Electrical harness holders behind dash

[Ovalis]

Does anybody know how many holders were used to secure the electrical harness to the bottom of the dash.
Doing a resto and want to be factory correct.

Also regarding the light bolted to the bottom of the dash, is it supposed to be mounted to the left or to the right of the radio.
My '74 has it mounted to the right of the radio, but the factory diagram that I've seen shows it mounted to the left of radio which makes more sense to me.

 

[DirtDonk]

I seem to remember seeing one or two or of the lights to the right, but by far the majority have been to the left.

Not sure about the clips, as it might have varied per year too. I seem to remember 2 of the larger plastic clips, but I'll check under my '71 when I get the chance to verify.
Seems like there was one bend-over tab as well?

Since the "Map Light" was strictly an option, and many were likely dealer or owner installed, the ones you see to the right might very well be "incorrect", but still "original" to the truck.
Your '74 could have had the overhead dome light too, I think. You have one of those?
Is yours a Sport, or Ranger or anything like that?

Paul

 

[Fireball05]

I just got a NOS interior courtesy light and the one page instructions have a picture showing it being installed to the left of the radio. I can take a photo and upload it if you'd like.

Don't know about the wire clips. Mine has 2, but my truck is far from being factory correct, so I can only confirm Dirk's statement above that there are no fewer than 2 of them, which I know isn't very helpful

 

[Ovalis]

My '74 has 2 clips as well that are spaced far apart, that's why I thought maybe one or two might be missing in between. I haven't seen the bend over clip though, just the one on the gauge cluster.

My truck's a ranger and has the dome light as well. I have that factory sheet too, that's why I questioned left or right. Show's left, but mine's on the right.

I know it ain't a big deal, but sometimes I'm really anal on being factory correct. If I'm going to restore something, I might as well do it right.

 

[jsnouffer]

The courtesy light in my 72 is to the right of the radio. The dash layout in the owner's manual does have it to the left however.

 

[Ovalis]

Interesting, more documentation showing to the left, but real world example is again to the right. thanks

 

[Fireball05]

Ovalis, et al:

Here are the official installation instructions from Ford!



Also, would you be so kind as to let me know where you think the two large holders are mounted under the dash? One of mine was located just below the ashtray, but I have no idea if that is "correct". I don't have a photo showing where the other one was.

The underside of my dash seems to have lots of extra holes. Any idea what the 2 sets of double holes are on the driver half of the dash? They are on either side of the steering column.

 

[DirtDonk]

The larger holes to either side of the column are probably the ones for getting to the bolts that hold the column to the cowl. Haven't looked under one lately, so can't remember what the others are.
I would think that the large clips are not one of the items that get moved to a non-stock location very often. No matter how much a PO gets under there to "fix" things, the clips probably just stay where they were put at the factory.
I'm sure there are plenty of exceptions, but I've never known anyone to move them for any reason. So if you found one mounted, consider that the correct spot for at least one of them.
Otherwise, but them where they work best for your harness. I'd be willing to be there were slight variations over the years. Most harnesses were virtually the same, but the location of the main branch and trunks might have varied during some of the more major changes to the wiring.

You've got a '66 as well as those later models, so you're plenty familiar with the changes in dash layout. And just looking at those lamp installation instructions shows the major change in ashtray location. That alone could have necessitated the moving of the clips. Then the later change from the floor to the glovebox with the fuse panel could have made for more change.

I'll go out tomorrow (if I can remember) and look under the dash on my '71 to see where they are. It's still in it's as-built shape for the time being.

Paul

 

[AZ73]

I just took my dash apart yesterday. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures WITH the wiring harness still in, but I've annotated these where the clips were. There were only 2, but who knows if the PO removed one to get the aftermarket radio in. The arrows show the holes for the screws. If you look at the one picture that shows the dash from the back, you can see there the indentations in the dust right above the arrows where the clips were. My map light was to the right of the radio (see last picture, arrow pointing to it)

 

[Crawdad]

Is that blue/ blk line wire a 6 volt source or a 12 volt source when the key is in the "on" position?

 

[jsnouffer]

I just picked up a dash this past weekend. It had 3 clips, two were in the spots shown by AZ73 and another was behind the glovebox.




Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Fireball05]

Is that blue/ blk line wire a 6 volt source or a 12 volt source when the key is in the "on" position?

Are you talking about the blue/black wire that feeds the courtesy light and map light in the wiper cover? If so, it's 12V.

 

[Crawdad]

I went back and looked again. It's a solid light blue wire and I think it may have been installed at a later date. It doesn't look original and its 6 volts for sure, what it ran is my question.

 

[Ovalis]

Went back and looked in my '74, and there are 3 clips. One on each side of the radio and the third one on the far right by the glove box. Map light to the right of the radio. Thanks for the input, that's the route I'm going with on the '73.

 

[DirtDonk]

I went back and looked again. It's a solid light blue wire and I think it may have been installed at a later date. It doesn't look original and its 6 volts for sure, what it ran is my question.

Well, if it's not original, then only the person that put it in is going to know what it's for unfortunately.
If it's only 6 volts though, then either it's spliced into the ignition resistor wire off the back of the ignition switch, or it's got a defective connection, or it's corroded inside along the strands.
I'd say either of the last two is more likely, as the resistor wire should still show 12 volts until you apply a load to it and the heat builds up along it's length.

Resistor wire: Very small gauge equals less load capacity, which means heat buildup. Heat buildup equals resistance. More heat equals more resistance.
So until some heat builds up in the resistor wire, it's still flowing 12 volts.
Your 6 volt wire then might have some issues of it's own, it sounds like.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

I forgot to ask Crawdad, is this on your '76? If so, the only wires I could find that are Blue only (no stripe) are one to the Ignition Module and one to the Windshield Wiper Motor.
If it's under the dash, then it could be a wiper wire. As said before though, either of those should have 12 volts.

There is another Blue wire under the dash that goes to the Cigar Lighter, but it's got a white stripe. Reason I even bring it up though, is that after this many years, that white stripe could be very hard to see.

Is there any tell-tale connector on it? Where does it run to/from?

Paul