Trying to get my car safe to drive

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gtgto

gtgto

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Got my car registered a couple of weeks ago and have been out for a cruise or 2. New brakes work great. I am now tackling the wiring. I have parking lights and headlights. Pretty much after that I have nothing. Brake lights and blinkers are first and I got under the dash last night to find the brake switch to be pretty beat up but with no wires connected to it at all. Ordered a new switch and just need to locate the pink and white wires needed. At least that's what I think after looking at the wiring diagram. I have way to many wires that are either just cut or connectors to nowhere under the dash.
 
If you can see the wire color and the connector, you should pretty much be able to ID it from the factory wiring diagram

MyMopar had been down, but go over there and download a free service manual, some of which came from the guys here at FABO

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

Best way is to eliminate what you can, then post photos so the connector shape and wire color is clear, and see if we can figure it out.

And most important.............what year make and model are we workin on here?

Find both of the flashers. There is one for turn and one for hazard. See if they work separate.
 
yea fun.. what I found with my car was that someone else had already been there - hacked that.. the front lights ALL worked - the high beams, directional's, everything.. but only the rear driving lights did - no directional's, hazards or brake lights - and the correct wires were non-existent -- so I had to trace each and every one from bulb forward - - - it does sound like your wires are there - look out for disconnected grounds.. another good reason to start at the bulbs... check those connections! ('cause you gotta wonder why stuff is not hooked up....)
 
The car is a 1970 Duster. I am pretty sure I only saw one of the silver plugin flashers. I will get under there again tonight and take a few pics of what I'm dealing with. I have a few wires with no connectors at all....just cut wires.
 
Good luck! I am currently in the process of making mine safe to drive as well :) Hope it goes smooth!
 
You would have seen the hazard flasher near the column. Turn signal flasher should be mounted on right side of ashtray hanger.
 
Ok so it was the hazard flasher I saw. When I get under there again later I'll take a look
 
gtgto said:
The car is a 1970 Duster. I am pretty sure I only saw one of the silver plugin flashers. I will get under there again tonight and take a few pics of what I'm dealing with. I have a few wires with no connectors at all....just cut wires.
Click to expand...

One thing that would help "some" is if you can determine

of course the wire color

Whether they come out "as a group" .......or look as if grouped together or are a single wire

And.....where they come out of the harness that is next to or at where something else you CAN identify branches out

If you are not familiar with wiring, you might want to start looking for another harness
 
The last two cars I have revived have had PO/3rd World wiring alterations front end, under hood, and under dash. On the Demon, the under hood and front end were dealt with by using reproduction wiring harnesses. Yes it's pricey, but all of the connectors fit, including the ones at the bulkhead, and the correctly color coded wiring is fresh. I think I have all of the under dash wiring dealt with by replacing the under dash harness harness with one from a car that had less exposure to the elements but had died a violent death.

If there are further problems with it, however, I will not hesitate to replace it with a repro assembly. I look at it this way. I can diagnose, chase, and splice brittle wiring hoping to resolve the issue, or I can yank out the offending assembly and replace it with one that is new in every sense of the word. The peace of mind and lower frustration levels involved are worth it IMO.
 
This is what I'm dealing with. I dont see a flasher mounted near the ash tray but I do see a couple of connectors not plugged into anything. It has no radio in currently. I found the pink wire and white wire to hook to the brake light switch and installed it but still have no lights. I also see a tab on the bottom of the fuse box with no wire attached to it. Oh the pain.
 

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Did you download a manual and do you know how to read diagrams? I can walk you through some of this, but you do need a basic direction.

"Everything" relating to the brake lamps and 4x flashers goes to and through the column turn signal switch. You can use it for access to test wiring.

Another access point is the rear harness connector in the left kick panel.

Can you provide a closeup of the two connectors hanging down and the wire colors?
 
I have downloaded the Service Manual for my year....Did things change drastically from 70-72...I have a hard copy for 1972 cars...Heres a couple of pics of the connectors hanging near the ash tray. I could read the diagrams but they get confusing
 

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In the vicinity of the ash tray, there should be a connector with an orange and a white wire in it. This is the connector for the radio. I don't recall which wire controls what function. One powers the dial light and is switched by the headlight switch and dimmer. The other is power for the radio proper. It is hot when the key is in the ON or ACC position. The lone red wire is for the lighter and is always hot.
 
I would go by the 70 service manual or at least cross check it before trusting the 72. Also, be aware that for "several years" in there, is a mistake in the factory manuals, regarding which bulkhead terminal the Y "start" wire and the green/red horn wire goes.

Let's use the same diagrams, you and I

Go to MyMopar and click the "wiring" link, and go to here:

http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=27

Scroll down and download "70 Dart / Challenger full set"

mymopar.com/downloads/1970/70_Dart_Challenger_Wiring_Full.pdf

This is same as service manual but "only" the wiring. That way I can refer you to specific pages and diagrams

Now in that file if you go to 8-100 (page 17) you will see the half moon shaped connector with the yellow wires is for the "key in buzzer"

The other connector with red -red-yellow and black, go to 8-98 (page 15) and you'll see that connector is for the diode associated with headlight reminder buzzer, so neither of those are needed for operation of the car
 
Now what do we have here?

Are there two wires hooked to the one connector, what color, and what shape?

attachment.php
 
2 Darts said:
In the vicinity of the ash tray, there should be a connector with an orange and a white wire in it. This is the connector for the radio. I don't recall which wire controls what function. One powers the dial light and is switched by the headlight switch and dimmer. The other is power for the radio proper. It is hot when the key is in the ON or ACC position. The lone red wire is for the lighter and is always hot.
Click to expand...

ORANGE wires are ALWAYS for dimmer controlled dash lighting. So the opposite terminal in the radio connector is switched "accessory" power for the radio
 
What I see in your pics... the need for a dash harness. Dash fires stink !
The smaller yellow w/black tracers in the dash are most likely for courtesy lamp delay timer. Another harness would have those but if you don't have those components... Very few owners still have good working timers.
 
I'm pretty sure the white and pink wires to the right with the single connectors go to the brake light switch. Not sure which wire goes where though. The green wire hanging near them comes from the fuse block back side.
 
Well should one of the tabs under the fuse box have nothing connected to it? The only wire I have with a connector that would go there is an orange wire that is plugged into the end tab under the fuse box as well. Where do I start. I also have no gauge operation or instrument panel lights lighting up.
 
Again, photos would help. If you consult the wiring manual I referenced, they have a diagram of the fuse box just as it appears

Orange is almost always dash light wiring. HOW DASH wiring works:

Power for the dash dimmer comes off the tail / parking circuit fuse and goes to the headlight switch (headlight power is SEPARATE). Tail circuit power goes through the switch, through the dimmer control, and out on a tan wire down to the fuse panel to the INST fuse on one end of the box. Through that fuse, there should be "a whole group" of orange wires which are going out to your dash lights.

I'm with Red^^ Sounds like you need to either strip the harness out and lay it out on a bench and go clear through it, or else either buy a repop harness, a decent unchopped used one, or rewire the car with an aftermarket universal harness.

With the amount of "chopped up" you are finding you might also want to make friends with someone in your area who is familiar with wiring. This can be a daunting job.

Appears to me this car was all chopped up by someone who knew nothing at all

Here is a screenshot out of the manual I posted earlier.

From page 8-99 (page 16)

The incoming power to the fuse panel is at the TOP.

Wire Q2A-14BK is the ACCESSORY power coming in. This is hot with key in either "run" or "accessory," and that no 14 BLACK comes direct from the ignition switch

the next wire, Q3-14R is hot at all times, and comes from a splice in the ammeter circuit. This is the "hot" buss for stuff like stop lights, that is hot all the time

The far right may or may not? be a mistake. The top wire, E1-18O (ORANGE) is actually TAN for many years. That is the wire coming into the INST fuse from the light switch dimmer.

The BOTTOM ORANGE is the wiring going out to all the dimmer controlled lamps......the radio, heater bezel, and lamps in the cluster
 

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