Meindl Mk IV Build - Graduation

[PeteMeindl]

All of your descriptions are for the Coyote harness. As long as you have power to the front of the PDB, and all the connections completed, I doubt that's where your problem is. You said no power at the ignition switch, no gauges, etc. That all comes from the Ron Francis harness. How do you have the RF harness connected to power? Specifically the large wires in the harness that are routed to battery power, ignition switch, accessory, alternator, etc.?

Thanks, Paul and Railroad! This is helping us out. So from your messages, i'm thinking that the next thing to check is how I'm getting power (or more likely not getting power) to the ron francis chassis harness. From what i can understand, the place where the RF harness gets its power from the battery is via cables hooked up to the starter - so a line should be coming with 12V to a post on the starter, and then a couple wires from the RF harness are also on that post and thats how the harness gets its power. Here's a picture of the RF harness schematic that i think shows this. The red arrow i drew to show where i think the power is coming in to the rf harness.



If we test for power there on that post of the starter, we don't have power! So if the above is correct, we're not getting any power to the rf harness, which would cause all the lack of activity when we turn the key. So here are a few photos as we try to diagnose this. The first show the top of the passenger footbox and the red arrow shows where we do have power and then the green where i'd like us to have power but somewhere along the way we don't. I have 3 pictures following the green arrow down to the starter where we test and find no power. Here they are:







A couple questions:
1) is it correct that this connection on the starter is where the rf harness gets its power?
2) where along that green path do you think we are losing power?
3) any thought on how we get power down to that starter, and thus to the rf harness?

Thank you so much, guys! We don't know what we'd do without you!

[edwardb]

Best I can tell from your descriptions and pictures is that you're still confusing power for the Coyote system via the terminal on the front of the PDB to the power required for the rest of the chassis wiring e.g. the Ron Francis harness. Another way to say it would be wire the RF harness like you would if using something other than Coyote power. Then add the Coyote system, which is just a couple of interconnects.

Here is what I recommend. There are variations, but this is the basic idea:

1. Large battery cable from the + terminal on your battery to a binding post (or alternatively a master disconnect) on the firewall. The kit provides a #4 gauge cable. Will work although some upgrade to #2 or even larger.

2. Large battery cable from the binding post to the large terminal on the starter solenoid. Now you have full +12V battery power to the starter.

3. Three large wires from the RF harness also on the binding post. (1) RED-BATTERY FEED, (2) RED ALTERNATOR FEED, (3) RED IGN SW -> SOL. Now you have full +12V battery power to the RH harness. Remove and discard the blue starter solenoid and clutch safety switch wire. Not used with a Coyote setup that has its own clutch safety switch. Note: The RF schematic does show these wires attached to a "starter solenoid." This IMO is referencing a firewall mounted solenoid that used to be commonplace. Yes, you can physically drag the wires down to the actual starter, and some do. But it's not necessary and the wires may not reach.

4. Finally, one remaining large wire from the binding post to the front terminal on the Coyote PDB. Now you have full +12V battery power to the Coyote system.

With the above in place, your starter, RF harness, and Coyote system will all be powered. The ignition switch should be wired exactly like shown in the RF harness schematic. Assuming you have the other Coyote connections installed properly (ignition sense, start sense, fuel pump, starter wire, cooling fan wire) the Coyote should start and run like it's supposed to.

Hope that maybe helps.

[PeteMeindl]

Best I can tell from your descriptions and pictures is that you're still confusing power for the Coyote system via the terminal on the front of the PDB to the power required for the rest of the chassis wiring e.g. the Ron Francis harness. Another way to say it would be wire the RF harness like you would if using something other than Coyote power. Then add the Coyote system, which is just a couple of interconnects.

Here is what I recommend. There are variations, but this is the basic idea:

1. Large battery cable from the + terminal on your battery to a binding post (or alternatively a master disconnect) on the firewall. The kit provides a #4 gauge cable. Will work although some upgrade to #2 or even larger.

2. Large battery cable from the binding post to the large terminal on the starter solenoid. Now you have full +12V battery power to the starter.

3. Three large wires from the RF harness also on the binding post. (1) RED-BATTERY FEED, (2) RED ALTERNATOR FEED, (3) RED IGN SW -> SOL. Now you have full +12V battery power to the RH harness. Remove and discard the blue starter solenoid and clutch safety switch wire. Not used with a Coyote setup that has its own clutch safety switch. Note: The RF schematic does show these wires attached to a "starter solenoid." This IMO is referencing a firewall mounted solenoid that used to be commonplace. Yes, you can physically drag the wires down to the actual starter, and some do. But it's not necessary and the wires may not reach.

4. Finally, one remaining large wire from the binding post to the front terminal on the Coyote PDB. Now you have full +12V battery power to the Coyote system.

With the above in place, your starter, RF harness, and Coyote system will all be powered. The ignition switch should be wired exactly like shown in the RF harness schematic. Assuming you have the other Coyote connections installed properly (ignition sense, start sense, fuel pump, starter wire, cooling fan wire) the Coyote should start and run like it's supposed to.

Hope that maybe helps.

Paul - thank you so much! This is great - I think I understand what we need to do and it makes sense. We'll need to get some parts and tackle this over labor day weekend - I'm excited to try it out. We'll certainly let you know how it goes and thank you very much for saving the day for us, yet again!

[Railroad]

Do you have main disconnect switch? ,,,verify you have hot on both post of the disconnect.
I hope

[PeteMeindl]

Do you have main disconnect switch? ,,,verify you have hot on both post of the disconnect.
I hope

We don't have a main disconnect switch yet, but per Paul's recommendation, we'll be installing one this weekend. I'll check it for power on both posts - thanks, Railroad!

[doddmoore]

Exciting times Pete!

[edwardb]

We don't have a main disconnect switch yet, but per Paul's recommendation, we'll be installing one this weekend. I'll check it for power on both posts - thanks, Railroad!

OK, if you're going to install a master disconnect, you should have the battery power + Coyote PDB on one post, and the starter and RF wires on the other. That way with it off, the Coyote is still getting power as recommended by Ford Performance. With it on, both sides should be powered and everything alive.

[PeteMeindl]

OK, if you're going to install a master disconnect, you should have the battery power + Coyote PDB on one post, and the starter and RF wires on the other. That way with it off, the Coyote is still getting power as recommended by Ford Performance. With it on, both sides should be powered and everything alive.

Great - thank you, Paul! We will do it that way. Excited to try it out this weekend!

[PeteMeindl]

Hi guys,
Huge day over here - thank you VERY much to Paul for his detailed instructions about the issues we were having with our first start. Following his instructions to the letter gave us our first successful start!!! Yahooooooooooo!! we are all so excited!! Here's a link to watch, filmed by sarah:

https://youtu.be/AoyesI8ggpo

We couldn't be happier - thank you so much!!

A couple funny things happened that we need to investigate:
- we do seem to get some smoke from the right side of the engine - we will investigate where that's coming from. Smells like plastic burning, perhaps. Don't seem to see any wires up on the headers or anywhere super hot. We'll dig into it more.
- one thing that's odd is that the fuel pump and the gauges turn on when we connect the battery to the rest of the car through the battery cut off switch, before even turning the key to its first stage. When we turn the key to the first stage nothing additional happens. And then turning the key one more stage turns the engine on, as we'd expect.

Had a small fuel leak which we tightened up at the fuel pressure gauge. Most everything else looks good!

Thank you to everyone on the forum for all of your help. We'd never have made it to this stage without you and we are very thankful to you all!

[chmhasy]

Congrads Nice sounding motor. You may want to remember to take off the cardboard cover so the radiator can breath

[SSNK4US]

CONGRATULATIONS Pete!!!!!! First start in just under a year!! I’m soooo jealous.... our body is still on the chassis
Speaking of bodies, is yours still in the house? Lol
I also think it’s SO cool that one of the boys got to fire it up! Did they have to battle it out to get to do the honors?
Congrats again! You guys have done a great job!

Kurt

[PeteMeindl]

Congrads Nice sounding motor. You may want to remember to take off the cardboard cover so the radiator can breath

Ha! yeah, great point. We thought we were just going to test the electrical system but then everything was working (at least sort of...) and so we thought, hey, let's try starting it up! We'll remove the cardboard going forward - thanks!

[PeteMeindl]

CONGRATULATIONS Pete!!!!!! First start in just under a year!! I’m soooo jealous.... our body is still on the chassis
Speaking of bodies, is yours still in the house? Lol
I also think it’s SO cool that one of the boys got to fire it up! Did they have to battle it out to get to do the honors?
Congrats again! You guys have done a great job!

Kurt

Thanks, Kurt! Hope you're feeling well these days!

Pete

[edwardb]

Thanks, and congratulations on getting it running! Huge milestone. You should not have any power to the gauges (via the RH harness) or the Coyote system (via the ignition sense wire) with the key off. I'd suggest you check the ignition switch wiring. It needs to be exactly like the RF schematic. The markings on the switch can be a little difficult to read. I'm guessing something is incorrect and there's battery power to RF ACC and/or IGN circuits with the key off.

[Straversi]

Congratulations. The camera operators gets extra points for enthusiasm! Love that the first start was a family affair.
-Steve

[Boydster]

Hi guys,
https://youtu.be/AoyesI8ggpo

Fantastic. I love the family enthusiasm, especially from the camera operator!

[GTBradley]

.
- one thing that's odd is that the fuel pump and the gauges turn on when we connect the battery to the rest of the car through the battery cut off switch, before even turning the key to its first stage. When we turn the key to the first stage nothing additional happens. And then turning the key one more stage turns the engine on, as we'd expect.

Fantastic! Glad to see it running. Probably not the reason for the power issue but make sure the HAAT wire isn’t connected to battery power. It will reverse feed everything. I had smoke too, I assume it was the Factory Five side pipes and headers burning off surface oil. Mine smelled excessively smokey for a while.

[PeteMeindl]

Fantastic! Glad to see it running. Probably not the reason for the power issue but make sure the HAAT wire isn’t connected to battery power. It will reverse feed everything. I had smoke too, I assume it was the Factory Five side pipes and headers burning off surface oil. Mine smelled excessively smokey for a while.

Thanks, GT! Yeah, i think we must have had the same smoke issue as you - now that we've started the car a couple times, the smoke and smell has gone away. Always nice when problems go away that easily!

[Ed Mc]

Congratulations. I am just behind you with my build and your thread has been a big help as I have many of the same questions. Looking to have my first start before the end of the month

[PeteMeindl]

Now that we've had our first start, we're working on troubleshooting a couple issues before we make our first go carting attempt.
1) fuel leak. We have a pretty decent fuel leak at the connection between the braided fuel return line and the fuel pickup. The green arrow below shows where we think the fuel is leaking, although it's possible it's an inch or so earlier in the braided line, but it's definitely in the braided line connection:



We've tried taking the line off and making sure the white ring insert is correctly positioned and we've even tried a spare white ring and cap that we had from another line, but we still get a decent leak here. The black cap that you screw in is quite tight and there are no visible threads so it seems like that cap is about as tight as it can go. But we still get a leak that starts up a couple seconds after you start the engine. Do you think this end of the braided line could be faulty? Or is there something else you guys would recommend we do?

2) Ignition: we've double checked our wires and we think they are all in the right place yet the car still is 'on' when the battery is connected but before you turn the key to the right. We are now doing some connectivity tests and found a great thread on this issue here:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...witch-question
So i'm hoping we'll be able to sort the problem out with this info. I'll let you know!

Thanks, guys!

[edwardb]

Ignition: we've double checked our wires and we think they are all in the right place yet the car still is 'on' when the battery is connected but before you turn the key to the right. We are now doing some connectivity tests and found a great thread on this issue here:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...witch-question
So i'm hoping we'll be able to sort the problem out with this info. I'll let you know!

Maybe post a picture of the back of your ignition switch including the wiring. There's just no way you should be getting power with the key off. Or remove the Ron Francis RED-IGN SW->SOL wire from master disconnect. If that wire isn't getting battery power, you shouldn't have gauges (along with a bunch of other stuff) and the Coyote system shouldn't initiate the fuel pump, start, etc. If those things are still active with the wire disconnected, you're getting power through another path, which isn't correct.

[PeteMeindl]

Maybe post a picture of the back of your ignition switch including the wiring. There's just no way you should be getting power with the key off. Or remove the Ron Francis RED-IGN SW->SOL wire from master disconnect. If that wire isn't getting battery power, you shouldn't have gauges (along with a bunch of other stuff) and the Coyote system shouldn't initiate the fuel pump, start, etc. If those things are still active with the wire disconnected, you're getting power through another path, which isn't correct.

Thanks, Paul. I'll get a picture and post it as well test your idea around removing the red ign sw-> sol wire from the disconnect. Thank you for your help!

I think we may have a lead on our fuel leak - we heard from ffr that there should be an o-ring in the braided flexible line (not just the white c-ring) and we're missing that, hence the leak...

[Papa]

Pete,

Hope you get the bugs sorted out so you can enjoy the go-cart. Now a question for you. Is the electrical tape on the fuel pump plug there because the clip is broken? I know they tend to snap off and I went through three before I was done. Don't rely on that tape to keep the plug seated! The last thing you want is to be driving months from now and have the car die on you because the plug vibrated loose.

Dave

[Vspeeds]

Congratulations on the first start. Thats awesome

[initiator]

Awesome progress, Pete! Looks like you're over the hump!

[PeteMeindl]

Pete,

Hope you get the bugs sorted out so you can enjoy the go-cart. Now a question for you. Is the electrical tape on the fuel pump plug there because the clip is broken? I know they tend to snap off and I went through three before I was done. Don't rely on that tape to keep the plug seated! The last thing you want is to be driving months from now and have the car die on you because the plug vibrated loose.

Dave

Great catch, Dave! Yeah, that's exactly what happened to us - the clip broke off. And i've been worried about it ever since! So thank you for bringing it up and forcing us to do something about it. Were you able to buy a new plug with an unbroken clip, cut off the old plug, and then just connect the new plug to the old wires? If so, where did you buy the plug? Thanks a lot!

[PeteMeindl]

I still need to run some connectivity tests and remove some of these wires to see what happens, per Paul's good suggestion, but here are a couple shots of sarah holding our ignition. I'm hoping to spend some time doing a better job diagnosing this over the coming weekend. Sorry if you really can't tell much from these pictures... Hope everyone's doing well!

[Papa]

Great catch, Dave! Yeah, that's exactly what happened to us - the clip broke off. And i've been worried about it ever since! So thank you for bringing it up and forcing us to do something about it. Were you able to buy a new plug with an unbroken clip, cut off the old plug, and then just connect the new plug to the old wires? If so, where did you buy the plug? Thanks a lot!

You can get replacement plugs through Summit or RockAuto or just about any auto parts store. Here is an example from Autozone.

https://m.autozone.com/electrical-an...ness-connector

They come with a pig tail, so you'll need to cut the broken one off and connect the replacement.

Dave

[Papa]

I still need to run some connectivity tests and remove some of these wires to see what happens, per Paul's good suggestion, but here are a couple shots of sarah holding our ignition. I'm hoping to spend some time doing a better job diagnosing this over the coming weekend. Sorry if you really can't tell much from these pictures... Hope everyone's doing well!

What alternator setup are you using? If it's a one-wire setup, you should only have one of those brown wires hooked up to the ignition. You could be feeding power through the alternator back into your fuse panel through the ignition switch.

Dave

[edwardb]

What alternator setup are you using? If it's a one-wire setup, you should only have one of those brown wires hooked up to the ignition. You could be feeding power through the alternator back into your fuse panel through the ignition switch.

Dave

The Coyote alternator is not a one-wire alternator (it's actually a 6-G FWIW) but I agree it does not use the RF harness BRN-ALTERNATOR-IGN wires. If you have the other end attached to the large post on the alternator, I agree with Dave that could feed +12V battery to the switched circuits even when the key is off. Good catch. The only wire that should be attached to the ACC terminal on the ignition switch is the BRN-ACC FEED->IGN SW. Remove the BRN-ALTERNATOR-IGN wire from the ignition switch and the alternator main post. You could remove the wire completely from the harness if you want. Or just cap both ends firmly.

Also I see you have two blue wires on the start terminal on the ignition switch. Only the LT BLU-EFI CRANK POWER wire should be connected to the ignition switch. The other end should be connected to the Coyote SMR (Starter Motor Request) wire. Apparently is since you're getting a start function. The LT BLU-IGN SW-NS SW wire is not normally used in a Coyote installation. Including through the RF clutch safety switch and to the starter solenoid as shown in the RF wiring harness schematic. I normally remove those wires completely. But again can be capped at both ends if not removed The small terminal on the starter solenoid should only have the Coyote harness starter lead.

The other two connections on the ignition switch look OK.

Hopefully that changes things for the better.

[PeteMeindl]

You can get replacement plugs through Summit or RockAuto or just about any auto parts store. Here is an example from Autozone.

https://m.autozone.com/electrical-an...ness-connector

They come with a pig tail, so you'll need to cut the broken one off and connect the replacement.

Dave

That's great news - thanks, Dave! I was worried I'd have to buy a much bigger chunk. We'll get that fixed up - thank you!

[PeteMeindl]

The Coyote alternator is not a one-wire alternator (it's actually a 6-G FWIW) but I agree it does not use the RF harness BRN-ALTERNATOR-IGN wires. If you have the other end attached to the large post on the alternator, I agree with Dave that could feed +12V battery to the switched circuits even when the key is off. Good catch. The only wire that should be attached to the ACC terminal on the ignition switch is the BRN-ACC FEED->IGN SW. Remove the BRN-ALTERNATOR-IGN wire from the ignition switch and the alternator main post. You could remove the wire completely from the harness if you want. Or just cap both ends firmly.

Also I see you have two blue wires on the start terminal on the ignition switch. Only the only LT BLU-EFI CRANK POWER wire should be connected to the ignition switch. The other end should be connected to the Coyote SMR (Starter Motor Request) wire. Apparently is since you're getting a start function. The LT BLU-IGN SW-NS SW wire is not normally used in a Coyote installation. Including through the RF clutch safety switch and to the starter solenoid as shown in the RF wiring harness schematic. I normally remove those wires completely. But again can be capped at both ends if not removed The small terminal on the starter solenoid should only have the Coyote harness starter lead.

The other two connections on the ignition switch look OK.

Hopefully that changes things for the better.

Thanks a lot, Paul! That is really helpful - we'll get that done this weekend. I don't know how you know all this stuff....

[PeteMeindl]

This weekend we worked on the fuel leak on the fuel return right at the gas tank and started on the ignition issues we've been having. The good news is we found a spare end to a flexible fuel line and we went ahead and installed that in place of the one where the leak was and tested it out - no leak! So that's great news. I think the engine runs now without any leaks. We also started to try to debug the ignition following Paul's advice - didn't quite get that finished though as it was a busy weekend. Next weekend we may be able to give go carting a try - hopefully!

[PeteMeindl]

Hi guys! Sorry it's been a while since we've posted - it's been a busy month and we haven't had nearly as much time to devote to the car as we'd like. But we have made a big step - our first couple go-cart drives!

Here’s a link (this is our second go-cart drive and first one onto the street):
https://youtu.be/SG-MDPCFSTo

We’ve just cautiously driven it up and down our little dead-end road but things seemed to work ok, which was really exciting for us. We’ve just been in 1st and reverse so far but the car felt pretty good!

A couple minor notes:
- We had some whining from the power steering but after adding some more fluid and following the ps bleeding instructions, this went away. The power steering works, which is a good sign.
- The fan went on after a while which I was happy to see as well.
- Oil and coolant levels seem to be ok. We also don’t seem to have any leaks at present.

There are a few things we’re still working on figuring out:
- The biggest issue we’ve been having is with the ignition switch. As some of you know, this has stumped us for a while. With our factory five ignition switch, even without the key in the ignition, when we turn on the battery cut off switch, the fuel pump kicks on and the dash gauges light up. We’ve tried testing this a number of different ways and also have bought a new generic ignition switch.
- With the new generic ignition switch, we solve one of the problems as the fuel pump waits to kick in until we turn the key – so that’s good news! But the dash still lights up even when the key is not in the ignition. So we must have a wire incorrectly connecting the gauges. We will need to figure this out… Any tips on this one?
- Our speedometer doesn’t seem to be working yet. Whenever the dash is powered up, regardless of whether we are moving or not, it registers somewhere in the 80-100 mph range. Maybe that's the speed the car is saying it wants to go, rather than the 5-10 mph I've driven it so far?

Let me know if you guys have any suggestions! But overall, we’re excited and happy to be at this point. In some ways, I feel like this is the biggest step! ☺

[chmhasy]

Congrats on go-carting

[GoDadGo]

Congratulations From The Dark Dart Side!

[MSumners]

Congrats!

[edwardb]

There are a few things we’re still working on figuring out:
- The biggest issue we’ve been having is with the ignition switch. As some of you know, this has stumped us for a while. With our factory five ignition switch, even without the key in the ignition, when we turn on the battery cut off switch, the fuel pump kicks on and the dash gauges light up. We’ve tried testing this a number of different ways and also have bought a new generic ignition switch.
- With the new generic ignition switch, we solve one of the problems as the fuel pump waits to kick in until we turn the key – so that’s good news! But the dash still lights up even when the key is not in the ignition. So we must have a wire incorrectly connecting the gauges. We will need to figure this out… Any tips on this one?
- Our speedometer doesn’t seem to be working yet. Whenever the dash is powered up, regardless of whether we are moving or not, it registers somewhere in the 80-100 mph range... Maybe that's the speed the car is saying it wants to go, rather than the 5-10 mph I've driven it so far?

Congrats on your go-kart run! Coyote sounds good (normal...) and glad to see you're taking it easy. Some go-karts drives I see make me nervous. For your questions:

- Ignition switch: Sounds like progress since the non-FFR switch is more normal. While I've heard of failures of the FFR switch, I wouldn't say it's reported a lot. Positive they're wired exactly the same? It's real easy to use a VOM or continuity tester to test the switch. With one lead attached to the battery terminal: OFF position: No continuity to any of the other terminals. ACC position: Continuity only to the ACC terminal. RUN position: Continuity only to the ACC and IGN terminals. START position: Continuity only to the start (blue wire) and IGN terminals. Since your FFR switch is loose you could check and see if this is how it's working. If so, no reason why it shouldn't work installed in the car.

- Dash lights: Positive that's the only thing that's powered when your battery switch is on and the key is off? Only things that should work are the headlight circuit, radio memory (if you're using it), courtesy lights (part of the headlight circuit), brake lights, and horn. Nothing else should be working. If that's the case, then sounds like maybe your dash lights are wired incorrectly. They're all daisy chained together and should go the white dash light wire from the RF dash harness. This is really basic, but are you positive your headlight switch is off? The dash lights would come on in the first and second position. Along with other exterior lights, but don't see that you have them installed yet. Also check the position of the knob, rotated all the way counter-clockwise, you would be in full dim plus the courtesy circuit would be on. Rotate it to the right and see if the lights dim or go off. Not positive since I haven't done Autometer gauges. But I'm thinking they dim with the headlight knob as opposed to the Speedhut gauges that have required an inverter.

- Speedo: I'm assuming you have it wired to the two speed sensor wires per the Autometer instructions. Did you calibrate the speedo? Your Autometer instructions spell out how to do that (takes a 2 mile measured course) and I'm betting that step hasn't been completed.

[PeteMeindl]

Congrats on your go-kart run! Coyote sounds good (normal...) and glad to see you're taking it easy. Some go-karts drives I see make me nervous. For your questions:

- Ignition switch: Sounds like progress since the non-FFR switch is more normal. While I've heard of failures of the FFR switch, I wouldn't say it's reported a lot. Positive they're wired exactly the same? It's real easy to use an VOM or continuity tester to test the switch. With one lead attached to the battery terminal: OFF position: No continuity to any of the other terminals. ACC position: Continuity only to the ACC terminal. RUN position: Continuity only to the ACC and IGN terminals. START position: Continuity only to the start (blue wire) and IGN terminals. Since your FFR switch is loose you could check and see if this is how it's working. If so, no reason why it shouldn't work installed in the car.

- Dash lights: Positive that's the only thing that's powered when your battery switch is on and the key is off? Only things that should work are the headlight circuit, radio memory (if you're using it), courtesy lights (part of the headlight circuit), brake lights, and horn. Nothing else should be working. If that's the case, then sounds like maybe your dash lights are wired incorrectly. They're all daisy chained together and should go the white dash light wire from the RF dash harness. This is really basic, but are you positive your headlight switch is off? The dash lights would come on in the first and second position. Along with other exterior lights, but don't see that you have them installed yet. Also check the position of the knob, rotated all the way counter-clockwise, you would be in full dim plus the courtesy circuit would be on. Rotate it to the right and see if the lights dim or go off. Not positive since I haven't done Autometer gauges. But I'm thinking they dim with the headlight knob as opposed to the Speedhut gauges that have required an inverter.

- Speedo: I'm assuming you have it wired to the two speed sensor wires per the Autometer instructions. Did you calibrate the speedo? Your Autometer instructions spell out how to do that (takes a 2 mile measured course) and I'm betting that step hasn't been completed.

Thank you, Paul! As always, your comments are very helpful. We'll try those continuity tests on the ignition switch next weekend. Your instructions will really help us narrow this down.
Secondly, wow - great comment on the dash lights. I didn't realize this could all be linked to the headlights! So i hadn't even thought about that and i don't know if they are on or off. And if the dash goes on when the headlights go on, that could be the cause of this whole issue. I'll look forward to checking this out - this is great! And i haven't calibrated the speedometer - so that's my problem there!

Thank you for answering all my questions. Have a great week!

[edwardb]

...on the dash lights. I didn't realize this could all be linked to the headlights! So i hadn't even thought about that and i don't know if they are on or off. And if the dash goes on when the headlights go on, that could be the cause of this whole issue...

Right. The dash (instrument) lights are powered through the headlight switch. Same as all DD's. If the parking lights or all lights including headlights are on, the dash lights will also be on.