steering column wire harness color decode

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mopar56

mopar56

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well this isn't an "A" body question but we got a lot a smart guys here so I will ask anyway, I am building a 56 Dodge p/u street rod, nothing is stock, I am installing a steering column from what I was told might have been a 78 imperial, it is tilt AND telescoping, the OEM connector was cut off leaving only the bare ended harness, ( colored ), it originally used a remote electric part of the switch on the lower column with the key and tumbler up top, I will not be using this, instead I am using a NOS dash switch, the ignition part I have figured out it is the signals, lights, horn, etc I need help with, if I could identify what color wire dose what coming from the upper column I could finish my wiring, the colors stuck together in a bundle are...black, black with blue tracer, blue,brown,purple, black with yellow tracer, green, black with white tracer, there is also a smaller bundle harness that is two yellows, white, black, blue, I think this may have been for the cruise that is also on this column but I am not using that, just need to know, signals, four way, and horn, maybe some one has a schematic I don't, thanks in advance
 
First thing to try is over at Mymopar. There are no service manuals that late, but some of the wiring diagrams "might."

http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=31

I may have something here, I'll look

The 79 shop manual is a mess there is no connector index

Here is out of the 76, I bet it's same or close If you have a tilt column or one handling "cornering lamps" it gets worse. It would sure be nice if you could find out what this is out of

Generally

White is from the brake light switch

RED is from the TS flasher

PINK is from the hazard flasher

BLACK or BLACK/RED is horn button. This is easy to find, continuity

BRN or BRN/RED is rear signal

DK GRN is rear signal

BLK/ LT GRN is front signal and panel indicator.

BLK/TAN is front signal and panel indicator
 
thanks for your effort here I appreciate it, some of the colors are correct but others are not, as mentioned earlier this is a tilt column AND a telescopic, ( very rare ) column, I was told from a 78 Imperial but other than the telescoping part it looks exactly the same as my sons 80 Dodge truck with tilt I believe Saginaw built these columns very similar to GM
 
You can deduce the colors even if you don't know any of them.

First you should easily be able to group them into turn signal and ignition switch.

then just make yourself a proof chart of "what you have" and "what it does" and when

"Going in"

Brake switch power

Turn signal flasher

Hazard flasher

"Try" some of the colors if they seem to match

The two back signal lights will have continuity to the brake switch wire when the switch is centered

Neither the TS flasher nor the hazard flasher will "go anywhere" when the switch is centered

Neither front turn will connect anywhere when the switch is centered

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When pulled to the left, the left front, left rear, and TS flasher wire will all have continuity

In this condition, the brake switch wire will only have continuity to one other wire.......the right rear signal

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Reverse all of the above for right turn

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The hazard flasher wire will have continuity to all for signal wires, that is, left and right front, and left and right rear, and "probably" to the brake switch wire, which is an unused feedback. (When you apply the brakes, it feeds brake power "over the top" of the hazard power.
 
Thanks, that's actually a great way of doing it and like I said earlier there is no ignition wires to figure out as they work off a remote switch on the lower column which I don't have, ( this is unique only to the tilt column ), so really all I need to figure out is the signals, and four way, the horn should be easy, I will get my ohm meter out, thanks for the help
 
If you get part of it, list the wires colors and what you find and list them here
 
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