What the heck is that

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SlantedMark4

SlantedMark4

'74 Valiant 225 /6
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There's a white connection with a spring under the dash. One end, a yellow wire, goes to the fuse box. The other end goes to the radio. The white connection is melted and I have no clue how this could happen. Yes, for sure, to much current causes to much heat, but on the radio wiring?? I also have never turned on the radio on this car, since I know the wiring is very fragile... My main question is, what is that white connection for?

IMG_20230407_171427.jpg








There's also a black wire that looks like it was cut but maybe isn't. One end seems to go to the parking brake, the other ends in the main harness in the top left corner of the dash.

My father who once restored his car said it's normal to add all the cables that are used anywere, even if "my" car doesn't have the option. The wire is just hanging there, he said. But a wire on the parking brake? Or I could be wrong, who knows.

IMG_20230407_173500.jpg


IMG_20230407_173529.jpg


Oh, and when I was checking the harness for issues, I have found this. I have no clue what that could be.
IMG_20230407_170653.jpg
 
If you push the two halves of the fuse holder together and twist a quarter-turn, they'll (theoretically) come apart revealing a glass fuse. Obviously the radio shorted out at some point, or at least that wire did. Remove the wire from the fuse panel and fire the radio into the garbage unless it's some ultra-rare vintage high-end item.

The wire (switch) on the parking brake arm turns on the "BRAKE" light in the dash when the parking brake is applied.

The bare wires hanging in space are not normal, but since you appear to have an aftermarket radio, my guess is those are speaker wires. Make sure there's no power on either one, nor continuity to ground, then touch the two wire ends to opposite ends of a AA battery. If you hear a pop or crackling, they go to a speaker somewhere.

The last piece looks like a vacuum line. AC car?
 
The wire on the parking brake is for the parking brake switch that illuminates when the parking brake is engaged.
 
Last edited:
NoCar340 said:
If you push the two halves of the fuse holder together and twist a quarter-turn, they'll (theoretically) come apart revealing a glass fuse. Obviously the radio shorted out at some point, or at least that wire did. Remove the wire from the fuse panel and fire the radio into the garbage unless it's some ultra-rare vintage high-end item.

The wire (switch) on the parking brake arm turns on the "BRAKE" light in the dash when the parking brake is applied.

The bare wires hanging in space are not normal, but since you appear to have an aftermarket radio, my guess is those are speaker wires. Make sure there's no power on either one, nor continuity to ground, then touch the two wire ends to opposite ends of a AA battery. If you hear a pop or crackling, they go to a speaker somewhere.

The last piece looks like a vacuum line. AC car?
Click to expand...
Treed me ^^^^
 
Dana67Dart said:
How about testing the radio before it is condemned.
Click to expand...
Based on the condition of the fuse holder, I'd be pulling it regardless. That fuse holder got very hot, meaning it shorted and someone probably bypassed the fuse after it blew the first 10 times. If it's something fantastic like an Alpine 7347, I'd give it a bench test. If it's a Kmart Sparkomatic from 1983, I'd simply trash it. It's not worth reinstalling. Whatever amperage melted that fuse holder probably passed through the radio as well. I'd bet the radio itself was just grounded through the antenna lead, which would've exacerbated the issue. It was a common DIY error well into the 1990s, before Metra and Scosche got into the factory-compatible harness game.

I've seen those fuse holders with similar damage, but not from a radio. Usually it was off-road/fog lights with small wires, no relay, and a fuse wrapped in tin foil because it kept blowing. They always self-fuse eventually. :D
 
By the way...

  1. What car
  2. What year
  3. AC / non AC
  4. Radio in dash stock non stock
  5. What other add ons or modifications
 
NoCar340 said:
If you push the two halves of the fuse holder together and twist a quarter-turn, they'll (theoretically) come apart revealing a glass fuse. Obviously the radio shorted out at some point, or at least that wire did. Remove the wire from the fuse panel and fire the radio into the garbage unless it's some ultra-rare vintage high-end item.

The wire (switch) on the parking brake arm turns on the "BRAKE" light in the dash when the parking brake is applied.

The bare wires hanging in space are not normal, but since you appear to have an aftermarket radio, my guess is those are speaker wires. Make sure there's no power on either one, nor continuity to ground, then touch the two wire ends to opposite ends of a AA battery. If you hear a pop or crackling, they go to a speaker somewhere.

The last piece looks like a vacuum line. AC car?
Click to expand...
I am just confused why the wire shorted. I have never turned on the radio. Ok well, I have tried when I have bougt the car, but it didn't work even back then.
3 weeks ago, I was driving all day long with the car, everything was fine. I then left the parking lot in the evening, drove for like 2 minutes when there was a lot of smoke. The melted fuse holder was the only melted part I have found that failed... But in that time, the radio wasn't on.
Why do you think my radio is aftermarket? I honestly don't even know what it is, but it looks oem.
The car has a heater.
 
Dana67Dart said:
By the way...

  1. What car
  2. What year
  3. AC / non AC
  4. Radio in dash stock non stock
  5. What other add ons or modifications
Click to expand...
Oh sorry, I forgot
1974 or 75 model year Plymouth Valiant 4 door
Has a heater core
I don't know anything about the radio, havent checked yet tbh
No other mods. everything's stock
 
SlantedMark4 said:
There's a white connection with a spring under the dash. One end, a yellow wire, goes to the fuse box. The other end goes to the radio. The white connection is melted and I have no clue how this could happen. Yes, for sure, to much current causes to much heat, but on the radio wiring?? I also have never turned on the radio on this car, since I know the wiring is very fragile... My main question is, what is that white connection for?

View attachment 1716075269







There's also a black wire that looks like it was cut but maybe isn't. One end seems to go to the parking brake, the other ends in the main harness in the top left corner of the dash.

My father who once restored his car said it's normal to add all the cables that are used anywere, even if "my" car doesn't have the option. The wire is just hanging there, he said. But a wire on the parking brake? Or I could be wrong, who knows.

View attachment 1716075270

View attachment 1716075272

Oh, and when I was checking the harness for issues, I have found this. I have no clue what that could be.
View attachment 1716075271
Click to expand...
Well, I think the best way is to get everything out and rebuild the under dash harness to find everything that has gone wrong or will get wrong soon to be repaired at once...
 
How about some photos of the radio, the heater controlled etc
 
According to the 73 (closest year I have)
The radio feed is red, and the speaker feed is a black and a dark green wire. Orange is the dash light cir and in the radio it feeds the light in the radio.

As for the photo you posted, that does not look to be a stock radio BUT as you pointed out if it's an import it might be stock for your car

The white fuse holder goes from yellow and fuse block to radio. The fuse holder suggests aftermarket as the red feed for the radio used to go through a fuse at least in 67 and at the time was red with a trace

73 radio wiring
Screenshot_20230409-150039.png
 
It's definitely an aftermarket radio. Clar was a radio manufacturer, although I can't find any online information about that specific radio (they seemed to be more into tabletop models). Someone probably upgraded/changed the radio because of the different frequency bands in Europe. The factory AM radio would've worked in Europe (MW, I believe) but LW is a different standard than the US. If the car was imported when it was new, it's doubtful that Chrysler would've wired a Euro radio through a parts-store fuse holder when there was a fused radio circuit already in the car. Of course, I can't speak to the dealer's actions.

You could try to disassemble the fuse holder and replace the fuse (5A should be plenty) if you want to keep the vintage radio, but I would instead suggest removing it from the car and testing it on the bench with a low-amperage 12V power supply. Testing it on a car battery could cause a fire if it's internally shorted.
 
Which fuse is the orange wire from the white inline fuse going to?
 
Dana67Dart said:
Which fuse is the orange wire from the white inline fuse going to?
Click to expand...
I'm sorry I don't understand your question to be honest. There's an inline fuse with a yellow and a brown wire, no orange one. The yellow wire goes to the fuse box, the brown wire to the radio. Or do you mean a different orange wire?
 
SlantedMark4 said:
I'm sorry I don't understand your question to be honest. There's an inline fuse with a yellow and a brown wire, no orange one. The yellow wire goes to the fuse box, the brown wire to the radio. Or do you mean a different orange wire
Click to expand...
Sorry I meant yellow,
 
White fuseholder is likely aftermarket, at least never seen in factory wiring. I use the modern type that holds a blade-type fuse. The e-brake switch was in later cars with a dash "Brake" lamp. If it shorts to ground, or another brake sensor does like the pressure-imbalance switch (dual brake plumbing ~1967+), the lamp lights (switches in parallel on low side). Same deal in my 1996 Plymouth, adding a brake reservoir level switch. I added the later e-brake switch to my 1965 Dart, to an under-dash LED lamp, with also a level-switch on my modern master cylinder.

If you don't like that radio, you could mount a modern Android box ("head-unit") which serves for radio, GPS, and many Android apps. I put a low-end one (~$80 + $20 backup camera) on my Dart and Valiant. Sits in front of the dash, using bolts thru the knob holes to secure, but doesn't project much since thin. Seems my processor is too wimpy to run Android Auto (latest must-have), though high-end ones do. It is supposed to run Phone Mirror, which is similar, displaying your phone screen on the Android screen, though haven't tried yet.
 
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