Go to Electrical updates/upgrades List

[pyrogen007]

If you weren't constrained to keep it 100% factory correct, and intended to drive your old Mopar daily(within reason), what electrical/ignition updates/upgrades would you chose? Can be for safety, reliability, or even convenience. I know some out there are happy with 100% factory and that's cool, this thread isn't for y'all, sorry.


First that come to mind for me:

Headlight wire upsize/add relays - safety
Ammeter bypass/voltage gauge swap - safety/reliability
Electronic ignition conversion - lower maintenance/convenience?

What else y'all have on your list?

 

[S'cuder]

If you have A/C, putting the compressor clutch on a relay is a good idea.
Consider putting your electronic ignition control box on a relay.

 

[4spdragtop]

Led's for lighting. Chk condition of harness. It may look good, but like mine, it was brittle and needed replaced.

 

[CFD244]

I isolated the field/regulator from the ignition run circuit and placed it on it's own relay powered circuit (relay triggered by the original field feed). It works great.

 

[RustyRatRod]

I drive my 64 Valiant everyday and have "upgraded" nothing AS FAR AS WIRING. If you don't plan on adding a lot of extra electrical "baggage" and your wiring is in good shape, don't try to reinvent the wheel.

 

[4spdragtop]

And a fire extinguisher

 

[RustyRatRod]

And a fire extinguisher

As should be in all vehicles. But yeah. lol

 

[pyrogen007]

I drive my 64 Valiant everyday and have "upgraded" nothing. If you don't plan on adding a lot of extra electrical "baggage" and your wiring is in good shape, don't try to reinvent the wheel.

You still drive around on bias ply tires too? I know some out there are happy with 100% factory and that's cool, this thread isn't for y'all, sorry.

 

[pyrogen007]

Led's for lighting. Chk condition of harness. It may look good, but like mine, it was brittle and needed replaced.

Mine is out of the car for the same reason, its brittle and falling apart but also looks like there might have been some amateur repairs at some point, I don't trust it, but it will make a good reference/starting point for a rewire.

If you have A/C, putting the compressor clutch on a relay is a good idea.
Consider putting your electronic ignition control box on a relay.

Adding relays to major circuits does seem like a good idea in general, good call!

 

[Mattax]

If you weren't constrained to keep it 100% factory correct, and intended to drive your old Mopar daily(within reason)

I pretty much already do. In fact it was my only car from 1993-2000.

Headlight wire upsize/add relays - safety

Relays go along with good H4 lamps. Now, maybe JW Speakers if I wanted a non-classic car.

Ammeter bypass/voltage gauge swap - safety/reliability

Not really. Mostly a mad idea that has been repeated ad infinitum.
It's not even the weakest link in the circuit.
One of the heavy duty modifications used with rear defrost and optional alternator and 'fleet service' is a better route.
Of course if one is unconstrained and going to EFI and a modern hemi then the whole power supply wiring needs to be a different design.

Electronic ignition conversion - lower maintenance/convenience?

Depends on the owner's perspective. When they work, they are lower maint., and setting dual point on a slant or a small block is a PIA.

You should skim through the threads here and see what things seem to give people the most trouble. I'd say a high percentage is ignition conversions.

For someone interested in rally, autocross or track time use, moving the battery to the trunk and adding warning lights to the oil pressure, temperature, and tach, are mods I'd select. I never did the battery in the trunk because I needed the trunk space.

 

[Mattax]

You still drive around on bias ply tires too? I know some out there are happy with 100% factory and that's cool, this thread isn't for y'all, sorry.

Whoa!
You asked a question and got an honest answer.
If you're only looking for confirmation of ideas you're set on, then say so at the top. I read the opening as a generic theoretical hot rodding question and I suspect Rusty did too.

 

[Duster360LA]

My plan when I finished my Duster was to hit the road and tour car shows, swap meets and occasionally catch up with my brother who is almost a full time on the road with his RV, so reliability is a top priority.
I chose to do a full re-wire (American Autowire) to upgrade fuses and relays. I like that it has a "mega fuse block" as added protection for my EFI, electric fans and soon-to-install AC. With my Holley Sniper I added their Hyperspark ignition to increase reliability. Also got a high-output alternator since my setup requires more juice.
Finally (although I did not originally plan on it) I replaced my steering column, given all the other electrical components were new (and I wanted a tilt wheel). All pricey, but great reliability.

 

[jbc426]

Mostly good ideas and suggestions here. The bulkhead connector on the firewall needs to be closely inspected, cleaned and packed with dielectric grease (a bit controversial for some).

Dual field alternators for those that don't have them helps a lot with dimming lights at low idle. Mopar alternators in general are not that great at putting out significant amperage at idle, but there are alternate alternators that can and don't look that bad.

I've attached a pic of my E-Body alternator swap that puts out 115 amps at idle, as I added a lot higher amp loads to the car. I should say it's capable of up to 115 amps if needed, as it only puts out what the demand is at a given accessory setting. My A-Body uses the factory Magnum style alternator driven by the stock'ish serpentine belt system. It handles my 2 Hellcat fuel pumps, Dual Spal fans and A/C with no issues.

Running a larger, fused wire/cable from the alternator output stud to either the started relay lug or other 12V distribution lug is a good idea.

Using such a 12V distribution lug to feed high load circuits with relays and fuses has worked well on my Mopars. It keeps the high amp loads out of the bulkhead connector. I swapped to interior/exterior colored LED's and moved my headlight and A/C main feeds to an underhood and/or trunk mounted distribution lug. I also had my Amp gauge converted into a volt meter. Only low amp draw circuits pass through my bulkhead connector now. It is not difficult to hide additional relays/fuse blocks if you want to keep things stock appearing.

 

[pyrogen007]

Whoa!
You asked a question and got an honest answer.
If you're only looking for confirmation of ideas you're set on, then say so at the top. I read the opening as a generic theoretical hot rodding question and I suspect Rusty did too.

I get what what you're saying, but I was looking for upgrades to the factory wiring and stated that in the original post, I read his post as, the wiring is perfect the way it was when new, which even when brand new it was a compromise of available materials/technology and the bean counters scrutinizing every penny, so there are improvements that can be made for the sake of safety/reliability/ease of maintenance. I would argue that even modern cars face the same problem of materials/technology and bean counters lowering the vehicle's potential.

 

[RustyRatRod]

You still drive around on bias ply tires too? I know some out there are happy with 100% factory and that's cool, this thread isn't for y'all, sorry.

Yeah I get that. And of course I don't drive around on bias ply tires. No need to be a smartass. No one gave you that. ALL I was saying was if the wiring is in good shape and you don't plan big upgrades to the electrical, big stereos, fans and ignition systems, the stock wiring is fine. I'm not against upgrading anything if the need is there. I may upgrade mine one of these days. I've been talking about it.

 

[RustyRatRod]

You still drive around on bias ply tires too? I know some out there are happy with 100% factory and that's cool, this thread isn't for y'all, sorry.

I also added to my post to make it more clear.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Whoa!
You asked a question and got an honest answer.
If you're only looking for confirmation of ideas you're set on, then say so at the top. I read the opening as a generic theoretical hot rodding question and I suspect Rusty did too.

I did. How do we know from the first post what he has planned for his electrical system? We don't.

 

[matthon]

upgrades to the factory wiring

Ground hub next to battery and under dash.

Make a small ground harness for the gauges.

I bought a 7 circuit Painless kit and integrated it into the factory dash harness using factory connectors. Now some things that didn't, headlight switch iirc, have a fuse.

Ammeter bypass, I did it with a twist, used the original black feed from Alternator and connected to the starter relay. Black wire goes to under dash splice that powers everything. Dead-end the black wire there, remove red ammeter wire.

Headlight relays, H4 bulbs, LEDs, etc.

 

[pyrogen007]

Yeah I get that. And of course I don't drive around on bias ply tires. No need to be a smartass. No one gave you that. ALL I was saying was if the wiring is in good shape and you don't plan big upgrades to the electrical, big stereos, fans and ignition systems, the stock wiring is fine. I'm not against upgrading anything if the need is there. I may upgrade mine one of these days. I've been talking about it.

Fair point, I do apologize, I kind of default with smart ***, but yeah the main problem is what I have is falling apart so I'm trying to plan for updates at the same time I re-wire the car. I know I've read on here how there are at least a handful of things that are constantly being asked about like the electronic ignition conversion, headlights and charging system, was hoping to consolidate too.

 

[pyrogen007]

Ground hub next to battery and under dash.

Make a small ground harness for the gauges.

I bought a 7 circuit Painless kit and integrated it into the factory dash harness using factory connectors. Now some things that didn't, headlight switch iirc, have a fuse.

Ammeter bypass, I did it with a twist, used the original black feed from Alternator and connected to the starter relay. Black wire goes to under dash splice that powers everything. Dead-end the black wire there, remove red ammeter wire.

Headlight relays, H4 bulbs, LEDs, etc.

Great response, I noticed that the tiny fuse panel handles so many things and I've seen photos of those and the bulkhead connectors all melted. Hell I know my dad has some in his garage all melted. Don't remember if my bulkhead connector is melted or not, its buried at the moment.

 

[Demonx2]

Weld a nut under the car to the right front framerail on the inside. Then run your RH cyl head ground strap to that nut. You'll be glad you did!!

Likewise add grounds to the dash and steering column.

 

[pyrogen007]

I did. How do we know from the first post what he has planned for his electrical system? We don't.

I haven't decided on much, a modest radio w/ 4 speakers using the built in amp(no external or subs), keeping the factory A/C and everything functional and safe mainly, I know before I took the car apart the headlights dimmed/brightened depending on engine rpm and a lot of things didn't work that should have. Much of the factory wiring looked a little small for the current that it was expected to handle too.

 

[Mattax]

I get what what you're saying, but I was looking for upgrades to the factory wiring and stated that in the original post, I read his post as, the wiring is perfect the way it was when new, which even when brand new it was a compromise of available materials/technology and the bean counters scrutinizing every penny, so there are improvements that can be made for the sake of safety/reliability/ease of maintenance. I would argue that even modern cars face the same problem of materials/technology and bean counters lowering the vehicle's potential.

You're asking a general question and you got some general answers.
These cars including their electrical systems and components changed over the years, and even within a same year there were various electrical options. We could spend an hour (or more!) discussing all the flavors and how some are better than others for various reasons. The very first models wired the power supply to the starter and the headlight switch and the very last US model year split the power in the engine compartment and used a shunted ammeter.

If we were giving specific suggestions they would vary greatly depending on the specifics of one had and what one wanted to do. I lot of problems we see posted here are self-inflicted, probably as much by previous owners, mechanics and 'upgrades' as the member posting. Heck I'm as guilty too of dismissing or ignoring some of the wiring provisions when I first worked on cars. All that 'junk' was in the way of my wrenching - why put it back. Now I know...

 

[RustyRatRod]

I haven't decided on much, a modest radio w/ 4 speakers using the built in amp(no external or subs), keeping the factory A/C and everything functional and safe mainly, I know before I took the car apart the headlights dimmed/brightened depending on engine rpm and a lot of things didn't work that should have. Much of the factory wiring looked a little small for the current that it was expected to handle too.

Very similar to mine sans the AC. What I think I am going to do is do the ammeter bypass and replace it with a volt meter. I already have the volt meter. But mine doesn't even have any evidence of heating the connectors at the firewall, or heating the connections at the ammeter. I've made it a practice to include with oil changes to inspect the firewall connectors and also remove the cluster and make sure the ammeter connections are tight.

 

[pyrogen007]

I am noticing a trend: more grounds, more fuses, more relays, larger wire in some places and keeping the higher amp circuits inside the engine bay.

This is exactly what I was hoping for when I started this thread, mainly what modern practices would make the factory stuff better. I was trying to keep it more generalized to help the most people possible. My specific needs/wants might not be of much help to many out there.