Yes my 914 has been hacked on under the dash to many times. Lets just say I am trying to get it all worked out and am a little lost on how to go about working on things and getting everything to work as it should. right now I have some wirenuts keeping wires from shocking me when I drive. Having trouble in Illinois.

BTDT

the harness on my '70 was so badly hacked by the PO that i finally gave up and installed a new (to me, from a donor '74) complete wire harness for the whole car.
best thing i ever did ...

there's a thread in the "classics" section on how to do that, with lots of pics ...

probably not what you wanted to hear ...
Andy

PS: oh, and

I have been there too. If you don't already have it, get the wiring diagram for your year off of the Pelican web site. Study it, trace it, draw it, sleep with it under your pillow. The wiring under the dash (actually the whole car) is pretty basic if you break it down into sections and functions. All of the wiring under the dash originates to the left of the fuse panel. It looks a little scary but you can pull all of the messed up wires out from under the dash back to where they enter the dash or back to where they are in good shape. Mark as many as you can identify either from what they are connected to or from the diagram. Expect several of the push-on connectors to break no matter how careful you are. Leave wires in place that are clean and un-violated, hopefully these will be the ones going to the steering column.

Behind the gauges can look like more of a mess than it really is. Remove your steering wheel and push the gauges out from the back to get to the wires. Luckily most of the wiring back there goes to the gauge lights (black/blue) and can be removed as a group by unplugging a single connector (at least in my '73).

There is a good chance that you will find extra wires added by the PO to resolve electrical problems with original wires hanging unplugged. Chances are the problem was not the wires and the existing ones are fine. I removed a lot of wires added by the PO and used the originals.

Once you have everything sorted out you will be able to tell what is junk and what you can keep. Refer to the wiring diagrams often. Like Andy, you may want to get a used harness but you may be able to get away with replacing broken connectors and splicing in clean wire where necessary. Search for threads that have been posted that discuss splicing and crimping for help.

Good luck and welcome. Post back here if you have questions.

-Jeff

yeah thanks for the help guys am curious if there is someone in Il that lives near my area that I can get some assistance with because I just need the help. Just getting started with the electrical now. Put new motor in last year so I am tackling the wiring before I get to the real expensive part the body

try the members map. zoom in on your state ...
Andy

Also try Brad Mayeur in East Peoria. Yeah, it's a bit out of the way, but you will not regret finding him!! He's been working on 914s since they came out. He's also a heck of a nice guy.

I don't have his contact info handy, but you should be able to look it up.

--DD

I just wanted to harass Jeff for replying at 2:42am? What's going on that you are not asleep? Coming to the Lake any time soon Jeff?
Oh I hope you get your wiring straight!

cant find him on the map and I am really interested in learning how the electrical works in the car but need some definite assistance

If by "him" you mean Brad, he's not a member here. He's just a 914 guy extraordinaire. Check information (you know, old twentieth-century tech?) or Google his name (or his name and "914 limited"). You can probably find it that way too.

--DD