Electrical 1979 CJ7 Electrical Gremlins

[UncleMike]

Hi...need some guidance from the experts on where to start. Recently acquired the 79 with 304 manual tranny and starting to go through the various issues. After successful fixes to horn and lighting, had a new gremlin show up that has resulted in a power supply issue to the dash. Prior to horn fix, all lights and switches worked, but i don't think my fix caused this new problem but who knows? I am not an electrical expert, and just getting familiar with multimeter. The horn fix involved replacing the missing horn button, signal switch and signal canceling cam. i followed instructions found in several youtube videos, consulted factory wiring diagram, tested and learned the multimeter along the way and all the horn stuff worked out fine.

Symptoms are: no (or extremely weak) dash lighting, hazards don't kick on (indicators are weak, and you can hear relay try to kick), turn signal indicators don't work, but signals do. Gauges work but lights don't (or are too weak to see) I believe i have good grounds to dash and chassis (resistance from negative battery post to all points i have checked is less than 1 ohm). My initial plan is to redo/beef up the grounds all the way around, and clean the fuse terminals and just generally clean up anything i see that is rusty or corroded. I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction for things to start testing and checking. Any help appreciated!

 

[Armyvet25]

Most of the time, when do something and something else immediately has a fault, usually what you did last is the culprit, not necessarily the items you replaced, but possibly disturbed something already in not so good of shape. with what your describing, me, I'd have the dash back off and look at all connections, not just ground, if no evidence there by checking connections, I'd look into the headlight switch itself, what your describing points in that general direction.

 

[j6824]

Grounds are definitely a great place to start

Your fix could well be related...any time you start disturbing these old harnesses/connections...anything is possible

A lot of guys will run a bus bar under the dash wired straight to the battery...also handy for any add-ons you may end up doing down the road

It allows you to run dedicated grounds to all four corner lights, etc. Ended up running everything to mine...cured a lot of ills

Also block to frame and frame to tub is recommended

Grind shiny with dielectric grease

 

[UncleMike]

Thanks for the input fellas. It occurred to me last night that in getting the signal switch, I certainly could have tugged the ignition wiring and other things. A few follow-up questions:

1. for the grounds to frame/tub (and any sheet metal) once it is operating-room clean and shiny and dialectric greased/fastened, are you painting these spots or using some other product to seal out future rust/corrosion?
2. Recommendations on wire/gauge for new ground straps and bus bar for under dash?
3. Anyone have a good diagram of the column wiring?

Lastly, since I have to replace the cancel cam and signal switch again (short version...OMIX part was and plunger horn was stuck, so ordered a Delco...original switch is back in), i plan to replace any wearable parts in the steering shaft. I have a good wander on the steering and some play in the shaft (no movement in other steering parts), so makes sense to go ahead and address all of this if the top of column is off. Is there a good aftermarket kit, or list of part numbers for Delco, for the bearings and other replacement pieces?

Thanks for the help...good to have this resource!

 

[j6824]

1. I didn't, but you could use battery terminal spray

2. Used 6 gauge on mine for tub/frame/battery connections. Bus bar I used one like this, but there are several varieties: https://www.amazon.com/Mironey-Term..._1_49?keywords=bus+bar&qid=1668001225&sr=8-49

3. No good pic that I'm aware of, but should be:

black- horn ground
light blue- left front turn
blue- right front turn
brown-4-way power
purple- turn signal power
yellow-left rear turn
green-right rear turn
white- brake lights

When I did mine, the recommendation was an aftermarket shaft. The two go-to options were Borgeson and Flaming River. I went with the former, but both were hands-down head and shoulders over any OEM replacement

 

[Armyvet25]

a 79 wiring diagram ---> 79 CJ
*
for the headlight switch

 

[Armyvet25]

not sure what year CJ, but might help

 

[UncleMike]

Thanks for hte pics! Really appreciate the help. We are moving into cold weather here (massachusetts) and i have no doors nor heat (yet) so trying to get all my winter projects organized once she is parked in the garage. Looks like i will be doing a lot of gound repairs, cleaning and checking connections.

I'm taking the steering column question over to the steering/suspension forum for some more advice (and purchases). Need some further guidance!