62 Electrical Issue (1 Viewer)

[GoatWorthy]

Reaching out for some help before taking to the mechanic.

Here's the issue... starts just fine and gauges (oil psi, volts, fuel, xmsn tach) are working UNTIL she warms up. Once she reaches operating temperature around 180 then all the gauges go out and she won't start until she cools down.

Amplifying info:

• Her temperature gauge has been out since I've owned her and is replaced by an off the shelf gauge mounted down below. It has one wire running from the back of the gauge into a fuze opening for power and an additional wire running through the firewall to radiator section. This remains operational when the other gauges go out.
• There has been something drawing from the battery that I haven't been able to locate. If she sits more than 5 days without a start then she is dead and has to be jumped.

I've check the fuzes and they all seem fine, but I know there isn't really a confirmed way of telling without actually checking.

Does it sound like a wire somewhere is shorting out once it is heated and expanding or something? Welcome to any ideas as I have a long weekend to troubleshoot before taking her in.

Thanks

 

[Ernboto]

A good trick to isolate the draw to use an amp meter at the battery when the vehicle is off. Ideally you would se zero or close too it. The radio will draw some if aftermarket and has memory presets. The clock will also draw as well as some lights. Pulling fuses will start reducing the draw. It sounds pretty significant since it will kill your battery if five days. If you end up pulling all the fuses start removing any accessory wires off the battery. That will help narrow things down.

 

[OSS]

So basically all electric disconnects when engine heats up.
That’s saying that everything that goes out has a common power source.

I’d check then double check the fusible link at the battery

 

[Ernboto]

That’s probably a great place to start. Disconnect and check resistance. Look for corrosion or a loose/damaged connector. The main fuse panel connector is another place to look but after inspecting the fusible link.

 

[GoatWorthy]

That was it! Didn’t even know that was a thing.

Tomorrow I’m gonna look into replacing it. It looks different than what I found online - it has these round plastic connections, so I’ll do a little more research and get after it.

Thanks guys. Really appreciate it

 

[Ernboto]

Was it high resistance or shorting together?

After you repair it, look for something still drawing power. Sometimes they go bad from mechanical damage or something in the circuit shorted or drew too much power at some point. Don’t assume that was the only issue.

 

[GoatWorthy]

Not sure what you mean, “high resistance or shorting together”.

No there is definitely something else going on that’s drawing power. I’m going to get after this fuse and then move on to looking for that.

I did find something else interesting. While checking all wires I could find I came across one that was disconnected. It was clear it went to some sort of blower mounted to drivers side right in front of the firewall. When I plugged it in it started blowing. I was going to dig into the manual, but any ideas?

 

[4Cruisers]

That's the carburetor cooling fan, even though there's no carburetor in the FJ62.

 

[GoatWorthy]

Ahhhh. That’s why it’s disconnected.

Ok se here is what mine looks like. I cleaned out with contact cleaner, but should I replace it altogether?

I can’t tell if it’s best to remove all the wrapping and start over or just go minimal… thoughts?