Time for a new clutch

[2000xp8]

Here's an odd one for you.
I left the battery on for a few weeks, it has been fine with the visor mirrors unplugged (thanks mike).

For some reason when i drove the car last week the radio stopped working.
I let it go and kinda forgot about it.
Go to drive the car and when i open the door, no interior light.
I figure the battery is dead. Put the tender on it, reads 93%.
So it's not dead.

Turns out the radio and interior light are on the same fuse. Not hard to figure out, i have the book.
Pull out the stereo and i thought it could have been that i didn't cap the unused amp/on wire.
Not it.
Then i clip the wire to my line loc (which i should have removed during the 4v swap) and it still blows, i had it wired to the power from the stereo for 30 years.
Now i'm wondering if i was stupid enough to push bare connectors back in for the visor mirrors? I guess i'll have to take a look.

I haven't put much effort into solving this yet, but i'm not overly worried.
Before i pulled out of the driveway and it popped again, the door chime was working and so was the interior light.
Just have to figure out the catalyst, shouldn't be too hard i do electrical work for a living.

The real odd part? Remember when i was talking about how i wanted to keep power to the radio to preserve the settings?
Well is sorta does. It keeps the bluetooth connection and the stations, but loses the time (after i thought the battery was dead, i turned the battery switch off).

 

[Mustang5L5]

The plugs on the visors have plastic sleeves over them, so they shouldn't contact anything unless the sleeves are damaged and missing. Been a while since i've looked at them however so i could be wrong.

 

[2000xp8]

The plugs on the visors have plastic sleeves over them, so they shouldn't contact anything unless the sleeves are damaged and missing. Been a while since i've looked at them however so i could be wrong.

So i took a look, only two screws so not much work.
both sides are actually covered, the female (mirror side) is 100% covered up, the other side is not fully covered.
Picture an H where something could possibly but unlikely get between the two top posts and touch. I covered it up, so if that was an issue, it won't be, then again i'm not even sure if the visors are on the same circuit.
The fuse was blown really weird, not like the first one with a hole blown in the middle of the filament.
It's a 15, but i don't want to waste all my 15's, so i threw a 10 in there. Everything that's supposed to work, works, so we will have to see next time i drive it.

Though now that i think about it, it happened while driving, so that may rule out a handful of items.
Which means it could very well be an open wire grounding out. So that's pretty much a nightmare scenario, i would rather it just break and be broken, but if it's not and it randomly blows i could really be in for it.

I"m also not sure if the visor mirrors are even on the same fuse, i'll have to dig into the book at a glance i didn't see them listed (or i don't know the actual name of them). I probably should have pulled the fuse and tested it while i had the visor off.

 

[Mustang5L5]

The visors are on Fuse 8 with a lot of other stuff.

 

[2000xp8]

Well, that puts them with the radio and they are they only thing i've messed with in a long time, so let's hope covering up the connector solved it.
Do the visors have an official name in the electrical manual? Or do they just fall under courtesy lights?
Edit: I'm really not thinking lately, i still need to open the passenger side.

 

[Mustang5L5]

They fall on the page for courtesy lights

All this stuff here is under fuse 8

 

[2000xp8]

So last week we drove around some.
I do have a concern with the child seats in the back.
The angle that the belt goes too sharp through the seat loop and i feel like it has to be manual retracted.
I'm also not so sure the rear seat belt retracts that well to begin with or ever did.
A quick look at LMR and there is no rear seatbelts for 1990-1993?

Also swapped the interior bulbs to led. Used 4k. Anything higher is too blue for my taste.
Kinda surprised by the hatch bulb, in all the time i have messed with this car i never noticed it was a quartz type of halogen bulb and i've never cleaned the lens, ever.
Instead of screwing with it too much, i clipped the legs and tossed it. That thing surely runs every hot. Replaced with the Daniel carpenter version.
So much cleaner of a look for the interior instead of the orangish 2700k incandescent bulbs.

 

[Mustang5L5]

The rear seat belts do suck. I put a set of 3-point lap belts in my '88 for the kids and noticed the same thing. They don't really lock. Neither to the front seats. I can get the front seats to lock if i slam on the brakes while pulling with one hand. Seems the early belts work off inertia, but at some point they changed the design standard and you can lock them much easier.

Doesn't instill me with a lot of confidence however...

 

[2000xp8]

Oddly enough i've never really sat in the back of a foxbody, when i was younger and had friends with them i was tall enough to play the height card never to sit in the back.
While i was always a good driver, i was a risk taker that got lucky more than my share. To think that i had other people's daughters in the back of this car and they had parents that let me is downright scary at this point especially with seatbelts that suck this bad.

Over the winter i ill have to sort this.
Do you feel like the rear retractors are weak?
When i had my daughter in the back with just a base i felt like could move the shoulder harness way too easy.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I'll have to climb in the back and check later on.

The whole fox hatchback backseat in general wouldn't pass muster by todays's standard. The seat belts are one thing, but there are no headrests, and those seat backs come up to what? Middle back area? When i was a teen riding in the back of friend's hatchbacks, my head would hit the metal trim on the roof all the time.

 

[85GTStangGuy]

I'm also not so sure the rear seat belt retracts that well to begin with or ever did.

You may be surprised how much better they retract with just a good belt cleaning. I recommend Woolite (or something equal), and leave them extended until they are completely dry.

A quick look at LMR and there is no rear seatbelts for 1990-1993?

Probably not the right color (I kinda hope not actually, imo), but they may be dyeable....

Seat Belt Set, Rear Seat, Scarlet Red, Incl (2) Buckle Assy, (2) Retractors And Belts, Must Reuse Original Retractor Cover And Buckle Sleeve, Repro - #M-61168-1G - National Parts Depot

Buy part #M-61168-1G Seat Belt Set, Rear Seat, Scarlet Red, Incl (2) Buckle Assy, (2) Retractors And Belts, Must Reuse Original Retractor Cover And Buckle Sleeve, Repro for your classic vehicle from National Parts Depot. Free shipping on orders over $300, fast delivery & everyday low pricing...

www.npdlink.com

To think that i had other people's daughters in the back of this car....

It's okay.... I assume the car was parked.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Checked my belts last night. They definitely are a lot looser than modern cars. You can easily pull them and no "rachet" type feeling when you pull like a modern car. I feel like i could grab the buckle and throw it and the belt would feed out just from that.

Can't test them while driving by pulling unfortunately

 

[2000xp8]

Checked my belts last night. They definitely are a lot looser than modern cars. You can easily pull them and no "rachet" type feeling when you pull like a modern car. I feel like i could grab the buckle and throw it and the belt would feed out just from that.

Can't test them while driving by pulling unfortunately

This is my main concern, last time i let my daughter sit without the high back section of her seat she messed with the belt too much for my liking. So on top of it being loose it had no loom to pass through.

85, i'm not opposed to cleaning them. Though it does seem like an awkward task. They have surely never been cleaned before.
Also your idea of cleaning them appears to be sound advice.

I made a few calls to seat belt restoration companies and each one said the same thing, the webbing is a root cause of poor retraction. I guess with the dirt and grime embedded it causes friction.
With that said, the one place i kinda liked said they would completely refurb the belts $100 each and since my seats are now black i'd just do that (though i think i will try and clean them anyway, maybe steam vac them?)
Repair only is $75, so a complete job makes more sense.
With the work they take care of the spring tension and they also remove and reinstall all the factory tags on the new webbing.
And apparently webbing is the proper term for the belt material itself.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Mine actually retract quite nicely. But it just feels like there is no resistance going in or out.

I did clean the seatbelts on my convertible recently. I used something like this


View: https://youtu.be/76Dd79GlE1k?si=aE_GgPTzhSWLiB14

 

[85GTStangGuy]

85, i'm not opposed to cleaning them. Though it does seem like an awkward task. They have surely never been cleaned before.
Also your idea of cleaning them appears to be sound advice.

I made a few calls to seat belt restoration companies and each one said the same thing, the webbing is a root cause of poor retraction. I guess with the dirt and grime embedded it causes friction.
With that said, the one place i kinda liked said they would completely refurb the belts $100 each and since my seats are now black i'd just do that (though i think i will try and clean them anyway, maybe steam vac them?)

I know of several people that cleaned their belts, and were pleased with how much better they operate.

Outside of the car is a lot easier, but it can be done with them still mounted. Extend them completely and put a strong spring clamp on them to prevent them from rewinding. Get a bucket of Woolite and water, and a gentle brush or sponge, and proceed to clean them. Leave them extended until totally dry (don't want any excess moisture introduced into the inertia/ratchet mechanism). No idea if steam cleaning would be sufficient.... you may still need a detergent to help break the dirt/substrate bond. Both together actually sounds like a good idea.... get a cleaner on them to help loosen the dirt, and then steam them clean and let 'em dry.

That being said, a Benjamin each doesn't sound unreasonable for a good refurbing. Still though, I'd question if they're gonna put in the effort and time that you would yourself on your own.

 

[85GTStangGuy]

Just saw Mustang5L5's video he posted. That's got some good info in it.... I particularly like that brush he used. Not convinced that just rubbing with a moistened towel would get all the soapy residue out of the belt though. Think that dunking or rinsing in water would work better....although the steam cleaner idea sounds like a winner for getting all the cleaning solution out of the webbing. And yea, be sure to clean the buckle, particularly the surface the belt rides on. And while you're sprucing all that up, hit the metal part of the buckle with a little chrome polish.

 

[2000xp8]

I have access to my mother's carpet shampoo machine that heats and has tool attachments. One of the tools has a brush/sprayer that uses suction to pull the dirt and water out. I've used it plenty on carpets before, but obviously never on seatbelts, but i bet it works. The tool is clear so you can literally see the dirty water coming out and it also aids in drying. I never bought my own since our house doesn't have any carpet, but they only live a couple miles away.

 

[2000xp8]

Still be driving the car on Sundays.
I don't think i can reiterate enough that the TA and PHB makes the car feel so much more predictable and confident, especially coming out of right hand turns where foxes are prone to snap oversteer.

It's still blowing the fuse for the radio. I think i have an idea where it's coming from, ill have to change the fuse and test (I did buy an auto reset fuse, but i'm not totally familiar with how safe they are, opinions on them?).
It occurred to me that it always works fine in the garage, never pops when the car is off or in place, i can use the mirrors, open and close doors so the lights come on and off, map light works, so does glove compartment.
But by the time i pull it out of the garage it's history. My guess is that when i turn on the parking lights (i always drive with them on, been that way for 30 years) i'm turning on the instrument panel dimming control to the cluster.
I'll check to make sure that is the catalyst, then if it is, i'll start by unplugging the dimmer.

BTW, you guys will appreciate this, last sunday the kids were in pajamas watching the little bit of tv we let them watch, i went out moved cars around in the driveway to get out. Then started the car(which is seriously loud in the driveway), my little guy came blasting out the front door screaming and crying about how i was leaving without him. I wasn't going to leave them home, just wanted to see if driving in the car had worn off on them, turns out it did not...

 

[2000xp8]

Learned another valuable lesson.
How this is the first time in 30 years, i'm not sure.
Do not leave the house in the wrong sneakers and if you do, turn the hell around.
I wear hoka sneakers, a few different versions.
Left the house yesterday for a ride that was a bit longer and has more traffic, well my sneakers were getting caught on each other and the pedals.
So much so that anywhere there was traffic i need to have the car in neutral just in case. It was a freaken nightmare. I probably should have just taken them off.
When i got home, i compared the pair i was wearing to the pair i usually wear and they were a whopping 3/4 in wider for each shoe at the base!

I know people speak of the pedal spacing problem, but honestly in all my years of owning this car i've rarely had an issue.

And i didn't try and mess with the blown fuse, but oddly enough the gauge lighting works.
It's also listed on both fuse 6 and fuse 8.

 

[2000xp8]

So over the weekend i messed with the blown fuse a bit.
One thing i didn't consider is that the dimmer also controls the interior light.
I don't think i touched it in 20 years. No reason to, i don't drive the car at night so there is no reason to either dim it or turn on the interior light.
I don't know if the issue is related yet, but i struggled to find a spot on it where the interior light was off but the dash lights were on after i initially touched it. Almost seemed random, i exercised it a bit, that seemed to have made it worse.
And of course, i could not get the fuse to blow again even after driving around...
Ordered a new one from LMR. Hopefully they are good quality (it's a DC part).