wiring advice needed

[ducter]

OK, Heres the issues with my car. The PO had a 400 installed, and I have no idea what happened to the wiring. So much needs to be done before even thinking about getting it on the road I decided a starting place is to replace the wiring but electrical is not my strong point, no where near it honestly but calling around to a few shops and getting estimates of 1,700-2,400 is just to much for me.

I have read and read, trying to educate myself for the job at hand but never having done any electrical outside of stereos/speakers and basic things like that still a bit worried over it. The cost of painless harnesses are 7-800 depending on where its ordered and I am not real sure if that would just hook up, where I have a different motor setup, msd 6al etc.. Heres some pictures of my wiring and any advice you might have please offer it up. If the painless isnt the way to go I am open to any and all suggestions. Just feel like I am over my head on wiring yet stuff I have read say its not bad. Unsure of the hookups etc..

You can see in my pictures the goodies the PO has already done for me. Hacking everything up, cutting the wires to the blower motor, I even have phone line mixed in with it all.

 

[bernieca]

Looks like a real mess. I would order an engine harness from Year One or just check on line. I believe I paid about $179 for an electronic ignition one. As far as the wiper and blower motors, get a good solder gun and a wiring diagram and you can fix it.

 

[ducter]

Looks like a real mess. I would order an engine harness from Year One or just check on line. I believe I paid about $179 for an electronic ignition one. As far as the wiper and blower motors, get a good solder gun and a wiring diagram and you can fix it.

Thanks for your reply..looking at year one I am not sure which one I would need out of the listed ones. Suppose I should have mentioned the car and year lol. Its a 73 dart sport. Heres what I see at year one

https://www.yearone.com/Catalog/1966-74-a-b-e-body/electrical

thanks again.

 

[bernieca]

Thanks for your reply..looking at year one I am not sure which one I would need out of the listed ones. Suppose I should have mentioned the car and year lol. Its a 73 dart sport. Heres what I see at year one

https://www.yearone.com/Catalog/1966-74-a-b-e-body/electrical

thanks again.

I don't see on for a 73 but I believe the 72 is the same. I believe this because I have a 74 harness in my 72 and I replaced the engine harness with the one I got from year one (1972 engine harness with electronic ign)

The numbers I quoted are for a small block. If it now has a 400 then you need one for a big block. Again I'd call to make sure.

Part # for Year One is: HU235A is for electronic ign

Part # HU236A without.

Only $119

You may want to phone them to verify the fitment or maybe someone else on here can chime in.

Search this site and you will come up with the wiring diagrams you need. It is really easy once you have the diagram.

I would strip all the old tape/covering from your existing wiring. That way you will be able to remove the old engine harness and solder the other butchered connections. You can buy the new wrap or just use hockey stick wrap, strong stuff, looks similar to factory and cheap.

 

[bernieca]

After looking at the photos in your thread again I see it is a big block. Just call Y1 and ask which one you need I'm sure they can fix you up and not too expensive. Good luck!

 

[dodge71demon]

Get a colored wiring diagram from http://classiccarwiring.com/ best investment you can make

 

[kursplat]

i hate to think what under the dash is going to look like...

good luck

 

[ducter]

Thanks for all the replies. Thinking I will give them a call, might be best option as I didn't see exactly what I was looking for either.

As far as the colored wiring diagrams, I did see them and was going to order one...they don't by chance have the gauge wiring listed on them, do they?

Under the dash is more of the same but mainly looks like the wiring for the gauges had been moved for an after market set mounted kinda crappy. Going to either get the original gauges working again or might look at an aftermarket set for in dash.

When I call y1, guess just tell them it's an A body with a bb and see what they suggest.

 

[67Dart273]

Unless you want the "restored correct" look, I would NOT rewire the car "factory." This is because so many of us now tend to run electric pump, fans, stereos, and other accessories, the bulkhead connector is always and always has been a problem, and you really need headlight relays and improved headlights.

There are several, Ron Francis, Painless, American Auto Wire, and others. Basically you want a harness with lots of length, a good fuse panel with plenty of circuits, and then be prepared to take your time and go through a step at a time.

I would NOT wire the car for an ammeter, but rather go with a voltmeter, and run a direct, large, not to mention big charging wire directly from the alternator output to the battery stud on the starter relay. At least no8, or maybe even no6

The areas you will run into "trouble" is that some of these mentioned brands above "lean toward" GM way too much, and don't provide new connectors for the ignition or turn sig. switch. In this case, "hope" your old one is in good shape, try to get/ replace the connector terminals, or head shrink/ splice the connector into the new harness.

 

[ducter]

67Dart273,

I think the previous owner killed all thoughts of returning to stock for me lol. Your thought process on not returning to stock wiring makes sense. The gauge wire directly between the battery and the alternator outputs been noted as well. Thanks for that, I wouldnt have went that large.

I will continue reading more and searching for posts, I really just want to rip it all out right now lol, its such a mess but I am afraid when I was to get the new harness I might need to reference what I have compared to the new one.

 

[BillGrissom]

In many cases, the engine bay wires are so degraded from heat, or hacked by prior owners, that it is better to start from scratch, as you did. Lookup my post, or 273Dart67's, about installing a modern under-hood relay box. That fixes a lot of original design problems, plus makes upgrades easier, like your MSD box and electric choke. I got another box a few days ago to use on my 64 Valiant. I got the same 90-95 Jeep box that I used on my Dart since simple and small. Same one in both V-8 and I-6 models.

Don't feel intimidated by wiring. The engine bay isn't much different than wiring a stereo. It helps to know how each component works and how much current it might draw, but not essential. Just trace your finger along the wiring diagram and do the same in real life, looking at colors and wire sizes (ex. 6 awg is real thick, 18 awg is thin). They don't even teach this stuff in engineering school. Indeed, EE students today mostly learn progamming and barely know how a motor works.

 

[srduster340]

I completely rewired my '71 Duster with an aftermarket harness. It was not as bad as it seems. The instructions were well laid out. I found that a lot of the accessories like door buzzers, delay relays, splices,and lots other junk you won"t be keeping anyway. Get a wiring diagram for your car and read, read, read and read it again until you understand it. I can't stress that enough. There is a link here somewhere for a diagram but I can't add it. Maybe someone else will add the link. Good Luck!

 

[ducter]

Feeling a bit more confident after reading the replies from you guys. I think what concerns me most is the fact its not the stock motor...but it is still a 73 motor, after thinking about it really that shouldn't change much. I have thought several times about just trying to clean up the existing wiring but it is honestly such a rat's nest that I don't really think I would feel safe knowing how bad it is.

 

[bernieca]

I think what concerns me most is the fact its not the stock motor...but it is still a 73 motor, after thinking about it really that shouldn't change much.

You hit it right on the nail. The reason he butchered the wiring is because the wiring for a small block or slanty, which was what A bodys were born with differs from a big block. The most obvious difference is the distributor. On a small block it is at the rear of the engine and a big block the front of the engine. Thus the need to modify the engine wiring harness. The biggest mistake this guy made was using crimped splices rather than soldering and I believe masking tape rather than electrical tape. The harness could be repaired with some effort and time but as someone said earlier the wire often become brittle with time and heat and corrisive over time.

 

[ducter]

Yeah, that was his choice of rejoining the wires, a few crimp on connectors and masking tape. What is hard to see in the pictures is that a lot of the wires are just dead ends or exposed connections just twisted together with nothing covering them. So much extra wiring that instead of being even relatively clean its got as much as a newer car has.

I have literally stood at the engine bay for probably a total of 2 hours now just staring with a dumb founded glaze over my face.

 

[wjajr]

but electrical is not my strong point, no where near it honestly but calling around to a few shops and getting estimates of 1,700-2,400 is just to much for me.

You have a nice mess under your hood; I especially like the doorbell or phone wire. This presents a great opportunity to learn how under hood electrical devices work, and how to properly wire them to form a reliable well engineered harness. Once these lessons are learned, automotive electrical issues will never again intimidate you.

I was faced with a lot of crappie wiring methods in my ’67 Dart. Under hood I replaced bulkhead connector with new, and replaced each wire one at a time following factory diagram for wire color, and adapting to upgrades as needed such as conductor size, electric choke, electronic ignition, charging bypass, relay controlled headlights, and others.

Make several photo copies of a big block V8 72-74 under hood wiring diagram to use as a work sheet while project is under way, clip it to a clip board, and invest in some colored pencils to help keep track of progress. Just repair or upgrade one circuit at a time, and once completed mark it off the diagram.

As work progresses, you will learn how each device works, how to test it, its conductor’s color and gage, and where its terminals are located. Once all work is completed, tested, and all circuits work properly, bundle new harness in some sort of harness loom to make a neat clean looking installation.

 

[ducter]

Make several photo copies of a big block V8 72-74 under hood wiring diagram to use as a work sheet while project is under way, clip it to a clip board, and invest in some colored pencils to help keep track of progress. Just repair or upgrade one circuit at a time, and once completed mark it off the diagram.

Thats a thought I had if I was to try and save the existing wiring, or whats decent but I was unsure of how to be sure I was replacing the wires with proper gauged wires..I am sure whats connected now is not as I can see where in 1 run the wire changes sizes a few times. Unless I could find a diagram stating what gauge wire for where I wouldnt know how to get started that way.

 

[wjajr]

Thats a thought I had if I was to try and save the existing wiring, or whats decent but I was unsure of how to be sure I was replacing the wires with proper gauged wires..I am sure whats connected now is not as I can see where in 1 run the wire changes sizes a few times. Unless I could find a diagram stating what gauge wire for where I wouldnt know how to get started that way.

Factory Service Manual will have all wire gages, and colors used for each circuit. Some circuits you may want to change & increase gage to reduce voltage drop such as charging wire to battery, relay feed headlights, and others would fine to keep factory sizes. We can advise when asked.

The point is that by working one circuit or in other words one wire at a time, leaving the old wire in place until replaced greatly reduces confusion. In other words your project could proceed as follows:
1. Renew oil pressure circuit; remove old wire, mark off on diagram.
2. Renew coolant sensor circuit; remove old wire, mark off on diagram.
3. Renew wire from power lug on alternator to bulkhead connector, or perform charging conductor amp gage bypass and increase its gage size.
4. Renew ignition wires from bulkhead connector to 12 volt side of ballast resistor; remove old wire, draw in any change made in this circuit on diagram.
5. Ignition wire from low volt side of ballast to coil; remove old wire, mark off on diagram.
6. Renew “start: circuit ignition ballast bypass wire, remove old wire, mark off on diagram.

And so it goes, one thing at a time, using good wiring methods we can discuss how to perform later on, and which tools and materials will be needed.

By keeping track of your progress on wiring diagram, you will develop a full understanding of what has been done as well as its physical location under hood, and how to read any wiring diagram. Also you can easily pick up the next day where you left off.

 

[Mad Dart]

You can rewire your whole car for cheap. This kit does not include the big gauge wire from alt to battery stud etc. This kit will do most of it but you will need a bit more parts to finish it off.
You do want to add Relays for the Headlights so they get enough current to be Good and Bright. A couple weekends and a couple hundred bucks will rewire the whole damn car and that should take care of it.

If you have wired your Stereo's, Amps Etc...... You will be able to tackle this project on your own too.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/310311031495

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