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Holy wiring nightmare

wldgtx

wldgtx

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Tearing this car down, I noticed it did not have a bulkhead connector. Instead it was covered with some rubberized material to seal off the opening with wires coming through. Well I'm guessing the original owner made this mess when he clobbered to electronic ignition.. I mean why in the hell else would someone do this. I asked the guy I bought it from, he said it was like this when he bought it on 1983. FML, this is my worst nightmare.

20210614_190204.jpg
 
I don't see it as a big deal. Its possible the bulkhead connectors were corroded and causing issues and this was a "simple" solution. Whatever, the wires are still color-coded so with a FSM for reference it should be easy to wire up bulkhead connectors again. Me ... I'd clip them all and start with the inside bulkhead.
 
Would have been better to go with the bulk head connector. Guess he was not that well with electrical wiring. Not that hard to replace the bulk head connector.
 
Thanks guys. I suppose you're right, this is not that bad, I just know electrical stuff is not my forte.
 
I bought a 71 Roadrunner some years back from a guy who claimed to be an electrician. He'd done the same thing all over the car, only used the screw on, home wiring style wire splices. THAT was impressive. About 50% of the wiring didn't work when I tore into it. I had a huge rats nest bundle of wires, many of them the same color, regardless of circuit and dozens of the splices laying all over the shop floor once I got it all torn out. It's really not that awful bad to straighten it all out; just a little patience and a good wiring diagram.
 
If it where me I would get all new connectors and the works. That old bulk head connector is probably dry rotted. Think The bulk head connector get's a bad rap. They decided to place it in a really bad place. The exhaust manifold heat's up that area really bad. But that is an engineer for ya. If they would test their theory first they would find out it was not a good idea.
 
Maybe just a new wiring harness is in order? ruffcut
 
You can do it, just take your time. That fusible link looks pretty rough, even if you don't redo all that wiring right away, consider swapping the fusible link asap.
 
funknut said:
You can do it, just take your time. That fusible link looks pretty rough, even if you don't redo all that wiring right away, consider swapping the fusible link asap.
Click to expand...

Good call... I am in the process of tearing it all down to clean up all the sins of the 70's and bad DIY work.
 
not the first time I seen that,last month at my friends shop the same thing on a 69 charger.
 
wldgtx said:
Tearing this car down, I noticed it did not have a bulkhead connector. Instead it was covered with some rubberized material to seal off the opening with wires coming through. Well I'm guessing the original owner made this mess when he clobbered to electronic ignition.. I mean why in the hell else would someone do this. I asked the guy I bought it from, he said it was like this when he bought it on 1983. FML, this is my worst nightmare.

View attachment 1124225
Click to expand...
When I rewired my entire car, I took the bulkhead connector out and ran wires point to point. Made a cover and stayed away from replacing the connector. Been great and no issues.. That really wouldn’t bother me too bad but I would definitely go through everything!

This is what I started with! I wouldn’t recommend! Lol!! Get a plan to check each section and take your time! Good luck!
908B5B22-385D-4E7F-B232-B31EB402AC73.jpeg
 
wish4hemi said:
This might be a good primer for you. My vote would be new harnesses. Chances are the problems don’t end with what you see there. https://moparconnectionmagazine.com...-road-runner-with-yearone-and-mancini-racing/
Click to expand...

I hear ya, the thing is,
Xp29h said:
When I rewired my entire car, I took the bulkhead connector out and ran wires point to point. Made a cover and stayed away from replacing the connector. Been great and no issues.. That really wouldn’t bother me too bad but I would definitely go through everything!

This is what I started with! I wouldn’t recommend! Lol!! Get a plan to check each section and take your time! Good luck!
View attachment 1124266
Click to expand...


Jesus on scooter, that gives me heartburn just looking at the picture.
 
wldgtx said:
Tearing this car down, I noticed it did not have a bulkhead connector. Instead it was covered with some rubberized material to seal off the opening with wires coming through. Well I'm guessing the original owner made this mess when he clobbered to electronic ignition.. I mean why in the hell else would someone do this. I asked the guy I bought it from, he said it was like this when he bought it on 1983. FML, this is my worst nightmare.

View attachment 1124225
Click to expand...
Mint. :rofl:

Seriously, I would look at either a DIY loom rebuild, or break out the piggy bank and get a new harness. Looks like that old loom is crusty and likely cause you many faults in the tears to come. I have one in similar condition sitting in a box. Only keeping it for measurements etc. :)
 
When I rewired my car I sure as hell didn't put the bulkhead back in, I put a new harness in and didn't put any unnecessary connections in at all. It was done the way it was for assembly purposes, if done right there shouldn't be one at all.
 
Well I looked through one of the boxes of "extras" and found this. At least I can make sense of this... Just need the middle connector

20210614_191610.jpg
 
As stated it isn't that big of a deal depending on your abilities and tools. I just adapted an aftermarket harness to a factory bulkhead connector.

You can buy all of the connectors individually
 
15 bucks for the middle conector.

Get a bunch of female and male packard terminals from electrical suppliers, not auto restorers ( to get a nice price for them ) and you will get that stuff rebuilt in less than $25. If you need to get the crimper, add the cost of it.

Packard 56s would be the terminals to get, ALTHOUGHT correct female terminals are Packard 58, but these are harder to find. 56s will serve its purpouse too.
 
wldgtx said:
I hear ya, the thing is,



Jesus on scooter, that gives me heartburn just looking at the picture.
Click to expand...
Did me too until I figured it’s one area per night. I worked on the car Monday’s and Tuesday’s and the rest of the week I studied up and made a plan for following days. That helped with the heartburn, angina and all brain bleeds trying to figure that all out!
:lol:
 
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