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125 Posts
The Spider had been sitting thru this winter's 37 degrees and pouring mid-Atlantic rains for several weeks. In a garage, but the dampness prevailed. There were times the concrete floor temperature was below the dew point and water was simply condensing upon contact. Water was dripping off any metal parts that were also below the dew point.
Anyway, I jump in, turn the key, and nada but clicking. Odd, the battery was on trickle charge and the cable connections were clean and tight. I decided to employ the time honored firm rap on the starter, and success! But the success was tempered by a wildly gyrating tach with misfires. No joy. Obviously a ground issue. But where?
I pulled papajam's electrical diagrams, focusing on the starter circuit. A black wire runs from the ignition switch (start position?) to the spade connection on the starter. I decided to clean all connections on the starter. After referring to Houdini's Contortionist's Positions of Absolute Pain, I removed the overflow tank and dove in. Not as bad as I had anticipated, but I wished my arm was about 6" longer. I was able to clean all connections, but cleaning the inside of the female spade connector was a mystery. I ended up blasting with contact cleaner. Anyway, I reassembled, turned the key and VROOM!
The car ran great. In fact, better than before. Additionally, my dash lights went from dull to bright. The tach returned to normal.
THE QUESTION: What the hell (or why the hell) is that black wire (spade connector) so centric to so many systems? A failure in that one wire and the car essentially shuts down.
Anyway, I jump in, turn the key, and nada but clicking. Odd, the battery was on trickle charge and the cable connections were clean and tight. I decided to employ the time honored firm rap on the starter, and success! But the success was tempered by a wildly gyrating tach with misfires. No joy. Obviously a ground issue. But where?
I pulled papajam's electrical diagrams, focusing on the starter circuit. A black wire runs from the ignition switch (start position?) to the spade connection on the starter. I decided to clean all connections on the starter. After referring to Houdini's Contortionist's Positions of Absolute Pain, I removed the overflow tank and dove in. Not as bad as I had anticipated, but I wished my arm was about 6" longer. I was able to clean all connections, but cleaning the inside of the female spade connector was a mystery. I ended up blasting with contact cleaner. Anyway, I reassembled, turned the key and VROOM!
The car ran great. In fact, better than before. Additionally, my dash lights went from dull to bright. The tach returned to normal.
THE QUESTION: What the hell (or why the hell) is that black wire (spade connector) so centric to so many systems? A failure in that one wire and the car essentially shuts down.
