hey guys was about to head out this afternoon for home with the car for its "maiden" longer distance drive and had this new list of problems pop up. im preety lost on most of them. take a look and see if you can spot whats wrong? 1) ive gota chip on one of the teeth on my starter drive so ive gota find a new one because its jambing and locking the motor up tight enough that ive gota pull the starter off and put it back on to get it to work. i know this because ive done it 4 times in the last two days. easy fix just gota find it 2) with out touching ANYTHING, im talkin shut the car off turn it back on and havnt moved the front park lights will go from being off and not turning on when the headlights are on, to turn the key on and one of them is on, or the other and sometimes both. 3) the newest to pop up is that the brake lights stay on when the car is on, shut it off and no brake lights my pedal is way stiff like stand on it stiff, but it stops just fine. im thinking that i have to much fluid in the system and that would account for a way to stiff pedal and the presure being high enough to leave the brake lights lit up 4) the front left brake grabs HARD, but i think thats just an adjusting thing my real problem is that when i go backwards in reverse it locks up the front brakes? 5)as you could see in a previous post about my ignition switch its being a problem. this is another shut the car off and the problems there, shut it off again and maybe its fixed maybe its not. i put a brand new switch in and i still have to hold it between start and on most of the time. the wire is tight on both sides and new. but it does go threw a w****d loom of other wires so maybe thers something wrong there? i ran an aligator clip cord from the battery to the ignition poll on the coil and it fixed it, but tried it again later and it was iffy. so those are my 5 problems, hopefully i can fix them in two weeks when i come back to work on the car but my budget is gone and im at a loss for all these problems that just come and go as they please. only happend once but i also turned the car on and it ran like **** almost dieing when i gave it gas, shut it off and turn it back on and its fine. im thinking most of these problems have got to be wiring gremlines but im not finding any lose ends or anything? does anybody have a super simple wiring diagram for a 53 ford? all i need is lights and ignition i dont know why this is being so difficult. sigh thanx tim
Unfortunately, simple diagrams are all that's in the manual. I'm flipping through a '49-'52 F series manual and the diagrams aren't even proper schematics. It definitely sounds like you've got some wiring melted together. The jumper to the coil may be hard on your points if used over a long period of time. I'll keep reading and see if I can find some commonality in you electrical problems from these diagrams. Flatman
In a town as large as Lincoln ... there has to be a real Starter shop ... Easy fix ... or just find another ... unless you really enjoy jacking it up and removing the starter ...
i think ive found a starter im going to go check it out today. the starter i have now is actualy preety damn good its just that one tooth thanks for the continued searching on the wiring problems. on the brake/brake light problems does it just sound like ive got to much fluid or just need to bleed them and ive got some air in the line? thanx guys it means alot, this now my ONLY "running" car so ive gota get it drivable like yesterday lol tim
Check the stop light switch with an ohmeter with the wires off. It should be mounted on the frame under the master cylinder at the tee fitting. The stop light switch, dash lights, dome light get their power from a 30amp breaker under the dash. This also feeds the headlight switch. Sorry I haven't got a scanner, I'd send you the relevent pages from the book. The front brakes grabbing sounds like an adjustment issue, and could cause the pedal to be stiff. Lining to drum clearance should be .010" and the pedal free travel should be 1/4" to 1/2". My manual lists 6 different types of drum brakes, any clue as to what type are on your truck for adjusting procedures? Flatman
sounds like that breaker is connected to almost all of my electrical problems, just misses the ignition switch to coil possible proble. but the switch is on the dash so it could also be connected to that breaker. how do i go about checking to see if this breaker is ok? how do i fix it? im back in lincoln 3 hours away so i cant just look at it the brakes are stock 1953 customline sedan brakes, just all new stuff, i think if i bleed them out and play with the adjustent on that drivers front brake i should be back to ok with them. thanx again guys keep the ideas for fixes comin, i want to have as many ideas as possible so when i go back to fix it i can keep hammering away at it in the 12 hours ill have to fix it if one idea doesnt work. right now im thinking bleed/adjust brakes and check that breaker thanx tim
Take a multimeter with you when you go, as well as lots of spare wire. The breaker should have continuity all the time unless it overheats and the contacts open. I'd be looking for wires rubbed through or melted together. The headlight switch may be at fault as well, or at least the wiring to it. I have a '54 car headlight switch in the garage I'll look for and see if it has any internals that may screw up. Trying to back off the front brake that's grabbing sounds like a good step, It sounds like it's too tight and self energizing when you back up. Will you be able to bleed the brakes there? The alternating headlight operation sounds like a loose connection at the switch or high beam footswitch, or at the lights themselves. Dim lights are usually from bad grounds. Flatman Ps. How's the weather in Lincoln? My wife's from there
hmm ill have to check all that i guess, its almost entirely new wires so i cant image something melted already, ill check the head light switch connections and that breaker connection before i start teraing the tape off the budled wires Ps. How's the weather in Lincoln? My wife's from there[/QUOTE] bout 80 and humid lol tim
After reading your thread a few times it seems you must have wires touching somewhere since you get park lights to come on when you turn the ignition switch on? How does your ignition have anything to do with the headlamp switch? You mention having to hold the ignition switch between run and start to get it to run would indicate there is something wrong there. There has to be some wires rubbed through or touching to cause these wierd feedback issues. Check the ignition switch with an ohm meter (wires off) to see if the batt terminal has continuity with the run in the run position, then check the start position, etc. get that right then make sure the wires go to the right terminals this at least would rule out the switch as an issue. check the breaker for continuity (battery disconnected) and any signs of loose wires that could overheat the breaker. Use a jumper across the breaker for test purposes only to see if the breaker is bad. It might be a good ideal when jumping across the breaker that the wire from one side be removed and the jumper attached to the wire detached from the breaker. Check operation with jumper in place. Check for good battery grounds, engine ground and body ground. You mentioned new wires did you replace all the cars wiring or just some?
most of your brakle problems including the light may a hose (left front) that has swollen almost shut. Your foot forces fluid to the wheels but the brake shoe springs dont force the fluid back to the master. Get new hoses. The wiring? Just hot wire the car and drive it home. Be sure the points are screwed down tight.
any body have a picture of what this breaker looks like? again cars far away and im not going to be able to just look at it right this second. the battery is new and so are the pos/neg wires and fittings, there all good i put in a brand new ignition switch so its not in the switch ALL but maybe some random pieces are brand new wires run by the previous owner. he said he bought a new wiring harness and replace each wire one at a time to make sure he didnt mess it up. he said after he got it in everything worked fine but that was a good 5 years ago and its been sitting in the garage since. the only non-new wires that ive been able to spot are under the dash towards the side with all the switches, its so tight i didnt realy get a chance to see were they were. the "old" wiring looks great and it apears that its only 5 or so inches of old wire and then connected to the new wiring. im now wondering if were the old wires are bundled and connect to the new wires they are some how messing each other up? the igntion is all new wires and switches but i would have to asume the old wires go to the light and ect switches right near there. though because everything looks tight, good, and w****d im thinking its either that breaker or a melted wires in one of the taped up bundles. though it seems unlikely that the brand new wire would already be melted but i suppose its a possiblity. sorry for the ramble, some body gota pic of that breaker? im having a hard time pictureing what im supposed to do thanx guys tim
any way i can check that hose? it doesnt lock up and hold it just grabs harder then the others. and as far as hot wiring it i put a new switch in so it should be fine. if its not working right with a new switch then hotwiring it with out running all new wires isnt going to do anything different
The breaker should look like a can with two studs one should have BAT in the insulator near one of the studs and a battery feed attached and the other would feed the load side of the breaker. If you can follow the battery feed into the car one should go to the breaker.
The breakers in the manual look like a small aluminum box with two posts sticking out from a plastic base. the book shows it as being a 30amp breaker. There may be a gl*** style fuse inside the headlight switch held with br*** or steel spring clips. They get corroded and the fuse sometimes loses contact (seen this on Ford tractors) I don't think a collapsed brake hose holding pressure at the wheel cylinder won't hold the brake light switch closed as it's at the master cylinder. Definitely dig into whatever old tape/loom is there. If he'd rewired it well he should have run new wires to the components, not spliced them into old harness. And you have to wonder why the new harness was needed in the first place. If something fried, it might have melted wiring out of sight. 80 degrees huh? It was around 50 degrees around here Supposed to be around 70 tomorrow Good luck, keep us posted, Flatman
so is a breaker something i test and mess with some peices and fix. or is it something i test and if its busted just replace? as far as the wiring he didnt melt anything he wanted to swap to an alternator and 12 volt and didnt think the old wires would hold the juice --though everybody now's 50's 6 volt wires are damn near industrail grade and will hold far more then 12 volts. thanx guys keep any random ideas youve got coming because if i try all this and it doesnt work and im left calling the car names itd be nice to have a few random ideas to try lol tim
The lights working or not and switching around when you shut off and restart sounds like intermittant grounds on those lights. I NEVER trust someone else's wiring splices, and I almost never splice wires, just rerun the whole length! The splices, unless they were wrapped (twisted) and soldered with Rosin Core solder are likely to be AFU. That's just general knowledge from years of doing it on a bunch of cars and trucks. Sorry I don't know your particular ride, but the basics are what jumps out at me!
yeah ill run threw the grounds and make sure its all good and tight, the only lights giving me a problem that i think its an electrical thing is the front markers and athe blinkres in general so maybe ill find something funky up front that will tweak all that back into the right order. i apreciate all the help guys on a second note, the only thing wrong with my starter is one little chip out of one of the teeth on the gear on the starter drive. if i find a junk starter with a good gear on it can i just swap it out? looks like the only thing thatd be stoping me is that wound spring looking thing bolted onto the end o the shaft? thanx tim
back to the top. replace the breaker if it doesnt work or are they fixable? were do you find one? im sure this is clear as water as soon as i lay under the dash but for now....
When a breaker goes it stays "open" no current will p*** through so it needs to be replaced if it does not reset when an over current or a short happens. They only cycle so many times before they fail. Most auto parts ought to have a breaker to replace yours.
You mention having to hold the ignition switch between run and start to get it to run would indicate there is something wrong there. [/QUOTE] Check the Balast Resister, not sure if the 53 even has them. But if so its prolly attached to the coil. Ceramix block with two attaching wires. If it goes bad, the car will not start unless you hold it in the run position. ie you will burn our your starter and prolly your points. remove the resister and look at the underside of it, pretty easy to tell if its bad/ corroided etc... about 7 dollars to boot.. Goodluck.. Neal0o
yeah id thought id that, i didnt seem to find any when i went hunting for one though :\ i think im going to check the connections to the back of the headlight switch, check the breaker, and if all of that is good run a new line from the ignition to the coil to see if it works--good god i should hope so :S and then start tearing into the looms to see whats wrong inside thanx guys tim
I can find no ballast resisitor in the factory schematic, but the there's no ignition switch in there either I wish I was down there to give you a hand, even have a spare starter. Any luck finding a drive? Don't forget to take a test light with ya, Flatman
Also check for grease on the brake that is grabbing. Grease on the shoes will make it grab; you'd think it would make it slip.....
yeah i think ive got a gear coming in the mail thats hopefully better then the one ive got already. and theres not any grease on the brake i checked it already thanx
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