The Dodge Challenger Message Board

They asked me when I odered the first one, suppose that covered all the other models it could fit. Gonna wire it in when I get home and keep my fingers well and truly crossed

You get it fitted yet?

I'm on it tonightt Dave, fire it up tomorrow morning so I don't make too much noise and hopefully every thing will be lovely Must be bloody cold up there now mate, we got some snow forecast for next week

Minus 2 C and thick Fog this morning. Thick fog again tonight.

Looking forward to your analysis. I have been wanting to get a spare switch just in case. Off topic a bit, I read on a Geico advertisement (blimey insurance company) sent to my home that heavy key rings can cause problem with the ignition over time. I have just run the Ign. and trunk key on mine. So far so good.

It's been raining here in California all week. We need it though, had some time to work with the brake petal problem on the Challenger so next dry day we'll road test her.

Jon wrote: It's been raining here in California all week. We need it though, had some time to work with the brake petal problem on the Challenger so next dry day we'll road test her.

I see your problem straight away. You will find a brake petal far too soft.
What you really need is a brake pedal. You will find that will work much better.

Skipped way to many English classes in high school.

Found a large pocket of air in the driver side front. I guess it was trapped in the loops below the master cylinder. Now the pedal seems firm.

California? Petals? Surely a case of flower power

Naw, just Buds.

Still raining here. We have had 4" so far this week which is 1/2 of last years total. Good news for the trees.

Here's some flower power back on the north fourty.

I fitted the new switch Adrian but couldn't get it to work with the steering lock. I had to remove the steering lock lever to alow the switch to rotate. Which I am not too bothered about. I can't see why it will not work with the lock lever. Maybe the cam shape is not quite right?

Have you found the same thing or is yours OK?

Otherwise it seems to work OK. I now have a working accessory circuit (didn't before) and it turns the engine over etc.
It is raining hard here so I am going to do more tests on a dry day when I can open the garage doors and run the engine. Then I will check voltages to see if the new switch has cured the voltage drop I was getting.

Hi Dave, hope you had a nice Xmas. I fitted the switch no probs at all except I think the operating pin that slots into the cam on the lock is a poor fit. It looks like it will ride out of the slot , however it doe'snt. I might drop a tiny spot of weld on the end to build it up if it starts to feel sloppy.
The parking lock and lock mech I left intact so it seemed easy to reinstall the new switch, but fitting the bearings took a little while , and I keep thinking I've pulled the column assy upwards too far to meet the inner shaft.
Just fitted a Mopar Hitorque mini starter, what a difference it makes to cranking speed! Should be good for the world of pain involved in swopping it over

It was sunny yesterday so a good opportunity to test the electrical circuits.

Unfortunately I was rather under the weather to say the least. I had far too much to drink on Sunday night. In fact the state I got myself into was totally disgusting! Somehow, after many pints in a few bars, I ended up in a house with two large girls taking turns snogging me and filling my glass with whisky. I ended up drinking 3/4s of a whole bottle of Bells Whisky.
I got thrown out of the taxi on my way home because i wanted to be sick. I managed to speak enough words to call Diana to fetch me but I didn't know where the hell I was. It was -4C (24F) and I just had on a thin jumper and light leather jacket. I couldn't stop being sick and I couldn't walk. Thank God Diana found me after about an hour. The only good thing was I didn't wet or poo my pants.

So yesterday was a complete write off. I had to go to a party last night and i just sat next to the fire shivering for a few hours before giving up and going back to bed.

Many years ago someone told me that you get more sensible when you get older. They were very very wrong.

Ha ha that sounds like you had a good time mate, pissed and with two big girls, is that Christmas or heaven? AND you still managed to get your lovely wife to come and fetch you How are you gonna survive New Years Eve then

Just tried to start the car and I don't have any voltage in the ignition system. Hopefully one of the connectors in the connectiopn block under the steering column has not mated properly. If it is not something as simple as that I will have to trace it and maybe check the new switch is not faulty.

Any issues with the switch Dave, get it back to me and I'll get it refunded.
I've been trying to start my car all over Xmas after I fitted the mini starter, but I can't seem to get the battery to crank it over anymore. It worked for a while but I think I've wanked the cells out, its only a couple of months old.
At least my switch is holding up

I have sussed out what the problem is.

I had to wire the ignition differently for the MSD ignition to work. But now I have an FBO ignition that works like the stock system.

I had made a temp shortcut to give me power to one wire from IGN1 and IGN2 instead of running two wires to a ballast resistor. Because I didn't need a ballast resistor with the MSD.

I was ill when I did the wiring so can't remember how I did it. I can bodge it to get it working but I would rather trace the wires and put the ignition circuit right.

At least I know how to sort it out. I just need a big enough time slot in the garage.

Goody mate, at least you got it worked out.
I'm just waiting for a new fat battery to arrive and then hopefully I'll be able to crank the motor and test for voltage drop.
Interested in your post about removing the excessive endplay from the dist. shaft. That erratic timing reading has always bugged me.

Amp meter by-pass, MSD rev limiter, and headlight relays are the only mods on mine so far. That should confuse the hell out of me when troubleshooting 10 years from now.

Brought a diesel forklift truck battery home from work Saturday and still could'nt get my 440 to crank over at any speed. Eventually I removed the starter cable and upon inspection it appears very stiff and both ends look very tired and frayed. I remember feeling the cable get hot ever so easily after just a few seconds turning the starter. I was going to have a go at making my own leads and thought about using 4gauge jumper lead cable. Any body made their own? I can always go to an auto electrician but I just like to do this stuff myself

The only good thing was I didn't wet or poo my pants. or all over the bath room helluva story dave

Adrian Worman wrote: Any body made their own? I can always go to an auto electrician but I just like to do this stuff myself

Yes. Several times.
I get my parts from this place. Cable and the terminals. They even do our headlights.

The 12mm flexable stuff is good.

http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/752

Ta Dave, just about to give them a ring

I ordered some 12mm cable , fittings and a couple of ready made earth straps from those peeps. Very good prices and stocks, use 'em again

Got me starter cable made up, along with new neg and ground straps, spent all night making neat starter relay and solenoid wires and.............
the starter relay melted! Doe's it ever end? The battery feed and starter sol. wire got very hot at the relay, but I used 10 gauge wire. Off to the parts monkeys again

The starter relay melted cos of the M.P. mini starter that I fitted! The wire to the starter sol. was getting very hot after just a couple of seconds with the ign in crank position and this eventually caused the starter relay to fail. I got a Mustang relay cos they are much beefier and that still got the wires very hot. I had to pull the new starter in the end so I could test it and was a little surprised to find that I could'nt get it to respond to anything for about 5 minutes and then eventually got it to engage and spin
Only one good thing came out of this tho', I managed to jiggle the starter out of the little slot in rhe inner wing just above the chassis rail below the brake line block. I had to remove the z-bar and undo the retaining nut on the brake line block to ease it back to the firewall slightly, but to my amazement I jiggled the starter out of the slot! No more header off, disconnect motor mount, lifted block etc.
Still got a broken car but I'm happier than when I started

As a suggestion, check how the wires are connected on the relay.

One of the first things I checked cos I'd just made up new starter cables and I could''nt remember how they went back on so I had to read the wiring diagram, the original relay had the locations stamped on the terminal bases.
Still sure that the M.P starter is at fault maybe in the switching from the solenoid. Was very erratic when I pulled it for testing.

Got a replacement starter and relay, and everything working lovely, and on Valentines Day as well, how nice

Did you get your money back on the first starter?

Never paid for it in the first place My mate runs a parts outfit between here and America specialising in old Chevy stuff, 55-57, early 50's pick ups etc, and he wanted to branch into Mopar. I've got the bill for that starter and it was £140 all in and he replaced the starter relay it fried Just quoted me £500 for a pair of bumpers for my 72, seems okay to me, what you think? Just about to order a new alternator,pair of brake discs, reckons he has them in stock, couple of days, let you know how much.
At least my bloody car works