Electrical problem

[Greg Glancy]

G'day, America, from the land downunder!As a new Catalina owner I am delighted to find this site.I have an intermittant electrical problem which is making life interesting, too interesting!!Occasionally the "alarm" sounds when the engine is running - water temp and oil are fine. I have then shut the motor down. Later I find that altho there is power to the control panel,(ie, temp and ammeter gauges are active, there is no start (ie. key on, no ignition "alarm", no reaction to push button). Bugger!However, if left uninvestigated, the problem disappears and everything returns to normal and works perfectly .........'til next time.An ancillary problem which I doubt is related is that the tacho works one of every five starts, altho there is always power to it.All the wiring and connections look fine.I have not pulled the thermostat or temp sender as I have not heard of these ever being a problem and my strong feeling is that it is a wiring issue.Anybody got any ideas where I might start?

 

[Rick]

Check your harness connectors

There is a harness between your engine and instrument panel. Its a bundle of wires with 8 pin plugs at each end (one near the engine and the other behind the instrument panel). The pins in these plugs get corroded and have poor contact. You can pull them apart and clean the pins. The male pins are rolled copper (or aluminum) with a slit that can be opened slightly with a sharp knife so that they have tighter contact when plugged back together.The best fix is to cut off the connectors and crimp on terminals and attach those to terminal strips.

 

[Greg Glancy]

Electrical problem - Many thanks, Rick.

Many thanks, Alemeda Rick, for your kind response. I much appreciate your time and advice.I have not had a close look at the connectors, but will do so now. I look forward to letting you know how it goes. Altho, with these "now it's fine, now it isn't" problems it is difficult to know.Thanks, mate.