New parts on old truck... no electrical power.

Wiring, lights, heater controls, anything electrical..
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Gigabitdrew
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New parts on old truck... no electrical power.

Post by Gigabitdrew »

I have a 1964 W200 with original 318 4 speed. It has what appears to be some new parts on it, distributor, coil, and starter. I have put a new battery on it and it is dead. The starter relay was a bit rusty, so I picked up a NOS replacement and swapped it out. Still, turn the key and I got nothing.

My next step is to just start swapping cables for new ones...

Thoughts?

-gig
1964 D100 - Yard Art Today, Transportation Tomorrow
1964 W200 - No, two is not an addiction

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Hobcobble
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Re: New parts on old truck... no electrical power.

Post by Hobcobble »

Gigabitdrew wrote:I have a 1964 W200 with original 318 4 speed. It has what appears to be some new parts on it, distributor, coil, and starter. I have put a new battery on it and it is dead. The starter relay was a bit rusty, so I picked up a NOS replacement and swapped it out. Still, turn the key and I got nothing.

My next step is to just start swapping cables for new ones...

Thoughts?

-gig
Have you pulled your firewall connectors and cleaned them up?
Have you confirmed that the ignition switch is good? Have you
reviewed the appropriate wiring diagram to trace all the wires
and confirm proper connections?
http://www.sweptline.com/tech/62_65wire.jpg
John :idea :2cents

Johninky
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Re: New parts on old truck... no electrical power.

Post by Johninky »

Could just be a bad ign sw. Easy enough to remove from dash and then to check with a test light or just by "jumping" connections.

Duster340
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Re: New parts on old truck... no electrical power.

Post by Duster340 »

Time to start learning a little about electrical system testing,otherwise you could replace half the truck with no resolution to your problem.first,do you have battery voltage to the big starter terminal.then with trans in neutral and preferably with wheels off the ground, do you have battery voltage to the small terminal with key in crank position?

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Gigabitdrew
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Re: New parts on old truck... no electrical power.

Post by Gigabitdrew »

The good news... I put on a new starter relay... and I can bridge the posts to get the motor to turn over. The not so good news... I pulled one off the plug wires and connected a separate spark plug to it... when I attempt to start it the plug doesn't spark. Ok, maybe I should just replace the coil, but I've read about folks taking the electronic ignition system off of a newer 318 and using them on their a318 engines... so i'm wondering, should I just get the thing up and running and then change out the things I want to upgrade, or would now be a good time to dig into this.

-gig
1964 D100 - Yard Art Today, Transportation Tomorrow
1964 W200 - No, two is not an addiction

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Re: New parts on old truck... no electrical power.

Post by dodgeboykim »

Gigabitdrew wrote:The good news... I put on a new starter relay... and I can bridge the posts to get the motor to turn over. The not so good news... I pulled one off the plug wires and connected a separate spark plug to it... when I attempt to start it the plug doesn't spark. Ok, maybe I should just replace the coil, but I've read about folks taking the electronic ignition system off of a newer 318 and using them on their a318 engines... so i'm wondering, should I just get the thing up and running and then change out the things I want to upgrade, or would now be a good time to dig into this.

-gig

Before replacing crap make sure theirs power to coil. The points are working. Basic troubleshooting . To start an engine is a series of events. Figure out each step and make sure the step you are checking is responding as it should. :thinking

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Gigabitdrew
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Re: New parts on old truck... no electrical power.

Post by Gigabitdrew »

dodgeboykim wrote:Before replacing crap make sure theirs power to coil. The points are working. Basic troubleshooting . To start an engine is a series of events. Figure out each step and make sure the step you are checking is responding as it should. :thinking
No doubt... i'll start with making sure the coil is providing a charge and go from there. I was wondering if I should/could go ahead and update the distributor from one using points to an electronic one. I'm thinking that i'll just work with what I've got... and i'll worry about upgrading parts and pieces later.

-gig
1964 D100 - Yard Art Today, Transportation Tomorrow
1964 W200 - No, two is not an addiction

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Gigabitdrew
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Re: New parts on old truck... no electrical power.

Post by Gigabitdrew »

Well, it would seem that I need to just bite the bullet and buy a wiring harness. I traced the wiring from the battery to the instrument panel using a volt meter... still had power... BUT nearly all of the wires are broke, frayed, spliced, or missing?!?! :banghead

I may only need the cab portion of the wiring harness. The wiring harness for the engine seems all there and pretty easy to follow, but what is behind the firewall and under the dash is amazingly rough! I don't know if someone was 'fixing' something, or attempting to upgrade/add components and then gave up and ripped it all out.. but at this point it would make life a lot easier, and make me feel a lot better, if I put in some new wiring.

Now, I see all of these kits for sale... and most use a fuse box, something that my old truck didn't have. It seems pretty straight forward, does anyone have any suggestions or words of wisdom? I'm going to do something one way or another, just can't leave it like this.

-gig
1964 D100 - Yard Art Today, Transportation Tomorrow
1964 W200 - No, two is not an addiction

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Re: New parts on old truck... no electrical power.

Post by swptln »

The biggest challenge with the 68 and earlier trucks is the rubber bulkheads for the wiring. There all molded rubber on the wire terminals, so replacing them can be a challenge. If your going with an aftermarket kit then you can just eliminate them.
Or if you can find someone with a good original harness and go that route, which would be the quickest and easiest.
Mark D.

61-71 Dodge Truck Association
http://www.sweptlinesunlimited.com


1968 W200 Sweptline
1969 D100 Utiline
1993 D250 Club Cab

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