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flex all of your ground wires while checking them
Quote:
Originally Posted by timmyc
TriX has a great suggestion: Check the grounds. All of them!
I seem to remember swapping a motor years ago on an older Bronco and we didn't tighten the ground strap from the block to the firewall and I was having all sorts of weird happening. Turns out that's what it was. We had only put it on finger tight, so when we were looking around, it looked like all was well. Only after putting a wrench on it did the ground actually ground. Coincidentally, I just had another ground issue that was making my lights wonky. Grounding is very important in the electrical loop!
Welcome and good luck!  |
I had a similar issue with my '73 Volvo 142 back in 1976. It would drive fine, then sputter, and the lights would flicker, and suddenly be OK again. After a dozen incidences, I put it in the local Volvo shop for that problem, and one other (Bosch fuel injection surging at idle), and they couldn't find any electrical problem, even after miles of test drives.
Within twenty minutes of leaving the shop, the sputtering/flickering occurred again, so I drove to my Grandfather's house to park it (and borrow his car). I went directly to Radio Shack and bought my first good multimeter, and long test leads & clips. Then, I proceeded to test every ground in the car. I found nothing wrong, so I asked my Grandad what he thought.
He said that he'd disconnect/reconnect all electrical grounds one at a time. He reached over and grabbed the main battery ground in preparation to disconnect, and moved it about two inches, when my meter showed no continuity. I then removed the cable (good condition on both ends, with a light blue plastic sheathing...I can see it in my mind), and stripped the sheathing off of it; there was a corroded section at the mid-point of the cable, with zero corrosion showing elsewhere.
If I, or the Volvo techs had simply flexed the cable far enough, the problem would've been spotted. Afterwards, I figured that the sputtering/flickering incidences had all occurred on roads bumpier than the smooth city streets that the techs test-drove on.
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01 BMW X5 E53,3.0i-5L40E, 7/13/01
topas-blau,Leder-grau,"resto-project car"
Here:
14 Lexus ES350,3.5L-U660E
09 HHR Panel,2.2L-4T45E
04 Chevy 2500HD,6.0L-4L80E
98 GMC Sierra 1500,5.7L-4L60E
Gone:
66 Chevelle Malibu 2dr ht.,327>441c.i.-TH350>PGlide/transbrake
08 Cobalt Coupe,2.2L-4T45E
69 & 75 C10s,350c.i.-TH350
86 S10,2.8L-700R4
73 Volvo 142,2.0L-MT4
72 & 73 VW SuperBeetles,1.6l-MT4
64 VW,1.2l-MT4
67 Dodge Monaco 500 2dr ht.,383c.i.-A727
56 Chevy 210 4dr,265c.i.-PGlide
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