[DeTomaso] Recurring Electrical Problems (was Dear Boyd...)

wkooiman at earthlink.net wkooiman at earthlink.net
Wed Aug 25 23:44:07 EDT 2010


My problems...

Electrical problems...

About 2 weeks after I got my car, it started smoking into the cabin.  I quickly shut it off and coasted to the side of the road.  The smoking stopped.  It smelled electrical.  I couldn't find anything wrong, so I started it back up, and headed for home.  I made it 100 feet or so, and it started smoking again.  This time, I could tell it was coming from the front trunk.  The previous owner had run wires from the battery cables, through 2 inline fuses, and to dual SPAL radiator fans (which were mounted backwards and wired backwards which works, but with curved blades, they don't work worth a damn, but that's another story).  One of the inline fuses had melted, but it didn't blow.

Analysis - previous owner mod, technically okay, even though the routing was unprofessional and the fuse carrier was defective - not DeTomaso's fault.

About 2 weeks after that, I adjusted the carburetor, and took it for a spin.  When I gave it some gas, the tach went to zero, and the engine died.  I left it on the side of the road for the night (that was hard).  I picked it up the next day by walking (3-4 miles) to the car with a tool box.  I ran a hot wire from the battery, over the top of the car, to the coil.  It started right up, and I drove it home.  And, of course, once I got home I removed my hack.  The car died because when I adjusted the carburetor, I must have knocked the electric choke wire off the carburetor.  The choke was wired to the alternator w/out a fuse.  When I hit the gas, the wire grounded to the intake, melted the insulation, melted through the insulation of a wire it was touching - the tach wire, and melted the insulation on the tach wire all the way to the dash until it shorted out the hot wire to the coil.

Analysis - previous owner mod, technically okay, but it should have had a fuse on the choke wire.  Also - current owner should have been more careful.

About 6 months later, I was replaced the headliner.  I accidentally shorted out the dome light wire as I was working on the back section of the headliner.  It started smoking, but I stopped it before it melted through anywhere.

Analysis - Why didn't the fuse blow?  I don't know.  Maybe the wiring loom has an issue due to the previous problems.  I've since checked the wires, and while there are some problems, they aren't near the dome light wiring.  Why didn't the current owner remove the battery cables?  Isn't he smarter than that?  Or does he think he's so good that he can work on a live electrical system?

Here's another:  My tail lights stopped working.  I forget the exact symptoms, but it turned out to be a short in the license plate area.

Analysis - SO Bill rocks.  Ask him an electrical question.  He'll know the answer.

Recurring problems:

1.  The fuse box doesn't hold the fuses tight enough.  After a while, they stop working.  If I twirl the fuses, they start working again.  Analysis?  Maybe I have cheap fuses?  Maybe the fuse box has been bent around too much and they don't hold tightly anymore?

2.  The dash lights weren't bright enough.  I added extra lights per the Space City project.  The extra lights are great, but I switched to Autometer gauges later on, so the fix was brief.

3.  The rocker switches for lights, etc. in the center console are poorly made.  I've broken several, and some of them were brand new, and they broke just by attaching blade connectors.  I wasn't pushing/pulling on them very hard.  They just cracked and fell apart.

Next project:

I'm installing the Pantera Electronics fuse box.  It is wonderfully made.  If it is 1/2 as good as I think it will be, I'll be a happy camper.  I plan on using all of the original DeTomaso parts, but I plan on replacing anything that is damaged.

My overall analysis:  There are issues with the stock Pantera wiring, especially if you include all of the components - switches, motors, etc.  The issues are slightly overstated and easily fixed, though, especially if you catch them before someone else fixes them with hackery.

-----Original Message-----
>From: JJD1010 at aol.com
>Sent: Aug 25, 2010 10:47 PM
>To: detomaso at realbig.com
>Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Dear Boyd - was Rookie needs help
>
>
>
> 
>In a message dated 8/25/2010 7:07:38 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
>mikeldrew at aol.com writes:
>
>A more valid question would be, "How many owners have recurring  
>electrical problems with systems that were not modified, or hacked in  
>some way?"   Chances are, the number would be very  small. 
> 
>____
> 
> 
>I drove a bone stock 74 Pantera ( I was the original owner ) daily  for 3 
>1/2 years and never had an electrical problem. In fact, the car never  had a 
>problem of any kind. I drove it in the heat of summer and the cold of  
>winter in Chicago. Once Panteras got thru the early problems of the 71-72  cars, 
>they were very reliable, provided they were maintained properly. 
> 
>Jeff
>6559
>
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