help with wiring nightmare...please (1 Viewer)

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Nov 11, 2004
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Kansas!
just a few wiring questions...i am really struggling with cleaning up the wiring on my 68 fj40.....v8 conversion....chevy 283...power runs from battery to starter to fuse block?.....how are devices grounded at one place or at each device?....what is the best way to test for continuity in a circuit?...would it be best to trace each circuit and check for wire damage/shorts....i am trying to understand how this system should work....any help will be greatly appreciated

thanks
osagecruiser
 
Your best helpwould be a Factory Service Manual. Most, if not all, devices have there own ground. A test light with a ground clip would be a good trouble shooting device to start proding around.
 
Marc, the fuse block on your cruiser has two supplies, one through the ignition switch and the other is constant power on. Wipers are switched through ignition, lights are not...so you can leave them on and drain your battery. As said in the earlier post by Alaskan, most things are grounded at the appliance, but some have a ground wire like the wipers. I like to ground everything, not just rely on grounding through it's mounting.
Have you got a decent multimeter? About $15-20 will fix you up on that. I made up a bunch of leads with alligator clips on them. I use them to bypass switches and check continuity.
You have a FSM to tell you wire colors and such?



Ed
 
ed

i got the multi meter.....just seems theres alot of wires that do nothing :eek: .....this cruiser only has lights...heater, wipers,starter,rear heat....nothing fancy..why i got all these wires!!!!!? :eek: ..its driving me nuts....i thinki will work on something different today...something i can be successful at.... :cool:

osagecruiser
 
mike

i would be there in a heartbeat!..i will wire if you teach jake and i some mechanical items...power steering....lockers.....winch install...see everytime i go to an event it ends up costing me more money on jakes rig :)

marc
 
osagecruiser said:
ed

i got the multi meter.....just seems theres alot of wires that do nothing :eek: .....this cruiser only has lights...heater, wipers,starter,rear heat....

The OEM wire is color coded, so you can tell just by looking at it what it does. The best thing you can do is get an OEM shematic diagram and spend some time ooking it over so that you understand its organization.

The old fashioned test light is a good trouble shooting tool because it reads out power in the brightness of the light. You can get fooled with a multimeter just looking at ohms or volts. If you use a multimeter, you need to make sure that the circuit is complete (eg not disconnected) and that it is energized, so that you can find a bad connection by looking for the voltage drop.
 
thanks pin...i am working away at it...got headlights squared away..both blower motors...currently working on dash lights turn signals and rear lights...

thanks again
just seems to be going sooooo slow

osagecruiser
 
all right...spent most of the weekend...lots of staring at wires....lots of in and out of the cruiser..not an easy item to work on...and i have it whittled down to completing the rear lighting....one stubborn turn signal indicator..right hand does not come on when turn signal is activated...left works fine....fuel sending wiring...just need to verify that it works and some interior courtesy lights i am adding at the rear.....the turn signals are a bit*#!!!!....oh and emergency flashers.....i feel a sense of accomplishment.....i still nedd to verify wire locations on the fuse block....but darn i am glad to be somewhat past that item.

osagecruiser
 
Sounds like you have accmplished a few significant things over the weekend. Wiring can be a PITA. I would much rather be working on the wires at the rear lights than crawling up under the dash like Houdini.
 
pin
crawling up under the dash was'nt the worst part...the worst pert was trying to snake your arm in up behind the steering wheel to seperate wires so you could trace a circuit....now that sucked! :D

osagecruiser
 
tell me about it; "painless" cannot be true with the contortions you have to go through to get under the dash.........................and "easy"? neither

my only unfinished business is a "self-honking" horn, due to a worn plastic sleeve; when wheeling, I have to take the fuse out. Will get it fixed eventually.

good luck, osagecruiser
 
DSRTRDR said:
my only unfinished business is a "self-honking" horn, due to a worn plastic sleeve; when wheeling, I have to take the fuse out. Will get it fixed eventually.

good luck, osagecruiser

"self-honking" horn :popcorn: I've had some of those in previous autos. While most other electrical probs can be considered "old car quirks", that one sure gets the attention of the new car public!!
 
68 was a weird year for a lot of things including wiring. The FSM for 68 wiring was wrong in a lot of places. I had better sucess using a 71 schematic I found here : http://www.ih8mud.com/tech/72fj40-wire/71fj40_wire.gif THe only thing different was the speed detector circuit. Your 68 does not have one but everything else is identical including the wiring color(s).

Things that I remembered:

The 4WD engage light is NOT grounded to frame ground. There should be a plastic mount point for the light and two wires on the light socket. One for the light and one soldered to the case.

10 amp fuse that services the emergancy flasher is under the dash around your defrost ducts.

I completly disassembled my 68 and when I installed the harness back in, I cripmed a few wires and grounded these to the body/frame so be careful when running your wires.

Also:

DO:
-ground the frame AND the engine AND the body.
-make sure your all of your lights are grounded.
-make sure before you move a lot of wires around, disconnect your + cable from the battery
-make sure all of your electrical contacts are clean and are making contact.
-one circuit at a time- start at the fuse block study the curcuits the top fuse services and get all of the stuff working there. get it working properly and move to the next down.
-Lable your wires that you are unsure about. As you work and get stuff working again, the use/function of these wires becomes clear.
- Check your switches for proper operation before you install them or at least check them to make sure that they are working correctly (NO or NC?). Do this with your meter.

Save a lot of time by pulling your frame harness completly out. It's only two plugs and comes off very easily. Clean it up, replace connectors and check it for continuity. Re-wrap it and put it back in there.

Good luck.
 
thanks trekker....that sounds just about like what i am going thru.....slow slow slow...thanks for your input

osagecruiser
 

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