Hi,
After reading the thread on fried wires, I plan on running a 10 gauge wire with 14 gauge fusible link from Alt bat to Starter bat. I do not have the proper crimping tool, connectors, etc. and probably would not use it again after buying so it doesn't make sense to do so. And I want to make sure it is done correctly.
Does anyone know of a commercial source to by a prefabbed bypass wire?
Otherwise, I would pay someone to make me one. Please PM me.
Thanks, Pete

Pete, a welding supply shop or likely any mechanical shop could crimp some good ring terminals onto a length of wire for you for cheap & I'd have em solder it too. EDIT as you know it will render the ammeter inaccurate. Just me I would keep it as is & clean ALL terminals/connections including ground paths & do Nachos' bulkhead bypass & one guy was adament on using a 30 amp plug in fuse, one of those colored plastic ones with the 2 male plug in lugs & to keep spares handy in the main line to the bulkhead from the battery. advantage is they would blow instantly if there is an issue & when when my '66 dart full fielded the FL didn't even do its job & go open & the wires were melted/shriveled from the excess amperage.

I like your suggestion rapid Robert. I've got a similar situation. I've started putting the dash harness in to my 74 Charger. I noticed to red wire lug to the ammeter was cut off. I looked at the engine harness and noticed a 10 gauge red wire from the battery to the one post of the starter relay. On the other post of the relay, there's a red wire (10 gauge) running from the relay through the cowl to be connected to the ammeter, completely bypassing the bulkhead connector block. The only problem is there's no fuse anywhere in it. I was going to hook the original red wire up to the ammeter but after reading several posts on this, I think I'll leave the bypass wire hooked to the ammeter and just install a fuse or fusible link in the red wire bypass. Should it go between the battery and the starter relay or should it go between the relay and the ammeter?
Terry

I am trying to keep stock and do not have many accessories, just a few gauges. I still have a stock alternator of unknown amperage for 67 rt 440. When I get my deoxit in mail I will pull bulkhead connectors and see how they look and clean. If required I may have to buy the crimping tool if any male or female ends look suspect.
I live in the dc metro and we do not have things like welding shops, radiator shops, muffler shops, etc. unfortunately. Again, I will have to think about keeping the ammeter and going the MAD direction or simply running the jumper if I see evidence of heat. Good to have options.

A vise or vise grip pliers will crimp them just fine. A hammer and concrete work too, or just solder them.

Need more ideas, drill a hole in a cheap pair of pliers, smaller than the crimp, smackem with a hammer. A dull chistle and a hammer works too.

it would have to go between the relay/ammeter (like it was OE) cuz if it went inbetween batt to relay the high amp flow from batt to relay to starter when cranking (if I am reading this right) would blow it instantly.

A decent crimping tool isnt expensive.
Far superior crimp to pliers, vicegrips or even concrete

ratcheting crimping tool

5 gallons of gas and a match will fix your electrical problems forever, too.

Neither is the proper way of doing.

This reminds me of my old neighborhood where everyone had aluminum wiring and the only approved method was a copalum connector, and the tool to do it was super expensive, yet electricians were getting big $$ per receptacle to recrimp these connections. Luckily only my 220 were aluminum and not in need of fixing.
If I need to redo the connections in the bulkhead I am confident I can do it with the right tool. Probably not going to buy it just to do the jumper. Hopefully I can clean the bulkhead and it will look fine, and figure out why my ammeter showing such a high charge upon acceleration.
I recently added an air/flow gauge but am almost positive it was connected to ignition 12V.

Good point RR. I wasn't thinking about the amperage draw. I believe I'll use a fuse under the dash instead of the fusible link because it's much more visible. In the 74 Charger, the starter relay is on the cowl next to the brake booster. It's really cramped in that area. A 25 - 30 amp fuse should work or should I go smaller? It's a stock charging system. Thanks.
Terry

I make those on a regular basis.

8ga wire with a 12ga fusible link. Around 35 delivered in most cases

I think an air ticket from Venezuela to MD is not lot expensive LOL

check what you have at this moment then take your decisions... untill that you are working over an unknown stage

That seems fair. I will let you know after I dig around under my hood this weekend.
If I have a low 35 amp alternator would this be too thick of a fusible link? I am hoping I have a 50-60 amp but am unsure what it came with. Will check part # tonite.

that's what I would call a GOOD IGNITION SYSTEM!!! LOL

Ah, Venezuela. My good friend and old man baseball team manager is Luis Aparicio lll, son of the Sox and Oriole great and hall of fame shortstop. Great Venezuelan.
I have what look to be relatively good condition bulkhead connectors. I did not pull off as I wiggled and squeezed and did not want to break anything. Should they just pull off with coersion?
The battery positive has two wires, one to starter and one going to a firewall post. From this two go away thru firewall and under dash. One powers stereo and the otherone disappears into a maze. Another goes to lowest bulkhead connector. So I do have accessories powered off bat.
Is this firewall post stock??

Terry - this gets confusing because its two different issues in one thread, but I'll try.

From this I get:
1 Ammeter is not being used
2. Battery is hooked to a terminal on the starter relay
3. A 10 gage wire is attached to a different terminal on the relay and goes through the firewall but is not attached to anything.
Yes? If so, identify what each terminal is on the relay.


This is confusing to me. If the ammeter is not used there still should be a wire that connects the battery to the main junction. It doesn't matter if it goes through the firewall or the connector. It must have a fusible link.

Take a look at Charging system operation and see what matches up.

P d'ro
In your first post you talked about a bypass. But in other posts you've mentioned a problem and also


Considering the situation, first solve the problem.
Look at the diagrams, look at your car.
Is there anything wired in from the battery to the ammeter?
There should be nothing. Ah! I see you have found there is stuff. This may be the source of your problem.
To understand why, take a look at the drawing showing running with the battery fully charged. Draw in some equipment attached to the battery or starter relay and you see what happens.

The question remains whether any of that is the reason the current follows rpm., then there may be a bad battery or something like that.
It also could be the voltage regulator is getting bad information (its not sensing the actual voltage). To check that, you'll need a voltmeter. Measure voltage at the Ignition wire side of the voltage regulator. Compare that with voltage at other locations (battery).
It also could be that the voltage regulator has failed internally and Field current is not controlled. Maybe Nacho can speak to this. But for example if the alternator gets more voltage the alternator output will be higher voltage than the battery can float to. So electricity flows from the altenator thats say 16 or 17 volts to the poor battery at 14.5 Volts. Eventually the battery gets too hot and looses water...




Cleaning terminals is great. You will not really see the crimped ends unless you remove the terminals from the connectors. In your situation I would leave them in place unless they are loose or have obvious problem.

If you don't have a multi-meter - that is the tool to buy!

If you bypass the ammeter, you will lose an useful diagnostic tool. I don't see a reason for it in your situation, especially with everything staying stock. If you drive at night, a headlight relay system is worth considering. You'll have to hide the relays to keep it stock. (Rob who posted about making you wires, can make you the relay harness.) But this is off - topic. First figure out what is happening.

One last one. It is possible the battery is just simply too low in charge. Again a voltmeter will indicate this. In which case the battery just needs enough water and is allowed to charge slowly. A battery charger or letting the car idle.

Here's the catch, this is the one that plagued Nacho. If its because the alternator can't charge it at idle and the car idles alot, then sooner than later you need a better alternator. In this case the battery is getting drained just by running at idle. The ammeter will show this. Its mostly a problem when accessories (heater, lights, and maybe worst is A/C)

Each connector has to have the plastic latch on top and bottom gently unhooked. Then wiggle while pulling. Take your time.

Probably not!
Each bulkhead connector location has a letter designation in the shop manual diagram. Might be able to tell you what was supposed to be there by the location and wire colors.

Ok, both god to know. I will try to unhook and wiggle free.
I assume I will leave the post and connections as it has been good for 10 years.