adsvette

1979 Corvette

I'm hoping someone has had a similar issue, and can tell me what to look for.

I was exploring the condition of the body bolt at the driver side door post. The courtesy lights went dim after about a half hour. I thought it was low battery. Then I noticed smoke, swirling in the cockpit. I couldn't tell where it was coming from, thought it was the battery, but wasn't. Maybe it was the dome light.

I've disconnected the battery. Checked the fuse for the lights and it's OK.

Any idea of what to look for or what to start testing would be helpful.

I bought this car a few weeks ago, and was pleased to find the body bolts were in very good shape, no bad rusting. Inside the frame still has black paint.

It's the way it goes isn't it, work on one thing and find something unexpected to distract from progress.

Thanks Guys

DUB

There is an orange box...about twice the size of a box of matches...it is to the right of your glove box....pull out you glove box liner and look at it.

Unless you can direct us where the smoke was coming from...it is all just a guessing game.

The door jamb switches are ground point and have no battery current to them...unless someone has messed around with the wiring.

If the ignition key was OFF...then the cause of the smoke is a component that has 12 volts going to it without the key having to be in.....so this is why I mentioned the timer controller box for your interior lights.

DUB

adsvette

The ignition was off, no key in.
Do the courtesy lights go off after awhile when the door is open ?

I'm not sure about the source of the smoke, when I saw it was swirling around in the middle of the cockpit, no trail to follow.

I'm seeing signs that electrical has been messed with. There is a 4 pole plug and 4 pole jack under the dash, left of the steering column, that is unplugged. And another T shaped plug below it dangling, and another T shaped plug dangling to the right of steering column.

I will look at that light timer box tomorrow.

Thanks for the reply.

dochorsepower

OK, it doesn't help but I have to post it:

ELECTRICAL THEORY BY JOSEPH LUCAS

Electricity is characterized as the transmission of negative ions by retention of a visible spectral manifestation known as "smoke". We know this to be true because every time one lets the smoke out of an electrical circuit, it stops working.
The function of a wiring harness is to conduct the smoke from one device to another. When the wiring springs a leak and lets all the smoke out of the system, nothing works afterward.
For example, if one places a copper bar across the terminals of a battery, prodigious quantities of smoke are liberated and the battery shortly ceases to function. In addition, if one observes smoke escaping from an electrical component such as a Lucas voltage regulator, it will also be observed that the component no longer functions. The logic is elementary and inescapable!
In conclusion, the basic concept of transmission of electrical energy in the form of smoke provides a logical explanation of the mysteries of electrical components especially British units manufactured by Joseph Lucas, Ltd.

adsvette

The wiring has been altered.

:bang head:

The light timer has been relocated somewhere else, and the white wires on the plug have been cut (see pic below, yellow circle). Unplugged connectors are as they were found.





There is a module under the driver side dash, U-C9144 344813, is that it (see pic below, yellow circle) ?






Any idea why there is a big yellow capacitor plugged into the turn signal flasher ?






Any clues will be helpful.

Thanks,
David

F22

Check to make sure, that any lamps in the cockpit lighting are appropriate for the socket! Our last two smoke outs at the shop, were caused by somebody putting in a lamp with a single contact into a socket with two contacts (or the other way around, can't remember after the lunch burrito!). That shorted out the whole wiring harness!

DUB

David,

PHOTO 1) YES,,the timer has been removed, Doubtful that they relocated the timer. And to answer your question....IF the timer were in ad working correctly...the light would NOT go off until you closed the door and allowed the jamb switch to become an open circuit...thus removing the GROUND to the timer.

PHOTO 2) This is your horn relay.

PHOTO 3) This is your turn signal flasher...the component under it is what GM used to STOP the 'clicking/popping sound' that would occur in your speakers when you had the turn signals on with a factory stereo.

DUB

adsvette

Hi DUB;

Now that you mention it, there never was a time delay function. If the timer elimination method is to jump (connect) the 2 white wires, I couldn't find the wires.

The capacitor makes sense now.

Any idea what the loose connectors are for, maybe feeds for power locks and windows, which I don't have ?

Thanks for the notes, very helpful.

adsvette

I'll check the bulbs, but they were working for many days and for lengthy periods of time.

Thanks

adsvette

I found the splice, see yellow circle in pic. I was expecting a jumper in the plug. Sometimes it's hard to see past my own nose.

DUB

Correct. Power door lock and windows.

DUB

adsvette

Thanks DUB;

Well look what what I found today, I don't know if it came with the Corvette or is new.

Mouse nest under the shift console, made of chewed up firewall insulation.




All cleaned out, the radio antenna was disconnected by someone else but it's been chewed through in the same area in the pic,
all 4 vacuum hoses on the heater control are chewed off, and a few other wires have been nibbled and are frayed.




There was also some nest (another smaller one) in the emergency brake area and a few wires nibbled there too.

I separated all the damaged wires, cleared them from grounding and now none of the interior lights work.
The dash lights work, and can be dimmed, which I don't think worked at all before.

At least I'm on the right track.
I have the 1979 Corvette Shop Manual, and found out last night it has great electrical schematics.
If I get stuck I'll be back for more help.

So next time the first question for sudden electrical issues is, do you have mice ?

I didn't expect this now, it's too early I think.
I have traps out we'll see if they were ours or the last owners.

Thanks for all your help,
David

7T1vette

Since it shorted-out as you were working around the car, I suspect that if you search farther, you might find "Mickey" in there.......fried and crispy . And you were there when it happened!!!

[He really shouldn't have chewed on that last wire....]

F22

Might as well, keep going on this and inspect the whole dash harness. If it displays a lot of taped wires, frayed ends, broken connectors and beat up dash bulb sockets, you might just consider a new harness. First, you don't want to go in their again, if you can help it and secondly, you won't have to deal with a 4 year old, patched up mess. I replaced mine, because it was thoroughly thrashed.

adsvette

Hi Guys;

Mouse traps inside and out of the Corvette didn't catch anything last night. I get 99% results from having learned how to bate them for sure fire kill.

For sure I will be going over all the wiring. I've looked at most of it under the dash while trying to find the problem. Damages are minimal and repairable, so far. They will be done expertly for sure, whatever it takes.

I don't think this happened here. My wife asked if the nest was new. I said I don't know, it didn't have a for sale sign, but I bought it. If it did happen here, I hope the smoke was fried mouse. No love of mice, they are filthy and destructive little things.

Does anyone know where mice get in other than the side air vents. 40 years of owning vehicles and I've never run into this, or do they just like Corvettes :-)

Thanks guys for your interest and comments,
David

DUB

A improperly seated grommet for your battery cables leaves a hole large enough so a mouse can get in with no trouble.

Also..the drain plugs in the floor boards are large enough to let them in.

Cracked and/or damaged rubber lower shiftier boot for a manual will let them in.

I have helped some friends who have garages where there Corvettes are stored. We went around the parameter of the car with some of my 18 masking paper for paint jobs...which is blue...then we lightly sifted a thin layer of flour on the paper...SO...if ANYTHING disturbed the flour...you could tell.

DUB

7T1vette

Apparently (based on many other such posts), mice like to nest in the heater/AC plenum. Good luck on the "clean up".

F22

Out here in the High Desert of SoCal, the mice will even get in newer cars. My mommy mobile, 2006 Ford Focus had a mouse living in it, eating the two year old Power Bars I had in the glove compartment, so I had to keep feeding him, but then it got hot and he ran out of water and then died somewhere in my car.

It stunk, pretty good for a few weeks, but soon, you got used to the smell and my Shop Partner, actually went out and brought one of those little pine tree air fresheners as he would gak, whenever I gave him a ride.

Now the mouse is mummified, somewhere in there and I can't smell him at all.

standswithabeer

after repairing the mice damage in my '79 barn find, i then sealed or otherwise plugged all the entry points i could find. i did this when replacing the carpets and cleaning under the center console. top of the heater box/behind the glovebox was fine. mice had been living for some time behind both speakers, and also behind the right kick plate.

-- i used thru-bolts and fender washers in the floor openings (under both seats)
-- i plugged the open spaces at the left/right fresh air entry screens under the hood with bounce sheets, i'll add mothballs in the off-season
-- shifter boot is ok
-- e-brake cable boot was ok
-- the plastic drains in the storage compartment were ok, so i left them
-- bettery lead openings were ok

adsvette

Thanks for all the great pointers.

I've been advised by a couple of Classic Car owner friends about moth ***** and bounce sheets. I was wonder where to place the bounce sheets.

You buy a classic and find out people you've known for years have one, one of my clients told me today that he has 6 cars, one is a 2007 Corvette. He said the interior was done by someone in Toronto that did the same for Jay Leno.

Has anyone tried using screening anywhere, say over vent inlets, maybe placed so they're not visible. Aluminum wool would be good for small openings, if there is such a thing.

Two days and no mouse in the traps, so I think it was in the car before I got it, and evicted when the car came here. The next 2 days should finish the hunt.

Thanks Guys,
David