Goldenblack440 wrote:If anyone has had these similar symptoms - what was it? Thanks.
I would say the carbon potentiometer track inside the switch is probably toast (or is it a wound rheostat like in the dimmer switch?)
Never had exactly that but I had other symptoms.
On both Challengers (I have since rebuilt the column and replaced the dash harness on the hardtop), the steering column housing (aluminum section around the ignition switch) would get warm when driving.
VERY warm.
It stopped in the hardtop so I guess rebuilding the column with a new ignition switch did it. The ignition switch has a big drawback, safety-wise : it has constant power (no relay on that), and has a very thick power cable. It could easily cause major trouble if the power lead gets shorted to the column itself...
On the hardtop, the previous owner had to kill a fire under the dash with his T-shirt... (hence the harness replacement). Fun ! (actually, it sounded fun when he told me the story).
The solution I've found is always the same :
Open the driver door wide, move the driver seat back as far as you can, grab a flashlight, get on your back and wrawl under the dash. Look around, get a feeling about the harness and decide whether you can mend it or if it should be replaced.
The factory Service manual wiring diagrams (you can find them here, or on mymopar.com, print them and take notes on them too) are pretty useful too.
Areas to look at :
- the column switches (one small connector with big wires for ignition, another wide connector with several small wires for hazard, turn signals, horn, ignition switch light, key-in buzzer etc), most often butchered beyond recognition.
- the switch pod (the wires are pretty short - too short, actually, you can't even pull it two inches back before you're pulling on the wires). The problem here is mostly with the switches and potentiometers (worn, shorted, full of dust), not the wiring which is pretty simple.
- The fusebox (and especially the firewall side of it, with the two cavities for the charging wire that goes through the ammeter).
- the ammeter, with two big wires that must be secured in place and must not touch anything metallic around.
- the orange dash light wires, which could have been butchered to get illumination on aftermarket gauges (there are sockets for that)
- any wire that gets hot when ignition is on (usually that's one of the steering column's wires), usually split every 2 inches to supply power to an aftermarket stereo, drink heater, lighted fuzzy dice, and every other typically 80's electrical gimmick that may have been installed in your car by one of the 27 previous owners...
Of course, lying there on your back, fiddling with wires hanging above your head, you're bound to breathe a few grams of insulation dust which will fall on you (and into your eyes too) everytime you touch something - and sometimes when you don't. Ain't Mopars fun.
Some individual plugs and connectors can be bought from Year One, or you can get a complete dash harness from them (expensive but worth it - expect to spend at least 3 full days installing it).
I've seen new repop wiper switches for sale on Jim's Auto Parts web site (although I don't buy from them when I can help it). Very expensive, but it's always better than no repop at all, which used to be the norm for those switches.
Apparently there are 2 kinds of switches, even for the 3-speed wipers : variable speed switches and 3 fixed speed switches.
There, that's a pretty long post but there's a lot to say about electricity in our cars...