I haven't driven my truck much lately since I did a bunch of upgrades to the motor. Took it for the first long drive today on the highway and found the strangest thing. When going over 40 and I put on the blinker the truck hesitates for a second. Going through my mind on what other powered items dealing with the motor would be on that line and I can not come up with anything. My guess is to much power is being pulled from the distributor for a second.

I know you guys can help on this, shoot me your thoughts.

Thanks, Ben

 

Electric fuel pump? Comes to mind since I have been dealing with fuel pump issues...

 

I do have an electric fuel pump. It is wired with a relay so it is not pulling power directly from the fuse panel though. Everything I have added that is electrical has a relay to prevent this sort of thing.

Everything I added does need a keyed power source though so I used the open spade connector on the fuse panel to trigger the relays. I may need to come up with a better solution for this.

 

To completely rule out the fuel pump you could check it with a voltmeter with the blinker on and see if it fluctuates.

Still running the generator or have you upgraded to an alternator? If generator, what else have you added on, that takes electricity? Still running points or electronic ignition?

 

I will check the volts to the fuel pump, that is a good idea to rule that out.

I have the fuel pump, electric fan, and the remote turn on for an amplifier all using the same switched 12v source. The fan and fuel pump use relays so to much current is not being drawn off this one source. The amp is on a switch and is only pulling 1amp to turn it on. The main power for the mp comes directly from the battery.

I am looking into a better way to do this. I need to run a switched 12v wire to a distribution block of some kind and then to the accessories I think. More research is needed.

 

have you upgraded your alternator? with a decent-sized electric fan in the mix, i think you'll need to, if you haven't already.

i'm running a switched distribution block, like you mentioned. its pretty simple- just use a relay to turn it on, via the spade connector you're already using. amazon has them for about $20.

 

No I have not, that is on my list of get right too's.

My thought on the hesitation is that the alternator is making less power at speed and when I hit the blinker it is surging the power and dropping the voltage getting to the coil for a spit second. These trucks have such small gauge wire and I am running some high voltage accessories. Going to do the distribution block right away.

On the fan, with the fan thermostat set right it does not kick on very often here in the damp and cool Pacific Northwest. I know before the heat of summer gets here I will need to switch to a bigger alternator. I have been looking into switching to a one wire set up to clean up some of the wires under the hood. I am OCD about everything looking neat and tidy.

 

the distribution block isn't going to fix your issue- do the alt upgrade first.

think of your truck's available power as a bucket full of water. changing the water pipes around doesn't matter- you need a bigger bucket.

 

rustywheel68, I understand what you are saying. I am going to do the alternator when I do the distribution block. I am researching the Ford 3g set up now. It seems pretty straight forward other then the idiot light and gauge will not work anymore. A 130amp should cover my charging needs.

 

i think your idiot light should be fine- that's the wire that goes to the "I" terminal on your existing voltage regulator. you just extend it, and connect it to the "I" terminal on the 3G.

(at least, that's how it worked out on my '65 Galaxie.)

 

Cool, that is what I found from further research if you keep your old wiring. Otherwise there is a work around that will make the light work. The trouble I found is getting the pigtail for the alternator. It is not at AutoZone, the one they have listed as the part is not right, actually for a 1g alternator. Back to the interwebs to find one.

 

I did the one-wire alternator swap and was unable to get the idiot light working. I tried lots of configurations with no luck. I have one more thing to try and if no luck, there is a low voltage indicator you can buy and hook up to your idiot light. Low Voltager Sensor: LATEST & GREATEST! - NEW PRODUCTS-Ron Francis Wiring

 

generally speaking, one-wire setups don't have a way to connect to the idiot light. don't quote me on that, though.

that's one of several reasons why 3-wire alternators are better for automotive applications.

limpy- go to the junkyard if there's one nearby- 3G alternators and pigtails all over the place.

 

The Delco-Remy 10si that I put on mine has a terminal for a warning light, but the problem is, it worked backwards- always on with ignition off, off when I turn the ignition to ON before starting, then on when I start the engine.

 

Are you still using the stock pink resistor wire to the coil?

This steps the votage to the coil to 9 volts on run. If the system is marginal voltage will drop.

By upgrades to the engine did you add a hot coil and pertronix?

Garbz

Garbz