Electrical problem maybe

Gene B.

Gene B.

Junior Member
Just got my new A truck today. Delivered from Illinois to Texas. Transporter did not now how to start. I have never driven one myself either. I just studied on Internet. 22 degrees but got her started. Even had to back off the transport trailer. Took my first road trip for about 20 miles. Stopped several times showing friends and restarted. Had a friend help me check lights, horn and they all worked. Truck was not running.
On way home turned lights on and Meter went all the way to negative 20. Turned them off.
Parked truck at house. Wife came home and wanted to take her for drive. Truck started, she honk horn, turned lights on, etc. Setting there truck died. With truck off Meter showing a minus 20. Truck will turn over , but lights and horn will not work. Never could get it to start.
Not a good way to start!
 
Evidently a short is on the Main Head Light Harness.
Try this.
Disconnect the Head Light Harness from the Cutout Out on the Generator.
Connect a Test Lamp between the Head Light Harness and the Cut Out.
Turn on the lights.
If a short is presemt the light will shine brightly.
Start disconectong elements such as the Head Light wires or Stop Light Switch one element at a time.
When the short is gone the light will remain ON but will not be as bright.
Have fun
 
MAG said:
Evidently a short is on the Main Head Light Harness.
Try this.
Disconnect the Head Light Harness from the Cutout Out on the Generator.
Connect a Test Lamp between the Head Light Harness and the Cut Out.
Turn on the lights.
If a short is presemt the light will shine brightly.
Start disconectong elements such as the Head Light wires or Stop Light Switch one element at a time.
When the short is gone the light will remain ON but will not be as bright.
Have fun
Click to expand...

doing the test you suggested the testlight will light brightly when turning on the headlights. that does not mean there is a short it would be normal for that to happen. when the lights are turned back off the testlight should go out.
 
Hey Mitch, when I do this I use a tail light bulb 6 cp and it acts as a resistance to the other elements in the circuit thereby reducing the voltage to them. Consequently, with the short gone, the other bulbs will not shine as brightly as normal. You are correct, the test light will not be lit with the head Light Switch OFF.
Using this method, the Short is in Parallel with the elements in the wiring harness and thus is the path of least resistance. The Test Lamp is in series with both the Short and the elements on the main Wiring harness.
 
Gene B. said:
Just got my new A truck today. Delivered from Illinois to Texas. Transporter did not now how to start. I have never driven one myself either. I just studied on Internet. 22 degrees but got her started. Even had to back off the transport trailer. Took my first road trip for about 20 miles. Stopped several times showing friends and restarted. Had a friend help me check lights, horn and they all worked. Truck was not running.
On way home turned lights on and Meter went all the way to negative 20. Turned them off.
Parked truck at house. Wife came home and wanted to take her for drive. Truck started, she honk horn, turned lights on, etc. Setting there truck died. With truck off Meter showing a minus 20. Truck will turn over , but lights and horn will not work. Never could get it to start.
Not a good way to start!
Click to expand...

welcome to the barn,
i know its really exciting getting your new truck, but you should really go over things on a newly acquired A before running around with lights and sirens on. if its stock these cars have adjustable charging systems for running with more load. you also need a good battery and cable connections etc. can you post some pics of under the hood, both sides of the motor and firewall area. the fluids in the trans and differential should be serviced as well as the motor oil. or at least for now checked to make sure they are full.
its a step by step process as many newbies can attest to
 
For sure......what Mitch said.
Also two known trouble spots for lighting shorts are a bad brake light switch and the connections at the headlamp bases, but you need to do a thorough check of the wiring and connection. Clean and tight for the nuts, and make sure the contacts at the headlamps aren't too large and touching ground.

As Ray said, be sure to use a 3 to 6 amp charger and keep the battery at full charge as soon as possible.
 
Thanks for the responses. Did have my first mechanic lesson, went and disconnect the battery. Did find the positive ground loss when accomplishing this task. Will do some testing tomorrow.
Did find a good mechanic in Amarillo, Texas ( per an acquaintance) who has owned A for years. Will call him tomorrow and probably let him go over truck. 100 miles but probably worth it. Truck has rear main and/or transmission leak. Pretty bad as to my experience, but maybe not. Still prefer an expert evaluation.
Cannot thank you all enough. I will keep you informed.
Bad start but enjoying already.
 
Gene,
lets leave the lights and such off for now and concentrate on getting it running again. engine bay pics can help us immensly of what you got. we have seen some real rats nests (wiring) under these hoods.
if you dont have this here is a basic schematic...assuming you have a generator with a cut out take the yellow wire off of it. that will disconnect the entire lighting system, horn and take that stuff out of the equation.
 

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Gene B. said:
Truck has rear main and/or transmission leak. Pretty bad as to my experience, but maybe not. Still prefer an expert evaluation.
Click to expand...

If you backed it off the transport down a steep ramp, the rear main leak may be of no consequence. My Tudor leaks like crazy going up or down ramps onto a trailer or transport truck. In normal service, it just weeps a little. Maybe because it has no real main bearing seals.

Ian
 
Good idea to get someone there to look at it in person as the causes could be many.

Let us know what you find, ask any questions you need answers to, find a local club.

Congratulations on you truck!!! May you have many years of enjoyment.
 
Got it started. Blown fuse. Looked last evening (getting kind of dark) thought it was OK. Replaced with a 30 and everything working for now.
Oil leak has slowed. Simpson probably right about truck off transport being at an upward angle for 900 miles. After first drive and parked on level overnight the leak not near as bad after short drive today.
 
Get someone knowledgable to look over the pickup and try not to distrub anything until you can recruit some advice.
Some patience will be well worth it to you. Go slow until you can learn about the care and maintenance.
look for a local club. I looked up childress and dallas looks like just a ways south of you. The Dallas Model a Ford club is large and friendly. a trip to one of their meetings would be well worth the time and effort. That help is probably there for the asking.
Bob
 
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For a 100 mile trip to have an expert on model A/s to look it over is time and money well spent.

When the smoke comes out, you cannot put it back in.
 
Something made the fuse blow, so it may happen again. Intermittent shorts are much harder to find, so look everything over for a possible short. Luckily the Model A has a simple wiring system.
 
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