Automotive wire technology?

An Electric Porsche 911 - The world is nuts!

This hurts, but somebody actually did it!
http://www.electroauto.com/gallery/911.shtml

EDIT: Two more Hybrid Conversion sites:
http://www.landandseasolar.com/info.html

http://www.evadc.org/build_wiring.html

Had to post them. Maybe this is where we're going. The first one uses Solar to recharge. Good speed control on a cloudy day.

 

Electrical Planning Info

If you're going to build a totally custom circuit, this Ford Fleet document is great! All the things you need to think about, if not do for when the brainmatter gets foggy:

https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/non-html/qpg/2004/app10.pdf

 

When you're hot, you're hot!

I'm just cookin'
"Ammeter to Voltmeter Conversion" in quotes on Google, got me this sweet thang!
http://nurr.org/gallery/amp2volt

And one in a Bronco:
http://www.mcguill.com/bronco/electrical.htm

This is a Comprehensive Automotive Electrical CSI document:
http://classicbroncos.com/electricalbasics.shtml

Gonna go at it, now. Andy just got my Ford Electrical Vacuum Troubleshooter Manual (EVTM) over to me, so I can track my circuits in living wire colours. Much better than Haynes or Chilton. If you need one, you can search here by car model:

Fairmont/Zephyr:
http://www.vehicle-db.com/parts/search.pl?part=Fairmont+Electrical+Vacuum+Manual

LTDs
http://www.vehicle-db.com/parts/search.pl?part=LTD+Electrical+Vacuum+Manual

Mercs:
http://www.vehicle-db.com/parts/search.pl?part=Mercury+Electrical+Vacuum+Manual

Sometimes you have to look by sub-brands, like Mustang, Capri, Escort, etc.

All done writing to myself. Hope it helps.

 

Getting Hotter too

Excellent pictorial article on upgrading within the same model and year of the same make of car, but discusses some of the issues of other types of electrical upgrades.

http://www.autospeed.com.au/cms/A_2811/article.html

We had a marble-sized hail storm that wasn't even in the forecast. My roller paintjob took it like a charm. :2_thumbs_up_-_anima

 

Is it raining again??????

 

Nope. Just getting warm enough to work barehanded for a few hours.

I'm labelling every underdash connector with both 1979 and 1984 C-xxx ID numbers from the EVTM. I'm tired of chasing down the diagram to check every wire. :banghead3:

 

Don't be surprised to see standard voltage for autos increase soon. 24v, 36v who knows. Higher voltage(pressure) will enable smaller and lighter gauge wire to be used.
Between the ever increasing demand for e-toys aboard new cars and the desire for lightweight this is one solution on the short list. Another will be fibre optic cabling for data transmission.
I stripped a mid ninetys BMW a while back. I weighed the removed wiring and had over 70# with a bit still remaining in the car.
Our 12v batteries will one day be regarded like the old tar top six volters.

 

I've read the voltage thing too. One way to revive an old industry at consumers' expense. Heck with Hybrid recharging they may come with a 120 VAC coffee warmer.

 

Two Continents, nearly the same name, two approaches to 12 volt systems. Good stuff. I think the Aussie site is broader in scope, but the US site really does dig deeper into solutions for bad grounds and audio/ multimedia car systems:

Aussie site:
http://www.12volt.com.au/

They even have topics and vendors with 12 volt RV appliances. Run down the left-hand menu.

I deleted the DOT AU in the URL (to go to 12volt.com) and got this:
http://www.12voltnews.com/

US site:
http://www.the12volt.com/

Here's their excellent grounding sticky:
http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~73496~PN~1

 

Cutting, stripping, crimping tips and more tech from AmericanAutoWire:
http://www.americanautowire.com/faq/?cat=5

They sell the goodies too (For GM cars only ):
http://www.americanautowire.com/

Regardless, their tech tips and FAQ have good info.

 

Really good Autowiring 101 article. Non-technical people won't get lost in geek-speak.

http://www.mustangandfords.com/tech...tage_ford_electrical_wiring_system/index.html

 

Rewiring helplessness!

I've still got a couple 'bugs' in my wiring, but I've slowly and surely resolved all but two.

Background:
My car was built by Ford, Mexico, in the beginning of the model changeover (Early September, 1978), probably with some parts from other models. For example:

1) Dual pitch horns, probably from a Granada option list, and they were made in Mexico.

2) Hoop-type headliner, not the cardboard insert type like other North American Fairmont/Zephyr wagons.

3) It had the Mexican 302 V8. Bigger crankshaft journals and other subtle things that make them a rebuilder/racer's favourite.

and, and, and...

THEN, I got a 1978 2-door sedan/coupe rust-bucket with a newly rebuilt engine and trans, 4 month old new tires and... A rear window deicer (not a Mexican option), new speakers in the dash and rear deck, and Electronic Ignition (which mine didn't have either).

THEN I got a nice pair of padded visors with the vanity mirror and lights for the passenger side, but I didn't have the optional Map light.

Somebody shot my original tailgate window and rear quarter windows with a BB Gun, and the Ford Dealership couldn't replace my original, so they installed the common Canadian one with the de-icer grid, but I didn't have the circuit, until the donor car came along.

So I had to merge the circuits. That meant opening up the worm can and finding the circuits in the manuals and changing them, from connector to connector. Reading both the 1978 and 1979 circuits (luckily the wire colors are the same to 1981.)

I can see why people don't tinker with the factory harnesses. But I thought I'd list some of the sleuthing I had to do.

Dome and Cargo lights stay on:
The 1978 didn't have a trunk light, so I had to use mine at the back, and hook up to the front. The green/yellow wire is the power line, the black/blue wire is the switched line for all doors and the tailgate. It's also spliced in different places to the plain black ground wires - confusing. And... the same black/blue is used for the Instrument lights, combined with the Blue/Red instrument circuit for the instrument lights... more confusing. But tracable and straightforward to solve.

The visor lights work. The clock lights work on the same circuit as do the door switches. For now, I just pulled the bulbs out. Other things needed attention.

In merging the circuits, a lot of exterior bulb holders were corroded and useless, so I got new ones. I hooked one up wrong. The passenger front parking lamp. The wires were reversed (brown and black wires are easy to mix up. How I detected it is the interesting part. The turn signal bulb on the dash would stay on, even though the turn signal was off! Pulled off the lense, ran the lights, the turn signal, hazard light switches and compared the brilliance. Traced the wires back to the solder joints. Switched them over and fixed!

Fasten Seat Belt warning light stays on:
This was my own recent screwup. The 1978 had this on two circuits for the dual buzzer units. One is the safety belt warning, the other is the ignition key-in warning. I had both types of connectors and figured I just 'upgrade' to the 1979 single dual buzzer system. Not! Back to the old. Besides, the 1978 had a chime type of key-in warning.

Backup Lights Don't Work:
This is my bug for today. I never noticed until yesterday. When I reinstalled the dash on Friday, I installed the 'shake brace' in the wrong order, under the steering column cross-brackets, instead of above them (closer to the nuts). That raised the column angle, and changed the shifter gear points.

So while checking the bulbs, I blocked the wheels, put her in reverse, and no backup lights! hmmm. Since I had done the entire resto to the bone (no wiring), I figured I had a bad ground. Checked the licence plate light and it works (shares the same ground too.)

The donor connector for the tranny neutral switch (same setup as the V8 C4 tranny, was in bad shape, so I used mine from the 1979, but I used the V8 Neutral Switch on the I6 C4. I suspect that the problem is there. I'll trace back, try a jumper wire and then change what's broken (Neutral Switch or connector.)

Rear De-Icer switch won't engage the relay:
I think I need a new relay. It clicks on and off. The control light doesn't stay on, but the circuit and fuse are fine.

Voltmeter wire not on right circuit:
When I finished up the first install 10 days ago, I had it on the Key-Off circuit, then I switched to a Key-On circuit. Both showed a bit more charge than 12 volts. Figuring I was on Key-On circuit, under the dash (a White/Purple accessory circuit), I connected it there instead. Forgot that that circuit had a resistance wire to keep it at 12 volts. That's what the voltmeter reads too. Exactly 12 volts! I know where it has to go now.

None of them are drawing any juice, but they should be right! So back to the task.

There's no moral to the story, just that it is a bear to wrap your head around a multi-colored mess of spaghetti made from 2 model years.

Fairmonts didn't even have tach or gauge options until 1979, when the Mustangs grew up from the Mustang II.

One theme that stuck with me in all of this. Can an Auto-electric shop trace my wiring if I ever breakdown on a trip. Try to get same color-code/gauged wire from another car of the same make and vintage and follow the diagrams with the actual wires, and all the connectors you can cut off with it. None of these are impossible to trace, even after a year of installing them. Paid off.

 

Well Norm. Since you told me the seat belt warning is connected to the rear hatch ajar light I've found the following.

When I turn the key to on the only idiot light I get is the battery light. I get nothing else. There are several others and none work. No engine light, no seat light, no ajar light and the other light symbol is a circle with parenthesis in it. Not sure what that is.

I've got the seat plugged in but the buzzers are disconnected. I'm afraid I may have to reconnect the buzzers I think.:banghead3:

 

Your's isn't that much different than mine. Have you got an EVTM for it? I can take a few pics of mine or one for a 1981 Fairmont that Andy leant me.

How are your dash lights? Do they dim properly or are they always low? If so the Instrument Voltage Regulator needs replacement.

Is the printed circuit in good shape? All those warning lights share a common ground line on the circuit (P.C.) If the IVR is weak and the PC is scratched, the lights may not be getting enough juice.

There's a white/purple wire above the fuse box that uses a rubberized bayonet plug. That one wire runs all those warning lights. It may not be properly inserted. It runs a lot of the key-off dash operations as well.

 

That 'parenthisis' light wouldn't be the 'bulb out' warning light. I don't have that circuit. It came in 1980 and up Foxes. The controller is somehow hooked up with the electronic digital clock circuit. All the bulbs on the car are connected to it. It's a Management By Exception system. If a bulb fails, the display shows which one. Your TBird likely has one (that would fit.)