68 Baracuda electrical questions
Since you're new, a few concepts will go a long way.
The main 1968 Barracuda power circuits:
The alternator output and the battery are joined at a welded junction in the wire harness under the dash.
From that junction there is a feed to the headlight switch, the key switch, and the fuse box.
Everything connected to the battery positive is always hot.
Notice that black wires are power feeds. Do not ground them!
(Yes you will also come across some black ground wires. For example at the headlights)
You can familiarize and prove this to yourself by taking a hand held voltmeter and measuring the voltage to ground at the alternator output and then at the battery.
The ammeter confuses many people.
It does not measure voltage.
It measures electrons going through to or from the battery.
After start up it should show the battery charging, and when its done charging, the needle should be in the middle.
If the battery is discharging while the engine is running, then the alternator is not working properly.
If needle is at either extreme of the scale (40 amps), there is a big problem. Shut down and if that doesn't bring the needle to the middle, disconnect battery.
Since you're new, a few concepts will go a long way.
The main 1968 Barracuda power circuits:
The alternator output and the battery are joined at a welded junction in the wire harness under the dash.
From that junction there is a feed to the headlight switch, the key switch, and the fuse box.
Everything connected to the battery positive is always hot.
Notice that black wires are power feeds. Do not ground them!
(Yes you will also come across some black ground wires. For example at the headlights)
You can familiarize and prove this to yourself by taking a hand held voltmeter and measuring the voltage to ground at the alternator output and then at the battery.
The ammeter confuses many people.
It does not measure voltage.
It measures electrons going through to or from the battery.
After start up it should show the battery charging, and when its done charging, the needle should be in the middle.
If the battery is discharging while the engine is running, then the alternator is not working properly.
If needle is at either extreme of the scale (40 amps), there is a big problem. Shut down and if that doesn't bring the needle to the middle, disconnect battery.
