making some progress on my sbc 307 V8 car, -- rear sway bar back in Options

[Chris H.]

Whew you dodged a bullet on that one Jim. Check Jeff Bowlsby's site for direction on the wiring. It's all there. My initial reaction is that the red ones can be connected to the battery directly but that may not be the case. You may already be planning this but pull that harness section and check all the wires in the general area really well. They get HOT and the insulation can separate even if they aren't charred. Give em all a good pull and twist. We want smoke coming out of the tires, NOT the engine bay.

edit: btw don't feel bad man, it happens. I had a wire swapped on mine too.
Plus...you got to say BIG CRIMP BUTT SPLICE in the next post!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

[jimkelly]

I neglected the first rule - disconnect battery when working on electrical.

and did not benefit from those with early cars that experienced the same issue before me.

lesson learned.

I will definitely look over my wires, I see at three that need to be sectioned.

also, I need to find a big crimp butt splice that can accommodate the main hot from battery on one side and the 3 smaller wires on the other. (pic)

and hopefully my crimper will suffice, it does down to 10 gage.

I have some red, blue and yellow, insulated connectors, but even yellow is not large enough for the hot from battery. I think I need 8 awg.

[jimkelly]

I thought I may have fried my coil or dist but thank god I did not.

picked up a battery charger today at advanceauto $60 new, charged battery, and she started right up : )

like a dummy I had pushed the fuel line so far into the gas can that it wound up not being in fuel, and would not start, thus drained battery, and needed charger (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

ok - back to repairing fried wires near the fuse box and need to add coolant to the cooling system. picked up some smart fuses and some 8 gage butt connectors.

lots of pics for those of you less mechanically inclined than me, but my guees is there are none : )

got some easy id fuses but they are 10amp, advance did not have 7.5, but later I found some 7.5 amp fuses on ebay and ordered a few.

[bulitt]

I neglected the first rule - disconnect battery when working on electrical.

and did not benefit from those with early cars that experienced the same issue before me.

lesson learned.

I will definitely look over my wires, I see at three that need to be sectioned.

also, I need to find a big crimp butt splice that can accommodate the main hot from battery on one side and the 3 smaller wires on the other. (pic)

and hopefully my crimper will suffice, it does down to 10 gage.

I have some red, blue and yellow, insulated connectors, but even yellow is not large enough for the hot from battery. I think I need 8 awg.

Jim try one of these- 5$ from best buy-
Power connector

[jimkelly]

price is right.

once this Bacardi wears off, I can give your suggestion some real thought (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[jimkelly]

yesterday...
filled cooling system with water, splashed a little everywhere.
temps started to climb high so I shut engine off.
I saw water bubbling on the manifolds, so I started to think I had some leaks.
later in the day I added some more water and she ran dry for about 5 minutes and the fans kept temps at about 160-170. can't remember if I have an thermostat installed or not.

today...
added a gallon or so of antifreeze as it has just started getting cold in DE.
I ran it a little longer today, all looks good with cooling.

got to...
order a new throttle cable from terry cables and install it
install the fuel tank, fuel line, and fuel pump
repair some wires under dash and reinstall fuse box
run some fused power to radiator fans
see if my ignition switch is working or not

lastly, since I owned this car, I am pretty sure these yellow wires were never connected but must have been at one time. I don't understand what this yellow wire that goes thru tunnel is supposed to do. seems it is a starter wire?

fuel line in - the front grommet wasn't too hard to get in once I lubed it with soap - and I can see my fuel pump's pos and neg wires.

sad note: my son's parakett - Saphire - about 8 years old, passed away the other day, he came home from school to bury him.

[jimkelly]

plumbed to carb from firewall, pump and filter.

note to self: get a grommet or bushing onto the fuel line where it enters the firewall. and need a ring connector to replace the mechanical lug on the pos + battery terminal.

I am pretty sure I will install a momentary switch but more robust one than I had before, vs replacing the ignition switch, at least for now.

next up - install fuel tank.

[jimkelly]

next to install fuel tank and plug the return line.

I need to remember why I ordered 4 metal gaskets, when I only need two. that I can see?

ok - I see how the rubber blocks sit on each side of the tank. I was thinking of setting the tank and doing the fuel lines from the bottom but I think I will go with a long line and hook up before tank install.

[jimkelly]

got my fuel tank in and fuel pump wired. I need to locate my fuel sending unit which has a different plug than a late model it seems.

got my 7.5amp fuses today and my headlights low and high beams work, always did before.

but I have a new electrical gremlin. I assume it has something to do with me oppsing a wire or two, when installing the engman fuse panel?

the new one is this, when I pull the hazard switch, my fuel pump comes on?

my fuel pump also comes on as it should when I turn the ignition key, with hazards off.

I ended up cutting away some sheet metal and shortening the fuel line under stank, so I could make last fuel line connection to tunnel fuel line from under the car.

as was suggested in another thread, I should have made a round disk out of rubber and used it and a washer and the normal nut to cap off the return line.

also it appears that the later cars used the same diameter nipples for both, where as my 1972 car had a larger line 3/8 to engine and 5/16 return.

for me, going straight from tank to tunnel line, I think a tighter curve on the nipples would have been much better, on both, even the capped off return.

[rhodyguy]

did you use the jumper wire from the engine relay board to the nearby ground stud to provide a ground for the pump?

[jimkelly]

yes - like this.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-2460-1379870459.jpg)

did you use the jumper wire from the engine relay board to the nearby ground stud to provide a ground for the pump?

[rhodyguy]

the only way to go and still utilize the stock circuitry.

[jimkelly]

I could have sworn my car started from key with this fat yellow wire disconnected, but it was driving me crazy, so I just tested the yellow wire and it does produce power when key is fully turned. so what must have happened is butt connection came apart and I did not put 2 and 2 together. be thankful you have more functioning brain cells than i do.

I still have 2 gremlins, drivers side parking light does not blink when headlights are on and fuel pump comes on when I pull hazard switch. but at least I won't have to wire up a rigged momentary starter switch.

obviously I am using a headlight to do my electrical circuit testing.

[Spoke]

I still have 2 gremlins, drivers side parking light does not blink when headlights are on and fuel pump comes on when I pull hazard switch. but at least I won't have to wire up a rigged momentary starter switch.

obviously I am using a headlight to do my electrical circuit testing.

Is it the driver's front turn signal that doesn't blink with lights on? Are both filaments on at this time? When blinking, do both filaments blink? The ground for the lamp base may not be grounded or the bulb isn't making good contact with the housing.

For the fuel pump, I would start by tracing all wires to/from the pump to look for issues.

[jimkelly]

now I am seeing problems everywhere. I pulled a tach out of my 1975 and pulled the speedo out of my v8 and all of a sudden I noticed my drivers side parking light on, I thought I shorted it on, but later realized I have pushed the turn signal stalk downward : ) whew, don't need any more gremlins.

here are some pics of the wires behind the gauges, (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

the pics with wires attached to tach are of my 1975 car, the more dusty ones are of my 1972 v8.

for my v8, I plan to use the tach only for its directional indicators. rarely will I be bumping against redline or needed to monitor redline. street car.

[jimkelly]

I will check. I assume you mean both filaments in the parking light?

I assume the problem may not be in the wiring at the parking light because it flashes when hazard switch is pulled. though my fuel pump comes on too.

jim

--

I still have 2 gremlins, drivers side parking light does not blink when headlights are on and fuel pump comes on when I pull hazard switch. but at least I won't have to wire up a rigged momentary starter switch.

obviously I am using a headlight to do my electrical circuit testing.

Is it the driver's front turn signal that doesn't blink with lights on? Are both filaments on at this time? When blinking, do both filaments blink? The ground for the lamp base may not be grounded or the bulb isn't making good contact with the housing.

For the fuel pump, I would start by tracing all wires to/from the pump to look for issues.

[jimkelly]

spoke - just tested your directionals rewiring - works great : ) but I need to get an old tach with two green lenses.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/cheer.gif) UPDATE .. parking light/directional issue resolved - bad bulb and I had the two non ground wires reversed - DS directional working now (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cheer.gif)

next up - last electrical gremlin - fuel pump/hazard switch issue.

also - trying to determine what this white/green wire is for behind my tach area. UPDATE: tom advised me, in a separate thread, that this WHITE/GREEN wire powers a bulb in the speedo when the parking lights are on. I must have jumped a nearby wire to get power in the past.
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act...=0#entry1947448
it sure sucks when the DAPO is ME (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

[jimkelly]

well - later tach won't do.

it only has one green dot for both left and right directionals : (

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-104-1381036172.jpg)

[Spoke]

Yeah, I didn't like the later tach because of the single turn signal indicator. So I took the tach mechanism out of the later tach and put it in the early tach can with the early tach faceplate. The only hard part about it is opening up the bezel.

Does your later tach have a glass or plastic window?

[jimkelly]

pretty sure its plastic - but I will put it back in my 1975 and seek out a lowww budget early tach since I do not need the tach to work. just want dual directional indicators.