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Alright guys so picked up a new 65. Put a new battery in it and a new positive wire lead on it. When the lights are on the lights in the cluster kind of flicker. I see that my positive wire runs to this little box that has some other electrical going through it. Thinking maybe it needs replaced. Just dont know what this thing is actually called.
On a truck that age corrosion is your enemy, electrical included. It helps to clean everything up. At the firewall, drivers side are a number of rubber multi-pronged connectors. First disconnect the negative cable at the battery. Then disconnect each connector and clean these up with WD40 and a stiff bristle brush. It's a good idea to replace the ground cables from firewall to block, and negative battery to block, and make sure it's a clean, tight connection. Coat the connections with vaseline or NO-OX to keep corrosion away.
If the truck turns over, then you don't need a new starter relay. Get yourself a wiring diagram. Jim Osborne makes one, and it's about $7.00. Good luck.
Alright guys so picked up a new 65. Put a new battery in it and a new positive wire lead on it. When the lights are on the lights in the cluster kind of flicker.
The advice on cleaning up the connections is sound, but may not resolve the flickering dash lights. If all else is working, chances are the variable resistor in the headlight switch (that dims and brightens the dash lights) is corroded or worn. Try turning the headlight **** back and forth a few times to see if the movement affects the flicker. If so, you've found the culprit.
On some models the connections can be cleaned, in other cases, a new headlight switch is warranted.
There are a couple of possibilities here, and this lists only the most likely ones.
1. Bad ground between the cluster and the cab. There is a grounding wire behind the cluster that may be loose or rusted causing the problem.
2. Do they stop flickering or flicker worse when the headlight **** is rotated? Possible bad headlight switch. It might be a good idea to have someone look at the headlights and markers to see if they flicker while you keep an eye on the gauge cluster. If this happens, it is either a grounding problem and/or a headlight switch problem. There is a circuit breaker inside the headlight switch that turns all the lights off when it trips. (It automatically resets, by the way, but can be disconcerting when that happens while driving at night!)
3. Do the headlights flicker in time with them? Then it may be a bad ground between the cab and other body parts, eventually leading to the core or radiator support. Might also be a bad headlight switch.
3. Does the flickering go away when the engine RPMs are higher than idle? It may be a regulator or alternator issue.
Posting couple pix from 65 Ford Wiring Manual may find helpful. It appears to me there are a couple black heavy gage wires running from the Battery, one to the starter relay and not sure where the other attaches, perhaps the negative side of the Battery to ground? If the truck has an 'alt' gauge it's very important the check the circuit for any loose connections both at the fuse/junction block and the gauge. If the instrument cluster is of the plastic 'sweeping speedo' type, make sure the cluster is well grounded, I purchased a ground strap and attached one end to the metal portion of the cluster and the other end to a clean surface on the brake pedal assembly, it certainly helped settle the jitters on my 'sweeping speedo'.
Finally, in the diag. of the wiring manual notice there's what is referred to as the 'Constant Voltage Regulator' or CVR, it basically acts as an electrical shock absorber for the instruments and oscillates from between O-10 volts, it should be secured to the metal portion of the instrument cluster, and the connections from CVR to the gauges. Suggest purchase a wiring manual if have not already done so, few Ford part supplier's carry them, or get them directly from the source; Jim Osborn Reproductions Inc., for $7, I found it extremely helpful tracking down electrical gremlins.
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