{Chrysler 300} Re: Success (almost) EL power pack

["'dave mason' via Chrysler 300 Club International" <chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks John I’ll start troubleshooting with the 12 v.

I did not change the wiring.   The symptom of the EL lighting before “fixing” the power pack was that the EL lighting would come on (low brightness) with the headlight switch but fade out in short order, like only a few seconds.  Typical sign of a failing capacitor.  

Now with the fixed power pack the EL lights won’t come on simply with the headlight switch as they should, but if I leave the headlights on and fiddle with the ignition switch position then the EL lights come on nice and bright for a couple seconds then kick off on their own.  They illuminate the exact same amount of time each time before kicking off.   The incandescent bulbs for the shifter and heater controls stay on without a problem and operate as they should. 

For those who like to solder and fix up the power packs, you may encounter differences in design.  If you are following the club tech articles from John Grady and Carl Bilter, John and Carl have helped figure out that the posted schematic you will see in one of the articles (from an imperial) seems to hold true for different power pack construction.  This one had a resistance wire instead of the usual 2 ohm resistor.  The wire was corroded and in poor shape.  Therefore I replaced it with a 2 ohm 5W resistor, and made sure to install heat shrink tubing to cover the bare leads.  Here is the power pack, with a new capacitor already installed, while soldering in the resistor:

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You have to first melt the solder on the board and remove the old resistance wire.  Then I used new wire to connect to the board, and soldered the resistor to the new wire.  

In addition to restoring the power pack, I had the Astradome apart and out of the car to clean and lube the speedometer, replace some of the gauges, clean the contacts and add another ground wire.  So when I tried the EL lighting for the first time yesterday, and nothing came on except the heater and shift bulbs, I just figured the power pack needed something else.  But I turned the key to “run” so I could check the turn signal Astradome bulbs (which work) and in fiddling with the key, the EL lights came on for a couple seconds.  So yes, John you’re right the key should have nothing to do with the lights that come on with the headlight switch, so that’s why this is so odd. 

This is a 62, therefore easy and cheap to replace the headlight switch, so I may just do that as well, because why not 😄. 

D&K

Sent from my iPhone

> On Sep 30, 2024, at 10:54, John Grady <jkg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> check 12 v on input to power supply , the orange wire , that it stays there with lights having gone off . — to separate the 12v car wiring from power pack / HV 
> Did you change wring or  a mistake? the dash lights go on with headlight switch  — nothing to do with  key ? ? loose main wire at key ?does  incandescent 12 v in transmission or heater stay on ? 
> run 12 from battery direct to orange  feed into ps leaving the white connected .. should light up 
> Dimmer  resistor  on headlight switch is common offender on erratic dash lights . hard to fix  right too , you can short out that resistor so lights  stay full bright , which  in general is where you leave it anyway .
> Separate a ? 12 v issue from pack or hv issue first . 
> If hv , any gauge shorting  out kills all hv / gauges usually  without hurting power pack ,— vibration of key may be shorting some gauge radio tach etc . if that is case , disconnect white one at a time till you find  it  
> Common offender is tiny wire in gauge to needle touches metal , one at a time will find which one 
> 
> hope this helps
> there is no overvoltage shut down , that looks nice and  bright ! 
> Anything from 190 -240 works , ac, higher end  is a little brighter 
> 
> Cap you put in is st least 630 dc right? less rating can break down 
> 
> 
>> On Sep 29, 2024, at 8:20 PM, dave mason <forwardlook300@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi guys,
>> 
>> Wondering if you’ve run into this, or know what it sounds like, electrically.
>> 
>> I replaced the cap and the resistance wire in that power pack (resistance wire is the 2 ohm value).  Cleaned grounding contact surfaces.
>> 
>> Soldering in the 2-ohm resistor:
>> <IMG_6434.jpeg>
>> 
>> 
>> When I turn the lights on, no EL lighting.  However, if I turn the key back and forth (ie to run and/or accessory) the EL lighting comes on nice and bright.  For about 2-3 seconds.  Then shuts off by itself.  
>> 
>> I did not bench test the unit but maybe that is advisable to see a/c volt output (in case there is an auto shut off for high volts?).  
>> 
>> I managed to get a picture when the EL lights were on.  I also took a few second video (not attached due to size) showing how fiddling with the ignition switch gets the lights to come on then they shut off on their own.  Here is the picture, in case it looks overly bright or something:
>> 
>> <IMG_6469.jpeg>
>> 
>> 
>> You can hear a slight hum when the EL lighting is on then it stops when it kicks off.  
>> 
>> Thanks for any ideas!
>> D&K
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone

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