Mattax, thanks for the replies. I think I see "it", on that 2nd post and diagrams.
Amp gauge to battery:
From factory: wire coming amp gauge, through bulkhead connector, to starter relay with a FL on it, and then on to the battery with a HEAVY cable to the positive battery post.
New way,
a solid wire from amp gauge, NOT through bulkhead connector, to the starter relay, then another, same size wire to a single terminal block, and from that single terminal to the battery positive post with a FL.
My first question here is, what size wires at these points and what size FL going to the battery.
The '73 Coronet optional wiring used 6 gage wires protected by a 10 gage fusible link.
Generally fusible links are chosen to be 2 sizes smaller than the weakest wire being protected.
6 gage is huge. I don't know if that's an error in the manual since I haven't seen this option in real life.
Notice the oddly designated battery to starter cable in the Dart wiring diagram. 6B RED Mistake or not? Maybe it means standard was Black and optional was Red. Or its black with red stripe.
When looking at most Chrysler wiring diagrams the wire identification works like this:
Code for circuit - Wire size and then Color code.
A is usually Battery connections
R is Alternator
J is 'Ignition' which also includes other things that are on when the engine is running.
Q is Accessory
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2nd question on this is, how can I get my head past not having a huge cable connected to the battery post, lol.
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Not sure what you mean here.
The positive cable should have a very wire (4 gage or 2 ga) to the starter and a somewhat heavy wire to the stud on the starter relay.
A 10 gage fusible link is a larger wire than many cars came for the battery feed. Its going to take a lot of amps to melt that! If you go that large, I'd suggest looking for a protective insulating shield for the relay. Stock on many models/years but often gets lost.
2nd question on this is, how can I get my head past not having a huge cable connected to the battery post, lol.
Not sure what you mean here.
The positive cable should have a very wire (4 gage or 2 ga) to the starter and a somewhat heavy wire to the stud on the starter relay.
A 10 gage fusible link is a larger wire than many cars came for the battery feed. Its going to take a lot of amps to melt that! If you go that large, I'd suggest looking for a protective insulating shield for the relay. Stock on many models but get lost.
Alt to amp gauge:
From factory, wire from alt stud, through bulkhead connector. Welded splice of cab side sees power to key, headlights, and accy, with main battery wire continuing on to Amp gauge.
New way,
wire from alt stud to another single terminal block. From here, one wire continues to the amp gauge, NOT through the bulkhead connector.
At the single terminal block, a fusible link goes to the spot on the bulkhead connector that was formerly occupied by the original line from the alt stud. On the cab side of the bulkhead, the wire past the welded splice is taken off that side of the amp gauge and capped and protected.
Am I close, lol.
Yes. Exactly. That's what was done for Coronet's with the optional high output alternator.
The terminal block with the arrow pointing to it would be a reasonable location to add an auxilery fuse or breaker box.
But, if the loads you will be adding will be in the passenger compartment (and not using relays), then the factory bulkhead connecting terminals may be too small for the alternator output.
This where an exact diagram for your rig would be really helpful. Or maybe its obvious when you look at the firewall.
For example,in A-bodies around '75 and certainly in '76, the alternator output had a welded splice junction on the engine side which split the power before going through the bulkhead connector.
The same concept might have been introduced earlier on intermediates, full size or trucks.
The '73 Dart optional wiring is a little simpler to implement, and you could add a terminal block anywere in the alternator line.
Hope that makes sense.
yes Nacho is the guy who I credit for helping me understand how this worked!
