73' duster wont start after dropping steering column
Welcome!
Go here and download the factory service manuals for your car. They will include a complete wiring diagram Service Manuals – MyMopar
Take a look at this diagram from MAD electrical. It shows the basic charging circuit and source of power for the harness, which can get a little lost in the FSM diagram. It is overly simplified (notice, no voltage regulator drawn in)
Catalog
MAD also has an ammeter bypass method all drawn up. It is not without its own issues, but if you ammeter has gone nuclear it may get you back on the road
Strongly consider installing a new wire harness. I just did this myself in my '74. Like most of these old girls mine had a few modifications to the factory harness- electric fans, A/F gauge, aftermarket stereo, ammeter bypass, etc. Some was done well, like my fans, with relays etc. Some wasn't great, live and learn. I had a horn relay go bad, and I mean Chernobyl. I took care of that relay, but from that point on had issues. After I tore the whole harness out to replace it, I found wires that had overheated all through the harness. Some was definitely from the horn relay going south, some from who knows what (or when!). But more than enough to cause all kinds of gremlins, which I was having.
It also sounds like you want to make some significant changes to the wiring (push button start, for example). Your best bet for that would be starting with a new harness intended to do that, rather than scabbing it into an old one that's already seen 50 years of abuse and doesn't have the provisions you want.
And you may also want to talk to this guy, @67Dart273, or @crackedback . Both are electrical guru's in my book, and I'm sure they'll have some ideas of where you went wrong and what the best, step-by-step plan is to troubleshoot it.
Good luck!
Welcome!
- Yes, there's supposed to be a ground wire/strap that goes from the column to the steering column mount under the dash
- Yes, running around with a faulty voltage regulator and a brand new alternator could have fried any amount of wiring you can think of, from a couple things to the whole smash. You could have put a lot more power through the harness than it could use if your voltage regulator wasn't working properly. If it hasn't been converted, you have an ammeter in your dash. Nearly all the power coming out of the alternator runs into the ammeter, which is in your gauge panel. If there was smoke coming from anywhere under the dash, there's a good chance it was from the ammeter or the bulkhead connector wires feeding it
- Your wire harness is at least 49 years old. Scabbing in and bypassing old wiring with new wiring is more likely to complicate matters than it is to fix them. Sounds like you already have aftermarket stuff scabbed in (aftermarket radio), which of course can also cause issues if it wasn't done well
- Possibly, if you kicked it loose somewhere in the process of dropping dash. But I would say it's probably more likely you melted your ammeter or its wiring into oblivion
Go here and download the factory service manuals for your car. They will include a complete wiring diagram Service Manuals – MyMopar
Take a look at this diagram from MAD electrical. It shows the basic charging circuit and source of power for the harness, which can get a little lost in the FSM diagram. It is overly simplified (notice, no voltage regulator drawn in)
Catalog
MAD also has an ammeter bypass method all drawn up. It is not without its own issues, but if you ammeter has gone nuclear it may get you back on the road
Strongly consider installing a new wire harness. I just did this myself in my '74. Like most of these old girls mine had a few modifications to the factory harness- electric fans, A/F gauge, aftermarket stereo, ammeter bypass, etc. Some was done well, like my fans, with relays etc. Some wasn't great, live and learn. I had a horn relay go bad, and I mean Chernobyl. I took care of that relay, but from that point on had issues. After I tore the whole harness out to replace it, I found wires that had overheated all through the harness. Some was definitely from the horn relay going south, some from who knows what (or when!). But more than enough to cause all kinds of gremlins, which I was having.
It also sounds like you want to make some significant changes to the wiring (push button start, for example). Your best bet for that would be starting with a new harness intended to do that, rather than scabbing it into an old one that's already seen 50 years of abuse and doesn't have the provisions you want.
And you may also want to talk to this guy, @67Dart273, or @crackedback . Both are electrical guru's in my book, and I'm sure they'll have some ideas of where you went wrong and what the best, step-by-step plan is to troubleshoot it.
Good luck!
