kits out there for hundreds of dollars,,,,
donivan65- Governor
- Number of posts : 12245
Location : San Diego, California
Registration date : 2008-05-12
I think you got this set up,,,,,
eddie_c- Number of posts : 8
Location : norfolk, va.
Registration date : 2012-07-26
Yeah, thats it. I think i'm gonna hit the junkyard this weekend and see what i can find.
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