MAD bypass

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Ironmike

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Hi guys! Kinda bored lately, waiting for my heads to get finished. I was wondering about the MAD bypass that many of you have done.

Already did Crackedback's headlight upgrade, but wondered if the MAD thing would be a good idea.

I have a 71 Demon with currently no electrical problems, other than very dim gauge lights. Is the bulkhead mod worth "just doing"?
 
I often refer to that article because it gives a very good overview of what happens to these girls. Crackedback sells a bypass cable which is some simpler Make certain that when you are done "things" are fuse/ fuse link protected

In no special order, the problems with most these girls is.....

Bad bulkhead connector terminal connections, too small wire for larger alternators, problems with headlight and ignition switch connectors, problems in the fuse panel, and problems with the light and ignition switch themselves. There is a welded splice in the black ammeter wire up under the dash, and that fails "once in awhile."
 
The mad deal is OK. I don't like the approach of looping the blk/red wires together with a fusible link.

When I sell my cables, I suggest installing it and leaving ALL the OEM wiring in place if the bulkhead is in good shape If the bulkhead needs repair, do any required repairs.
 
crackedback said:
The mad deal is OK. I don't like the approach of looping the blk/red wires together with a fusible link.

When I sell my cables, I suggest installing it and leaving ALL the OEM wiring in place if the bulkhead is in good shape If the bulkhead needs repair, do any required repairs.
Click to expand...
What kind of set up are you selling? I really liked the headlight thing....
 
By the "headlight thing", do you mean some sort of relay that will allow an actual 13 or so volts to go to the headlights?
And what is the "MAD" thing?
 
You can simply measure how much volts make it inside to the fusebox.
That will tell you how bad the bulkhead connection is.
 
harrisonm said:
By the "headlight thing", do you mean some sort of relay that will allow an actual 13 or so volts to go to the headlights?
And what is the "MAD" thing?
Click to expand...

He has one of my headlight relay kits on his car.

The Mad thing is a wire around for the bulkhead.
Catalog

The basics are fine, I'm not a fan of the cutting up a wiring harness.

Link to the ad I had on here for the wire around set up.
[FOR SALE] - Charging system bulkhead wire around
 
No need to change anything on the bulkhead. Just run a thick wire from ALT output to BATT+. One place to access BATT+ is at the starter relay supply cable, which is where most slant guys run. On a small-block, it is easy to run a cable across the timing chain cover to the battery. If that sounds absurd, look how the factory wired Magnum engines, and perhaps steal their cable like I did. My ammeter still works since I installed parallel diodes which normally send current thru the ammeter until it gets too large (see post, but only for experts).
 
Dim inst' lamps is not a true indicator of charging system fault unless that brightness and everything else varies with engine rpm. A weak charging system will cause signal flash rate to vary, amp gauge go to discharge side, and other more obvious conditions. So after you decide what to do or not to do about charging system and total juice available, you may find the inst' illumination is still poor. We can discuss the causes and diagnosis here or in a separate thread.
 
Yes. It is worth doing. You have a Demon with no electrical problems, I had a Signet with no electrical problems. I read about the MAD Bypass and figured I would get around to it one day..

Out of the blue my Valiant insisted rather rudely that I make my visually perfect wiring a top priority..

E48CA986-D5EF-45F4-9E31-B82E7BC1AA11.jpeg
 
RedFish said:
Dim inst' lamps is not a true indicator of charging system fault unless that brightness and everything else varies with engine rpm. A weak charging system will cause signal flash rate to vary, amp gauge go to discharge side, and other more obvious conditions. So after you decide what to do or not to do about charging system and total juice available, you may find the inst' illumination is still poor. We can discuss the causes and diagnosis here or in a separate thread.
Click to expand...


Hey Redfish...I was digging through this forum for exactly what you mentioned.
I am having an issue with my 72 Satellite small block and stock charging system.
My dash and headlights dim with low engine speed. The amp gauge drops negative as
well and my RPM's slightly drop when I turn my headlights on.
My turn signals also flash slowly but this seems to happen all of the time.
Can you offer any advice or point me to a thread that discusses this?
 
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