Posted by Fred from MO on November 29, 2016 at 11:32:45 from (207.89.51.20):
Ok, guys. since there are a lot of smart people on here I thought I would throw this issue out to you all and see what ideas come up. Here goes. I have a 1977 van that I use on occasion as a farm truck. Its run mostly on the weekends. Lately it has had an odd issue and I haven't had the time to even look into it yet. So now I am plotting on where to start. Van has a new battery, but lately sometimes when you get into start it up you get nothing when turning on the ignition switch. No lights either. At first I thought it was the batter so I put in on a quickstart 50 amp electrical charger, went back in the cab to try to crank it over and nothing. So I went out and pulled the plug on the charger and when I did, the lights came on and the van started up. Very odd I thought? Why would the quickstart not work or even produce lights but then when I disconnected it, the van started right up and the lights came on?? Well I drive the van around over the weekend and no issues. Then I go to start it up and the same old story. No start and no lights. I try my trick with the 50 amp electrical jump start. This time it doesent work. I thought at first it was an ignition switch problem, but that would not explain the lights not working? I thought it was a zapped battery, but it has 12 volts. I haven't had enough time to check anything else out because its dark when I go to work and dark when I come home and the van is out away from the house now broke down. I am wondering if it is a ground problem? Somewhere the 40 year old ground cable either from the battery to the engine block or if it has one of those engine block to the firewall ground straps is gone or rusted? The alternator is the original one too, however I have not had a time when it has not charged while running. Amp meter on the dash shows somewhere around +12-14 volts when running. Any thoughts on this old GMC would be appreciated. It is ugly but it is my main go to vehicle for the dirty work. AND I don't worry about getting it scratched when I go to Walmart!! LOL!! Bought it for $700 bucks in 1991.
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Today's Featured Article - Listening to Your Tractor - by Curtis Von Fange. Years ago there was a TV show about a talking car. Unless you are from another planet, physically or otherwise, I don’t think our internal combustion buddies will talk and tell us their problems. But, on the other hand, there is a secret language that our mechanical companions readily do speak. It is an interesting form of communication that involves all the senses of the listener. In this series we are going to investigate and learn the basic rudimentary skills of understanding this lingo.
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