Am meter bypass...technical stuff before my car catches in fire !

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ValerianMagnum

the little car that could
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Ok !!!! So i was freakin out..did know what happenned , did all the tests , swap batteries , Everything was dead...everywere !!! ....and finaly i saw some videos and read online , that people did these am meter bypasses , i did it and bam ! It worked ! Ok ! So now i have technical questions.. i ordered a 14 gauge fuse link that i will plug to the relay + ive found my short and it was in the bulkhead ( fuselink burned ) i was wondering since i have a volt gauge now , do i really need to fix the bulkhead wire that was burned out ? This wire was the one going to the am meter right? Thanks guys

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I made a fusible link and installed at the relay it is fed from and added a grommet in the firewall and ran thru separately. You can use the bulkhead terminal by drilling through as explained here as well.
Catalog
 
If you clean and repair your bulkhead connectors and leave all the stock wiring in place you can still bypass the bulkhead connectors to charge the battery.

With a wire from alt to starter relay post you no longer send the battery charging current through the bulkhead connectors and the ammeter.

But by leaving the stock wiring intact you now have 2 terminals to carry current into the car to run everything vs 1.

That means each terminal only has to carry 1/2 the current and are less of an issue.
 
I'd download the wiring diagram and ya fix that fuse link. If you don't have a fit about it drill out the other connector on the inside and pass a nice replacement wire through that bulkhead connector and solder it all together. You eliminate the bulkhead connection there and still protect all the circuits that should be.
 
Thank you , but im still wondering if i can move the car if the bulkhead is not fixed yet...but the bypass is done and installed with a fuse link
 

Thank you , but im still wondering if i can move the car if the bulkhead is not fixed yet...but the bypass is done and installed with a fuse link
If you have points you can hotwire your car.

Even with an electronic ignition you can do the same
 
If you have points you can hotwire your car.

Even with an electronic ignition you can do the same
By hotwire you mean to start it with a screwdriver on the relay? Im just very confused because i removed the burned fuselink on the bulkhead but i didnt fix it yet , i still dont know if its safe to start and move the car ?
 
No.

To hot wire a car is to provide power to the coil positive (if electronic ignition to THE ECU as well) then use a remote start switch to act as the ignition switch.
 
No.

To hot wire a car is to provide power to the coil positive (if electronic ignition to THE ECU as well) then use a remote start switch to act as the ignition switch.
Ok i didnt know that , but please since i need some help here can you help me out with my previous question , i really need to move the car and im confused here, thx
 
If all the wiring is made safe there is no reason you can not start it and drive it.

You will not have gauges or lights maybe not even brake lights, or charging system.

Do you have points or electronic ignition? If electronic is it Mopar stock.
 
If all the wiring is made safe there is no reason you can not start it and drive it.

You will not have gauges or lights maybe not even brake lights, or charging system.

Do you have points or electronic ignition? If electronic is it Mopar stock.
All factory , still points
 
All factory , still points
super easy.

you will be hot wired in no time.

One of the wires attached to your ballast goes to the coil the other goes to your ignition. (I don't recall which is which so investigate that before hooking anything up.) disconnect the connector that comes from the ignition switch and make it safe from grounding, then attach the red wire from the battery positive to that terminal of the ballast, your coil is now powered, (don't forget to disconnect it when you get to where you are going) if the car will not start you might have to also run a jumper across the ballast while starting then remove the jumper.


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The yellow wire on the starter relay is the other wire. disconnect the connector and make it safe from grounding. get a remote starter switch and go between batt positive and the terminal on the starter switch the yellow wire was attached to. press the button and the engine will crank over. be sure its in neutral or park.
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How far do you have to move the car? That wiring is obviously wasted. I personally wouldn't drive it like that since you can't see what's damaged on the dash side. YES, there is damage on the dash side.

Here's the thing - even if you fix the one broken wire to move it, any other problem areas will quickly reveal themselves and you'll likely cook another fuse link in short order. That kind of damage doesn't just happen randomly but over time. Maladies pile up and you get fuse link fricassee.

Looking at that wire in the pic I can almost guarantee the contacts on the back of the ammeter are burned. All the current in the entire car goes through that gauge (starting at that damaged wire) so if there is extra resistance anywhere in the circuit (as there is in your pic,) it will melt stuff.

My point being is if that is in fact the original equipment wiring, do yourself a favor and re-wire the car. Don't do a half-assed job and only repair the damage you see. That stuff was not made to be in service for 60 years. Once it starts breaking down like it has already you will have bigger and bigger problems until you replace it. The insulation gets brittle causing it to crack then you start getting corrosion and shorts and then... well, you can probably guess. Chrysler bulkhead connectors suck and have always been the source of much misery. Time for new stuff.

People will say hogwash, just fix the broken wire but IMO it would be a mistake if you leave the rest of the original wiring in place since that's probably what caused the problem to begin with. A fusible link is like the canary in the coal mine - it's a warning that you got bigger problems. I rewire all old cars front to back whether the wiring looks OK on the outside or not because as you've learned, it's not.

Re-wire the car and have peace of mind for the next 40 years. It's not that hard of a job if you're not changing anything or updating to a modern fuse box. Do it.
 
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