1964 Ranchero loses all power suddenly, to lights and all, then will return later.

[nathanjsd619]

Hey yall,

I'm Nate and new to the forum. I own a 1964 Ford Ranchero that runs like a dream. Until suddenly ill lose all power. The engine does not bog out. I simply have zero power connection. Then the car will start again at some point later. I just put in new battery, cables, and wiring harness. The thing barely has a radio and we cannot seem to figure out the issue. Please Help!!

 

Nate

[avgwarhawk]

Running points in the distributor or ignition module type?  

[Matt Harwood]

Starter solenoid. Our '66 Mustang did the same thing and we couldn't figure it out. It would drive perfectly and then mysteriously die. Turn the key off and turn it back on and the car would start and run like nothing happened. After replacing everything else, we replaced the solenoid and it solved the problem. The solenoid wasn't completely switching off after the start cycle and energy was bleeding away from the ignition system until it just stopped running. For $20 it's worth a shot.

 

 

Edited January 26 by Matt Harwood (see edit history)

[keiser31]

Sometimes a coil will heat up and the car will quit. Sits for a few minutes and will start right up again until the coil heats up again. Just a thought as I had that problem years ago.

[Oldtech]

Not sure everyone is reading your symptoms correctly. I understand that you loose all ELECTRICAL power.  You could have a defective new cable, but more likely there is a connection loose on the solenoid or the ground side of affairs. Is the engine grounded to the body?  There should be a strap somewhere to ensure that. Is your ground wire to the motor or the body?

[Larry Schramm]

I would check the wire from the battery to the fuse block wire and make sure that it is good and not damaged... on both ends with clean and soldered terminals.   Pull on the wire to be sure that the wire is not broken inside the insulation. Do a continuity test on the wire. I had a wire that had a break in the insulation, got corrosion(+high resistance) and car would crank but not stay running.  Also, I had that happen to me with a ground wire on a car.  Check to be sure that all of the fuses are clean and not corroded along with the fuse holders.  Also had that happen on a car once.  Cleaned or replaced funky looking fuses, cleaned the fuse holder contacts with a dremmel wire brush and put some diaelectric grease on everything.  No more problems. 

 

Just a couple of thoughts.

Edited January 26 by Larry Schramm (see edit history)

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

I will go along with Larry and Oldtech.  With an added question.   Did you replace the  battery and wiring BEFORE or AFTER the problem arose?

 

  Ben

[Frank DuVal]

When it looses all power, do you mean the radio and  headlamps also do not work ?

[rocketraider]

Digging the trucklet.😎

 

Good points from knowledgeable people. I'm leaning toward a bad ground or intermittent connection, but since you've replaced the wiring harness it could be anything.

 

What brand wiring harness did you use? Some are better than others. One  big name in particular doesn't live up to its name. They're a "pain" to install and get working with original components.

 

Do you have a factory Ford or other accurate wiring diagram for it? Here's a couple lifted from a previous AACA forum Falcon discussion from several years back. Maybe they'll help.

 

 

Guessing you replaced the harness because it had been hacked up over 60 years worth of Previous Owner's Stamp. Vehicles like Rancheros often fall victim to hack job wiring.

[human-potato_hybrid]

16 hours ago, nathanjsd619 said:

The engine does not bog out. I simply have zero power connection.

What does this mean? Either the ignition system is working or not, so please clarify.

 

Since you just replaced everything, there's two likely possibilities:

1. You have a loose connection somewhere. Check all the bolted connections. P.S. While you are at it, make sure the mating surfaces are clean!
2. Since you just installed a whole new harness but not every connected device, the harness can be shorting out which will cause the ignition system to immediately stop working.

First, trace thru your harness and make sure you tape up any loose connections that are on the BAT, ACC, IGN circuits. Inspect for overheated wires or arc marks on the connections.

Once you know your harness will not catch on fire, check the connection tightness: battery cables, ignition switch, dist/coil, etc.

Edited January 26 by human-potato_hybrid (see edit history)

[Lee H]

If this is a competition, I’m betting that you have a good ground to the engine block, but an intermittent or non-existent ground wire from the block to the chassis. Sometimes it is grounding ok through the exhaust (or other routes), but then you lose that ground as it thermal cycles during or after a drive. Those intermittent problems can drive you nuts.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Another lost his way?

 

  Ben