Category Archives: Restoration

Electrical 20: End of Courtesy Light Gremlins(?)

Hopefully this will be the last post on the courtesy light electrical gremlins. It looks like there were two independent – and intermittent! – problems: prongs in the light socket touching the shell and a door switch not long enough … Continue reading

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Electrical 19: Another Round with the Courtesy Lights

As mentioned in a previous post I am (finally) re-doing the front door cards. Since this exposes the guts of the door it’s the obvious time to check out the wiring. There is quite a bit of wiring in the … Continue reading

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Electrical 18: Return of the Gremlins

In a previous post on Chasing Gremlins I documented problems with the courtesy lights coming on when they weren’t supposed to. I fixed this problem. Several times. In September it came back. The courtesy lights are coming on and staying … Continue reading

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Fall Thoughts

Just back from the last car show of the year at Kimball Farms. I wasn’t originally planning to attend, as I had gone to the one last week, but the weather was absolutely beautiful. OK, once more into the breach! … Continue reading

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Yet Another AC Update

Got the AC recharged (again) and good news – it worked! All of the heater controls are working – the actuators open and close the air doors and properly route the airflow for AC, heater, and defrost. The fan works … Continue reading

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Radio Plug

Like other parts of the Imperial the radio has a story behind it. A story that I would love to know but will never discover… It is a factory radio – has to be to fit the curved dash. State … Continue reading

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We Aim to Please

Another entry in the list of places where I have outsmarted myself trying to improve things… When I got the Imperial the rear springs were sagging a bit. As part of rebuilding the rear suspension I replaced them with new … Continue reading

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Electrical 17: Chasing Gremlins

I’ve had an intermittent electrical problem for several months – one of the most frustrating things that can happen. The courtesy lights – lights in the front doors and a map light in the dash – come on when you … Continue reading

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Electrical 16: Heater Illumination

The Imperial uses electroluminescent lighting for the instrument panel, heater controls and transmission controls. The heater and transmission use plastic pushbuttons with a panel beside them to light the button caps. Unfortunately these panels degrade over time and now barely … Continue reading

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An Air Conditioning Thread Pull

You know when you have a sweater with a thread hanging loose and you pull on it? And you keep getting more and more thread until your former sweater is nothing but a pile of sheep fur on the floor? … Continue reading

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