More electrical stuff.

[Airmapper]

Is our electrical surgeon, a.k.a Viper in? And anyone else that wants to pitch in on trying to help me straighten my wires come on down! It will be much appreciated.

I have pretty much removed all of my wiring harness from my '70. All the wiring under the hood is still in place but is loose so I can sort it out. I have the dash out, and the under dash harness is out and is what I'm working on now.

Right now I'm not quite ready to go to a replacement harness, and I think I can make this one work if I fix stuff properly and don't go around using cheap crimp connectors like the PO. For the under dash section it looks like I'll have to do a bit of soldering, but I only have 3 or 4 significant repairs and maybe another 4 or 5 places to repair some exposed wires.

Issue #1:
The yellow wire from my ignition switch to the splice was burnt out. The other 3-4 wires looked good. I have a parts harness which has the ignition switch connector, and it looks good. Well problem is I can't seem to find a way to remove the connectors from the plug without damaging it, and I can't do a direct splice since there is this resistor wire that even says "DO NOT CUT OR SPLICE" on it. Something has to give.

Any ideas on how to repair the yellow wire on the ignition switch plug?

Issue #2
I have 2 stock fuse panels. The one from my '70 has one wire burnt up and all the contacts are rusted. The spare I have is in a little better shape and I guess I could use it if I wanted to.

Would I be better off with a replacement panel, and anyone have a panel to suggest? It's only 5 or 6 terminals, looks like an easy upgrade to do while I'm in there. I'd rather have ATC blades over the old glass style anyway.


Issue #3
The PO connected the radiator fan to a key on hot, yellow w/ black stripe wire, that traces back to a factory splice. I found this on my other harness and it should be going to a 2 prong connector. What is that for?

Issue #4
What all can I remove from the Ammeter loop? I've gone 3G and the Ammeter is gone. I'm probably going to attempt the Volt meter in the stock cluster swap.

And one more question: Where can I get a good kit with solder on connectors (like blades and common connectors) and a kit of adhesive shrink tubing. I'm not sure what sizes I'll need or in what quantity, so a good overall kit should be all I need. I just need some good quality stuff to make good repairs, and the kits I found at Fastenal were all outrageously priced, I don't need an $80 kit of shrink tubing or a $150 connector kit.

Thanks

 

[DirtDonk]

Issue #1:
The yellow wire from my ignition switch to the splice was burnt out. The other 3-4 wires looked good. I have a parts harness which has the ignition switch connector, and it looks good. Well problem is I can't seem to find a way to remove the connectors from the plug without damaging it, and I can't do a direct splice since there is this resistor wire that even says "DO NOT CUT OR SPLICE" on it. Something has to give.

Any ideas on how to repair the yellow wire on the ignition switch plug?

Don't they have the little tabs that you can push down with a very small screwdriver? They "should" just pop right out once you've depressed the tab.
Been awhile since I've messed with an ignition switch connector, but I thought that's how they worked.
Keep digging in there and see if you can get them to flip out.

Issue #2
I have 2 stock fuse panels. The one from my '70 has one wire burnt up and all the contacts are rusted. The spare I have is in a little better shape and I guess I could use it if I wanted to.

Would I be better off with a replacement panel, and anyone have a panel to suggest? It's only 5 or 6 terminals, looks like an easy upgrade to do while I'm in there. I'd rather have ATC blades over the old glass style anyway.

I would think that, yes, in this case, and this far into a re-do, you'd be better served with a new panel. It'd be a lot more effort to put the better of the two existing panels in place I would think.
Not sure who's would be best though. I like the modern O.E. stuff myself (junkyard stuff), but they're physically much larger usually, so might be hard to splice in and keep them in the same spot. If you can find a smallish one though, you might be good to go.
Aftermarket ones would be easier to attach though, as you would typically only have to cut and strip the end of the wire, and insert the end into a retainer with a set-screw. Easy peasy.
Centech, Ron Francis (might be too big though), EZ Wire, Painless and others have good offerings. Plenty of others too, so I'm sure you'll get some good recommendations in that regard here.

Issue #3
The PO connected the radiator fan to a key on hot, yellow w/ black stripe wire, that traces back to a factory splice. I found this on my other harness and it should be going to a 2 prong connector. What is that for?

Which splice? Same one with the burned Yellow wire?
Where is the 3-prong plug located? What color is it?
I'm not familiar with a Yellow w/black wire on a '70. Can you verify color?

Issue. What all can I remove from the Ammeter loop? I've gone 3G and the Ammeter is gone. I'm probably going to attempt the Volt meter in the stock cluster swap.

You really have to retain the connection and wire under the dash in good working order, even if the wire no longer goes through the gauge. The reason is that the battery is on one side of that connector, and all your accessories are on the other.
So just figure on leaving both branches intact,
If you really want to cut out any unused portions, The only part available is the Black w/yellow wire from the firewall plug to the alternator.

Hope that helps you keep going. Let me know about that Yellow w/black wire though.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

I take back that last bit. I'm so used to people working on their harnesses while all still wrapped up and installed, that I almost forgot yours is pretty much all pulled apart.

So for the ammeter loop, you can actually cut the wire at the splice if you really want to. Since all the distribution power is now going to come from the battery exclusively, you won't need the section of Black w/yellow wire between the splice and the firewall plug either.

Still, it's a very robust wire. If you can use it for anything at all, that would be a good thing. In other words, instead of cutting it out, un-wrap it from the engine side harness from the alternator to the firewall, and run it to a new power distribution block mounted in some convenient location under the hood.
You could run a ton of normal accessories off of that one wire.

And speaking of junkyards.... I like the distribution blocks that the factories put on cars and trucks. You should be able to find a suitable one on some old wreck or another.

Paul

 

[Airmapper]

Wow, thanks Paul. I'll have to come back later to respond to some of that after I go check some stuff.

Still, it's a very robust wire. If you can use it for anything at all, that would be a good thing. In other words, instead of cutting it out, un-wrap it from the engine side harness from the alternator to the firewall, and run it to a new power distribution block mounted in some convenient location under the hood.
You could run a ton of normal accessories off of that one wire.

Okay, I'm going to check and see what I can do with it. I did have to do something I didn't want to and cut it where it came into the firewall. The PO had cut it as well and it was the only thing holding the harness in, so "SNIP" and I had it where I could handle it. I clipped it next to the PO's splice, which by the looks of it I will have to fix regardless.

I was wanting to go to the junkyard for a accessory fuse panel anyway, so I'll look for places I might be able to mount one inside and see if I could use the ammeter wire to power it. I found a small fuse block from Centech I like and like the price (Less than $20), I'll probably do that for the stock fuses, as I'm trying to keep accessories and the stock wiring separate so I know what is what, I've learned a lot about wiring here lately on here from you and others, but I'm not trying anything fancy just yet.

After I've had a chance to look at some things you mentioned I'll be back, and in particular I'll get more info on that yellow w/ black stripe wire. I can't find it on any of my diagrams.

 

[Viperwolf1]

Paul has you covered on about everything.

I don't see a yellow-black either. Can you post a pic of the connector?

You can eliminate the 10g black wire from the fusible link at the starter solenoid to the ammeter connector. You'll need to attach the 10g black-yellow wire (old alt output) to the fusible link to power everything inside though. Your 3G should have the output run straight to the solenoid or battery.

 

[Airmapper]

Issue #1 is fixed. I finally found my little thin screwdriver after turning over my toolbox and re arranging every other place I keep my tools. It was under the hood on top the wheel well. %) Anyway that screwdriver popped the connectors out where my other little picks and pins had not, and I was able to just solder on the yellow wire w/ connector from the other harness and put the plug back together.

Issue #2 is fixed, I think. I believe I'm going to buy this: LINK I will get the 6 fuse block, might even have an extra slot for a simple accessory.

Issue #3:

Here is a photo:

On my parts harness this goes to a stock single connector, but beyond that the stuff it's plugged into does not look stock so I won't show it to confuse what it's for.

Issue #4: Thanks for the info, now I'll probably wait before I cut it all out to see if I will use it for powering an accessory fuse block. I had a thread on that a while back and got some good ideas. Now I am aware that is a good wire to use I'll see if I can accommodate it, if not I may eliminate it.

 

[Viperwolf1]

What are the other color wires in that splice?

Could be power to turn signal flasher maybe.

 

[DirtDonk]

Yellow w/black. Radio power supply color on later models. However, it really shouldn't be in a constant-hot circuit that I'm aware of. Could this be a different splice perhaps?
Is there a good sized Black w/green wire feeding into that splice at any point?

Follow the wires out from the splice again, and see just where each of them goes. If that Yellow is indeed the one to the ignition switch, then your in the correct splice for all the other things we've discussed, but somehow Ford's supplier got a wrong color there.

Paul

 

[Airmapper]

If that Yellow is indeed the one to the ignition switch, then your in the correct splice for all the other things we've discussed, but somehow Ford's supplier got a wrong color there.

Paul

The solid yellow one for the ignition switch is fixed now. This is at a different splice. I have no idea where this smaller gauge yellow w/ black would have gone since the PO used it for fan power. It came on with key on or ACC. Radio might make sense, the truck does not have a radio now, and I believe the front fenders were replaced so I can't look for the antenna hole. I don't know if it came with a radio from the factory or not. I'm also assuming this is the original '70 harness but anything is possible.

Viper,

According to the Orange w/ yellow stripe wire passing thru the splice, on the diagram I have that is the turn signal flasher to fuse panel wire. It also has a Black w/ red stripe originating there which should be the back up lamp power.

There is a solid black wire that goes to the connector seen in the lower left corner, the headlight switch I think? And then our mystery wire.

I don't know if it's an important wire or not, if it does go to something I want to hook it back up correctly, if not I might could use it for a low power device. It was running the fan which I thought was a little much for such a small wire, but it might be useful to switch on a relay or something when the key is on.

Thanks for the assistance.

 

[DirtDonk]

Radio wire then. On with the key only. Correct colors. Powers the stock radio.
All Black wire might be the Black w/green since the green is hard to see even when it's new. If the Black wire is slightly larger than the rest, or at least as the Black w/green off the center post of the ignition switch, that's the power line that feeds the others.

And you're right. It's a bit of a stretch for a fan. Might be one of the things that has caused you some trouble from the beginning, but not necessarily the big trouble.

It should power a relay, or a low powered accessory.
Pull fan power from some other source that's more convenient. Perhaps a relay off of your new fuse panel instead.

Paul

 

[Viperwolf1]

You called it Paul. I was looking under the '70 diagrams and couldn't find it.

 

[Airmapper]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it!

 

[DirtDonk]

Yeah, it doesn't show up in any of my charts until '72. No radio circuit at all on that old original wire diagram that I see. I knew I'd seen that color combo on Fords though, just took a bit to find it.

Sounds like you're on your way 'mapper. Good to see someone literally dig into their harness to fix it's faults the right way the first time. Instead of just hacking it more and more to Band-Aid some scorched spots.
Well, it's still a Band-Aid I suppose, but at least it's done right.

And speaking of which... You ARE going to cut that Green wire off of the Yellow w/black one, right? Looks like it's been overloaded or momentarily shorted out before, judging by the burned center on that butt-connector.

Paul

 

[Airmapper]

Sounds like you're on your way 'mapper. Good to see someone literally dig into their harness to fix it's faults the right way the first time. Instead of just hacking it more and more to Band-Aid some scorched spots.
Well, it's still a Band-Aid I suppose, but at least it's done right.

And speaking of which... You ARE going to cut that Green wire off of the Yellow w/black one, right? Looks like it's been overloaded or momentarily shorted out before, judging by the burned center on that butt-connector.

Paul

Thanks Paul. After several sessions of siting in the drivers seat upside down I knew that dash had to come out. Wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I know I'm going to be a lot happier later without electrical issues popping up every time I drive.

Ha ha! Yes I promise I'll cut that off. I left it on there for now since I was just so amazed at it, and it sticks out like a sore thumb so I can find it when I'm ready to fix it. I may run it to my new fuse block in the extra slot, use like a 2A fuse and let it be the 12v source for relay switches.