Fuse Box, Fuse Holders Rust, 66 Coronet

[SassyPants]

Hello Team, it is me again with Elec problems. I think I have found the issues that are causing my Instrument lights to Not Work. The fuse holders on the bottom side of the fuse box are corroded/rusty on two fuse holders. I am not getting any power out of the two Fuse Holders near the E Brake, even with the key on. I checked the fuses, they are good. I can see rust on the fuse holders. So the question, do those fuse holders come out of the fuse block so that I can clean or replace them or am I in for a new fuse Block? Thanks in advance, B.

 

[Jerry Hall]

Fine sandpaper, steel wool, time and patience. Retest the fuses out of the fuse block.

 

[JimCoronette]

Hello Team, it is me again with Elec problems. I think I have found the issues that are causing my Instrument lights to Not Work. The fuse holders on the bottom side of the fuse box are corroded/rusty on two fuse holders. I am not getting any power out of the two Fuse Holders near the E Brake, even with the key on. I checked the fuses, they are good. I can see rust on the fuse holders. So the question, do those fuse holders come out of the fuse block so that I can clean or replace them or am I in for a new fuse Block? Thanks in advance, B.

The fuseholder clips are crimped onto the wires. I think you can squeeze them through the back of the holder, but if the brittle, rusted, 54 year old metal breaks you're screwed.

As Jerry mentioned, you have to surgically clean them up.

 

[SassyPants]

Thanks All. I took out the Fuse Box, made myself a small round Sand Paper roll and just manually worked it out. SUCCESS, I now have power to those lines when they are supposed to have power. Thank you.

Now, what I have is power to the light switch and to the posts where there is supposed to be power when switch is on/off. The Test light brightens and dims when I have switch on and rotating the Light Switch handle. I checked the SM and found which connector powers the Dash Lights at the circuit board and I have power there at the appropriate time. Still no light on the Dash Lights. That said, now I do have the E Brake light and that switch works. . I am hopeful that the Circuit Board is not toast, but it shall be what it shall be. Tomorrow is another day and I am getting much better at reading these Wiring Diagrams. Discovered that a few highlighters helps a ton to trace the line. Anyway, thanks again to you all. If you can think of a trick with the Circuit Board, I am all eyes and ears. Best, B.

 

[matthon]

My dash lights didn't work on one side.

Spun the headlight switch back and forth multiple times over a few drives, work fine now.

 

[SassyPants]

Thank you to all. To Quote G.F. Handel's Messiah (1741), "Hallelujah" (repeat many times). . The lights in the Instrument Panel work!!!! As well, now the Lights in the Rear Inside Quarter covers work (convert). Wooooohoooo. What I did was move the Central Wiring Harness hook up, the round one, back a bit which obviously helped make the connection. So, I have Dash Lights, not very bright lights, but I have dash lights. Tomorrow's project is to work the Brake/back up lights before buttoning it up. I am giddy with happiness.

Just a question, is it worth doing the LED lights to replace Original Equipment New lights for brightness? Would want them to be dimmable. ideas? Thanks B.

 

[mopar 3 B]

Now you need to find the water leak that caused the problem to begin with. If my memory is correct the light switch is directly over the fuse box.

 

[Ranger16]

The fuse holders on the bottom side of the fuse box are corroded/rusty on two fuse holders.

Is it rust or oxidation? The fuse holders should be brass (I think).

Maybe some Deoxit will help.
https://caig.com/deoxit-d-series/

 

[chtampa]

Is it rust or oxidation? The fuse holders should be brass (I think).

Maybe some Deoxit will help.
https://caig.com/deoxit-d-series/

Any derusting liquid. I have mixed a container and set the fusebox in it until it quit reacting. Dunk it in water or something to neutralize the acid and then spray it with conducting electrical spray and dry it and bolt it back in and forget about it.

 

[SassyPants]

Thank you again to all. It was corrosion, you are correct. A bit of sand paper and it shined right back up. Soooo, I am delighted, if not giddy to that that monkey off my back. Tomorrow afternoon it will be working on the Tail lights, back up lights and such. What I do remember when I did the tests on the Round Connector was that the Drivers side Turn signal was blinking. Nothing on the riders side. I assume that happens until the Steering wheel in in with the connections for the Turn signal hardware in the steering wheel. At least there is flashing current to one side. More to learn and thank you to all of you. best, B.

 

[SassyPants]

Oh, I forgot to answer 3 B. The leak was 30 years in a barn. Now it has a new life, as best as I can provide for her. You can see the pic from the barn some 5 years ago. Then from the Blast Booth and just a couple of weeks ago. Here are the pics.

 

[SassyPants]

Hope to have Engine Start this weekend.

 

[SassyPants]

It is ALIVE!! Engine start today!!!

 

[Moparnocar]

It is ALIVE!! Engine start today!!!

Awesome! Feels good, don't it

 

[Photon440]

Thank you to all. To Quote G.F. Handel's Messiah (1741), "Hallelujah" (repeat many times). . The lights in the Instrument Panel work!!!! As well, now the Lights in the Rear Inside Quarter covers work (convert). Wooooohoooo. What I did was move the Central Wiring Harness hook up, the round one, back a bit which obviously helped make the connection. So, I have Dash Lights, not very bright lights, but I have dash lights. Tomorrow's project is to work the Brake/back up lights before buttoning it up. I am giddy with happiness.

Just a question, is it worth doing the LED lights to replace Original Equipment New lights for brightness? Would want them to be dimmable. ideas? Thanks B.

LED lighting is popular, but the dimming feature doesn't work as well as incandescent bulbs. Rotating the dimmer will give you slightly less light and then they flicker off, not going down to a minimal glow like you're used to. Worse, different bulbs will shut off at their own rate so you can have parts of the dash lit and parts in the dark when trying to go dimmer.

Commercial lighting in buildings take care of the problem with pulse-width-modulation, turning the lights on and off rapidly to reduce light output but doing it so quickly that your eye doesn't notice the flicker. You could also use a constant currant reduction power supply but it's still another circuit to install.

I have put in 12V led bulbs in dashboards and like the effect, you just have to live with not being able to dial the brightness down all the way. I don't mind it if the instruments are bright.

 

[Ranger16]

Good to know. Thanks for the info.