Hi,

I just purchased a 1961 Dodge Dart. Everything is ok except a couple issues. I noticed that my right front turn signal is unhooked, so I hooked it back up and smoke started rolling out from under the dash. A short some where I expect, but I cannot find it. Also, someone tied a power wire into the brake light wire on the manual brakes stop light line. So I guess it was a fix for another problem. I unhooked it, no brake lights but the smoke continued. Hooked it back up so I had brake lights. I can barely tell, but it appears that all the wires go back to the light switch on the dash and some are unplugged which I found to be hot. How in the world can you get to this? The dash is solid metal with no access panels that I can find.

Please help! Thanks in advance!

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JJackson

First, get the FSM electrical schematics - Chiltons, etc. aren't even close to good enough. I wouldn't even start w/o them.

Second, hook a 12V test light *in series* with the battery - that'll limit the current enough to prevent damage while troubleshooting.

Third, pull all the fuses and see what's still hot - the fuses should have prevented damage, so probably they have been bypassed in some kludgy way, perhaps on the backside of the fusebox.

Remember, components can short out inside, sometimes intermittantly. If you can't replace them, see my articles on fixing them at
http://www.tidewatermoparclub.com/TECH/dimmer3c.pdf and http://www.tidewatermoparclub.com/TECH/ ... icable.pdf

You can't be too through when hunting these problems. If the harness shows damage, you're better off removing it for inspection & repair than trying to cobble it in place. Replacements may be available, but are very expensive.

Yep, absolutely get the factory service manual, see this thread. You really cannot hope to solve these kinds of problems without the genuine factory wiring diagrams to show you how the wires are supposed to be routed.

Note that there is rather little in the way of circuit protection (e.g. fuses) in a '61. There's no main fuse or fusible link, and only a few of the car's circuits are protected by their own fuses. You will probably want to add circuit protection as a part of your repair process. Scan this thread for suggestions and info.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Thanks you very much for your information, this is VERY helpfull!

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JJackson