[bluebeast]

I'm having a few electrical issues with my 70 gto.Not sure if they are all connected some how or what? Any help or advice would be appreciated
1.car will start in drive
2.very dim dash lights
3.car charges fine without headlights on,but drains battery with them on
4.my new positive battery cable has turned black,with acid on it
5.I changed my headlight switch two years ago
It would be nice to get these issues repaired before driving season starts, thanks again.

[johnta1]

1. Neutral safety switch bypassed. Probably jumpered
2. Bad connection?
3. Bad connection?
4. Bad connection?
5. Check the dimmer switch on floor

Make sure all battery connections are good. Check the ground wires at engine/frame/firewall

Dimmer switch can cause all kinds of problems when corrosion sets in.

[bluebeast]

I got the dash out yesterday,any ideas where is should start looking? Another quick question,the blue paint inside the dash pod,is that a special illuminating paint or just paint.I mean while I got everything apart,might as well make it look pretty.The wiring at a quick look,looks fine.A lot of it has been unwrapped.I'm asuming the foam on inside back is to stop light from going into another lens.

[2002Z4CSS]

I would load test all wiring grounds. That positive battery cable needs to be replaced.

[bluebeast]

That is a one year old battery cable.I had to get a longer one to reroute it away from the exhaust and manifold. The black on the positive cable and post really bothers me.Time to call in a specialist.Electrical work is beyond my ability.

[bluebeast]

any ideas why this battery cable looks like that?????????

[vidguy]

Is it getting super hot?

[LPete]

Originally Posted by bluebeast

any ideas why this battery cable looks like that?????????

I wouldn't worry about it. I'd speculate that maybe the terminal alloy has something in it that's reacting with the hydrogen gas given off by the battery when it's charging. If it starts the car I don't think there's a reason to replace it.

[derekdag1]

Blue

If you have schematics for your car, I would sit down and test that replacement switch you got to make sure it is "wired" the way the original switch was. Those switches have multiple connections that they make/break, so take an ohmmeter and ohm those connections out and make sure you have: 1) the correct connections where you should have them, and the correct opens where you should have them, and 2) no high resistance connections.

In your picture, you had the positive battery cable running right next to the negative terminal/cable. I would encourage you to turn the battery around and get the negative away from the positive to help avoid that "worst case scenario."

Hopefully you find someting goofy with that switch. I had replaced my headlight switch with one that looked like an exact replica, and turned out that the switch was not electrically the same as the original. I was pretty disappointed, because the replacement plugged in exactly like the original too.

Hope that helps
Derek

[bluebeast]

when it comes to ohms and volts,and current draws that is out of my league.I'll have to leave that to the professionals.I could reroute the battery cables though.I appreciate all the advice everybody.