A couple of wiring nuddle scratchers for you electrical guys

[Anonymous]

hey guys, I got my car with no dash, and none of the wires were labeled,(yes i no about the gbody wiring diagrams) im trying to keep my streetcar simple so should I take the wires im not using right out of the fuse block and off the car? How did you guys wire your gauges, if you used wires from the stock gauges which ones are they? What would happen to my elec. fan if i didnt use a relay?

8) Thanks

 

[78_Elky]

Well the easiest ones first, the fan! it would still run, but it would be a huge load on your electrical system depending on how you wired it, and also it would be a huge load on the switch, I have seen some melted in the past due to too much current through them. So use a relay, they are cheap insurance. Heck put some on your other stuff to they are simple to install.

Next the gauges just need lighting and grounds, unless they are electrical. I would say find the budle of wires that used to go to the back of the gauge pod, it is a big plug. Trace the wires you need, jsut go through them till you get it right, with a test light. All you really need are the turn signals, brake light switch, gas gauge, high beem indicator, and maybe a tach, unless it is aftermarket then you'll run your wires for it anyways. I did this on my 78 and it went really fast, jsut use your head and think it through before you cut stuff. Like when will certain things work and not and jsut narrow it down, so the diagrams help a lot as well. As for maybe volt gauges they just need a switched source, and the water and oil will need to go to the sender units, or they are mechanical.
As for the other wires I see no problem takign them out, but I'd leave a bit of wire on the fuse block in case you want to add something.

I have an aftermarket fuseblock and wiring harness in my car, if its within budget (150 bucks) I'd just recomend that, you'll love it and then you will also have the piece of mind htat the car is a bit more solid. Plus the way these cars were wired from the factory doesn't lend itself to any stereo larger than stock and also not to having a lot of extras like fans and pumps. but its jsut a thought
hope this helps, and feel free to PM me if you got more questions
-Josh

 

[Doober]

So... are the original connectors actually there? If not and you plan on using a factory dash, I'd just pick up the factory harness with it, otherwise I'm with Elky on an aftermarket harness. Painless Wiring uses factory GM color coding, so you could probably rewire everything using the factory wiring diagrams if you want.

I actually just picked up a set of gauges from a Monte SS today (missing the bezel, plastic lens, and a couple other things) for $15, and in a little bit of no time I had the connector for the printed board re-pinned. That would be the easiest way to do gauges IMO, just make sure you have the temp. and oil press. gauge senders. I'm only partway into getting that installed, don't know if the gauges actually work, but the tach zeroes itself with power and I have illumination, but for some reason nothing else goes to 0 with power, I got the pins done right before it got dark so I didn't have time to do any troubleshooting.