My charger hates me!!!

[69wannabe]

I've had my car since 99 and have drove it on several 3 hour trips with basically no trouble. The last two weekends I have had to haul it home from town that only a half hour away. Last weekend the voltage regulator shorted out and burnt up and burnt the ignition wire up all the way back to the switch. Got me a one wire alternator and repaired the wiring and replaced the carb all at the same time. Car ran great and drove it to a car show yesterday and made a couple stops for gas and breakfast and all was well. It ran better than it has ran in awhile. Drove it into the show and backed it in and it was running great. Actually got me a trophy that was unexpected sine there were nicer cars there than mine but out of bout 60 cars/trucks only 3 mopars were there. Went to leave and click,click,click nothing. Tried to jump it at the relay and still nothing. I decided the starter was toast so I got a couple guys to help me push it off and it started up with a pop, pop,pop,pop. It sounded awful!! I really cant explain at this point what happened to it. Had to haul it home, Got it home and yanked the valve covers and one of my pushrods was gone. I got some roller rockers on it and the adjuster got loose and it just popped out when I turned the car off I guess. The cup part of the adjuster was broken in a couple of places but I got extras so I changed it out and got that situated. I went over all the adjusting nuts a made sure they were all tight. That still doesnt explain the starter flaking out on me.  I swapped the starter out this morning and I bumped it over with my remote starter button and it turned it over fine and I checked it with the key and it turned over fine with the key too so I guess maybe that part is fixed. Had to order a valley pan gasket for the intake and i'm gonna put some paint on the valve coners while I got them off so maybe it will run again in a day or two. I love my old car but lately I dont think it loves me back LOL!!

[charger500rt71]

AH THE JOY OF OWNING A OLD CAR.

[Cooter]

I hear they are selling brand new Challengers in your area. They usually give little trouble....All my junk acts just like you describe. They don't hate me, they are just old and I run 'em hard.

[Fred]

oooh! that's sad.   

[JB400]

Life's an adventure.  Why not do it in a Charger?

[Dino]

It doesn't hate you, it's merely trying to tell you that it needs more tlc.  Once you disturb the 40+ year old parts, you will make some other part jealous and now it wants its tlc as well.  It may be a trend for a whle, until the car is happy.

[Nacho-RT74]

The day ppl begins to pay attention to electrical stuff the same than mechanical deals, lot of stuff will change for easy diagnostics and less failures

[Cooter]

The day we can actually buy GOOD electronics, THEN we'll see less failures. Elctrical wiring is simple as sh*t now. You buy a $1000.00 harness and install it.

[69wannabe]

Got it back together just before dark and got it running, sounds like it did before it decided to take a two day vacation at my expense!!  I didnt get to run it long but it ran long enough to warm up some and I was able to pull it back into it's normal resting place. I got a ford ranger to put ball joints in, a jeep wrangler that came today that is knocking like madness and an older jeep cherokee chief needing some carburetor attention so I got my hands full for a couple weeks for sure. Just wanted to get the charger back in one piece before I started on all these other jobs I got lined up. Gonna change the oil and filter between now and the weekend since I had the intake off and all that dust and pollen was floating around and alot was settled in the lifter valley when I raised the hood today. I wiped it out good but just would feel better with some fresh oil and filter there. Aint These old cars an adventure sometimes!!

[Fred]

  

Keep you on your toes.  Keeps life from getting too boring.

[69wannabe]

You got that rite!! I've been kinda laxed lately so I guess I needed something to get my blood pumping again and I would say that pretty much did it!!!! Had to leave the ole boy outside last nite but it had its cover on it. Cant remember the last time it actually spent a nite not inside the shop. Its plenty dusty from all this pollen so I will try to wash it off by the weekend since it hasnt looked this bad since I brought it home from the body shop in october of last year.

[Fred]

Also, whenever you it running again after some grievance, you get that much more of a thrill out of it next time you take it for a spin. It's quite an elation.
In the mean time, a bit of tender loving care won't go astray. 

[Paul G]

Only a half hour tow? You Lucky! I had to tow my junk home from Vegas a few weekends ago. Tranny went out, 350 miles back to Phoenix. Natcho is right though. You got to go over the electrical system very well before it will be even half way dependable. Have you inspected the bulk head connectors for burnt terminals?  

[A383Wing]

I had the same issue with my cream 66 on that regulator wire...fried it all the way to the ignition switch...replaced the wire along with voltage regulator..also put a fuse inline so it won't fry the harness if it happens again

Bryan

[Fred]

I think we've all had to wait for a tow truck at some stage or other. It's a real bummer especially when you're out on a joy ride. Nothing wipes the smile from your face faster than knowing she's not going to get you back home.

[JB400]

I've been lucky for the most part.  Most times, I've always broke down with in 2- 3 miles of home.  Busted hoses have been my problem.  Of course, it's always happened when the water jugs were empty. 

[Dino]

I was lucky last summer, there was a football game in town so traffic was stop and go.  I was in line and all of a sudden the car died and wouldn't fire back up.  I honestly thought I was out of gas.  The fuel gauge is way off so I rely on the odometer to tell me what I have left in the tank.  I figured I miscounted so I called home, only 10 minutes away, and my wife came over with the gas can.  I poured it in and it still didn't ifre up so I called Hagerty and asked for a flatbed.  A minute later I though maybe the ballast resistor gave up, I have two spares in the console so I installed another but no change.  Then I noticed one of the throttle springs had come off the linkage and snagged a cable going into the bulkhead connector.  I reinstalled the spring, wiggled the wire and it fired right up.  I was way happy to call Hagerty and cancel the flatbed. 

Sometimes it's a simple little thing that gets you stranded but it's oh so nice to find the culprit.  It's the worrying about what it may be and how will I find out that's the worst part of the whole thing.   Well that and being stuck on the side of a busy road. 

[Cooter]

This is why I have a trailer, or at least buddies with trailers. Anyone with an Older Musclecar, this should be rule #2, right behind taking spare parts in the trunk.

[Charger_Dart]

When mine decides its time to stop running, it always is far from home.  She has left me on the side of road several time over the years -

1) - trash in the fuel tank that plugged the fuel filter just enough so it would fire and die (drove me nuts)

2) - ballast resistor failed, no spare

3) - got rid of the ballast resistor and went MSD - MSD box failed while driving home in the rain

4) - amp gauge died 150 miles from home

5) - unseen battery terminal corrosion caused just enough resistance for the starter to just click, but everything else work 500 miles from home

6) - water pump bearing failed causing the fan to contact the radiator

7) - rear brake seized to the drum on the highway

Yup she has rode on many flatbeds over the years.....but I still love her.

     

[Nacho-RT74]

Elctrical wiring is simple as sh*t now. You buy a $1000.00 harness and install it.

no need to spend that, if you know the weak points and make a regular MANTENIENCE like clean 30-40 YEARS OLD conectors

stop overlooking this stuff. This are allmost same important than a Carb mantenience, degreing cams, port heads etc... and EASIER and CHEAPER

just take a little bit of time and patiente.

in the worst case  replace all terminals at cab harness... Engine harness can be easier a full replacement due the agressive enviroment it lives.

The day we can actually buy GOOD electronics, THEN we'll see less failures.

however this statement is really true , specially talking about ECUs

[69wannabe]

Im glad i'm not the only one that has to have one hauled around on occasion. I actually have an old 85 F350 and trailer that has rescued many off the road. I'm just gonna leave it all hooked together til my charger decides it wants to be driven instead of dragged around. And yes when the ignition wire burnt back to the switch I ran a new wire for that and pulled all the bulkhead connectors and cleaned and put di-electric grease on the connectors and plugged them back up. I think my starter just had its better days I guess. It has been on there since 05 or 06. It was time for a change there I guess. Fired it up today for a few mins and let it warm up, seems good now. Started it several times and it started fine. Will run it around this weekend and see how it does. I would have put an in line fuse in that ignition wire I replaced but I bypassed the regulator so the wire is only going to the ballast resistor now. The one wire alternator seems to be working fine since the battery was plenty charged when I was checking the starting problem. I did bolt a regulator back in place of the burnt up one and ran dummy wires to it so it looks correct. 

[Fred]

 It's the worrying about what it may be and how will I find out that's the worst part of the whole thing.

And what a relief, once figured out.  

[69wannabe]

Started it up today and run it awhile while I was working on the ranger ball joint job. Let it run til it was warm and then turned it off and started it up a few more times just to see how good it starts when its warm. So far so good!!!!! 

[carsnguitars]

Someone told me that with the Bay bridge, they start at one end painting it, by the time they get to the other end they need start back again with paint.
Or maybe he was talking about our cars and working & restoring them!!..

Fun of it all!

[Dino]

 It's the worrying about what it may be and how will I find out that's the worst part of the whole thing.

And what a relief, once figured out.  

Oh yeah!  Once I realized it was a simple loose wire, I flew home with a big smile on my face.   

[69wannabe]

I agree!! So many things going through my head when the car wouldn't start and then when we pushed it off and it did the other I didn't know what to think at that point. Was glad to change the starter and hear it turn over with the switch again and when I found the pushrod had popped out that explained alot too. Everybody says the car is mad since I took his uniform off and painted it solid orange with an R/T tailstripe. It was a general when I bought it and me and my buddy painted it in 03 and put the decals back on it. Had a little scrape with the ditch in 09 and the paint and body filler was looking bad anyway so I decided to fix it rite this time. It has actually been sitting in the body shop since 2010 while we put new quarters, trunk pans, outer wheel wells, trunk extensions, a new rear valence and new corners on it and a new deck pan behind the back window. In the mean time it went from a 440 ci to a 493 ci and I haven't got it out much since we got it back going in october last year. The 440 was perfect in the car and now wish I never messed with it, but whats done is done so I hope when I get the bugs worked out of this 493 it will be as good as the 440 I had in it before!!

[Fred]

I did some, (actually most) of my best thinking and sorting out at night in bed. Couldn't sleep a wink just going over and over in my head what could be causing a problem. Bed time turned into problem solving time. Naturally, when a possible solution presented itself...........it was out of bed and into the garage no matter what the time. I just couldn't let it go till the morning.  

[JB400]

I did some, (actually most) of my best thinking and sorting out at night in bed. Couldn't sleep a wink just going over and over in my head what could be causing a problem. Bed time turned into problem solving time. Naturally, when a possible solution presented itself...........it was out of bed and into the garage no matter what the time. I just couldn't let it go till the morning. 

Know the feeling.  Bad thing about doing this, it makes for a long day the next day, especially when you have to go to work.

[Fred]

I did some, (actually most) of my best thinking and sorting out at night in bed. Couldn't sleep a wink just going over and over in my head what could be causing a problem. Bed time turned into problem solving time. Naturally, when a possible solution presented itself...........it was out of bed and into the garage no matter what the time. I just couldn't let it go till the morning. 

Know the feeling.  Bad thing about doing this, it makes for a long day the next day, especially when you have to go to work.

Retirement has it's advantages!   

[Dino]

I did some, (actually most) of my best thinking and sorting out at night in bed. Couldn't sleep a wink just going over and over in my head what could be causing a problem. Bed time turned into problem solving time. Naturally, when a possible solution presented itself...........it was out of bed and into the garage no matter what the time. I just couldn't let it go till the morning. 

Know the feeling.  Bad thing about doing this, it makes for a long day the next day, especially when you have to go to work.

Retirement has it's advantages!   

I offically hate you right now....   

[69wannabe]

You are right Fred!!! Lots of things get fixed while you are laying in bed staring at the ceiling with your eye's wide open!!! Thats usually a last resort but it really does work when your at wits end. I work on forklift's for a living and have done it for the last 14 years and there have been several nights when I have stared at the ceiling pondering on a solution to problems on them things!! I got the charger out today and took it for a good 20 to 30 min spin. It got me back home so thats better than the last two weekends!!    The starter guy said the one that was on it was worn out but he rebuilt it for me so I can put it back on the shelf for a spare!! It ran good and smooth and I was pondering on making some carb adjustments but it runs so good and it hasn't been on there but a week or so, so i'm just gonna run it and let it settle in awhile and see how it turns out. Would've like to driven it more today but I had to get a jeep engine out and torn down and get the grass mowed too!! Man's work is never done 

[Fred]

Just got back from a 2 hour cruise myself. The day is too beautiful to pass on a ride. She purred like a kitten.

Glad you were able to get out and enjoy your baby, even a short ride is better than none.  I agree, leave the adjusting till it's needed.

[69wannabe]

Got it out today for two trips!!! One trip around the bend of the river and another to the gas station with my bud that dropped by with his 69 general lee (sweet car by the way) We  took a quick run around the block and up the highway after getting some petro and it was pretty sweet. Didnt have to walk home today at least!!

[Fred]

Well just make sure you keep a few bucks in your wallet for petrol..........or else you might be walking home all be it for a very different reason.  

[greymag]

I set gremlin traps out in the garage and that seemed to take care of half the problems.