An electrical miracle...
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 483
Likes: 1
From: Livonia Michigan
An electrical miracle...
Thanks to gleaning a lot of info here, and some pointers from some of the locals, the dash harness is out 
Wasn't that bad, really; so any of you who have been debating about whether to bite the bullet & replace it, I'd say it's worth the effort. Here's where the miracle comes in: after removing the old harness and getting a good look at it, it would have been just as likely for the car to burst into flames as it was to start each time I turned the key! 
Fuse box so rusted you can't pull the fuses out, wires not plugged in, wires cut off, wires spliced, wires "T'd" into, wires frayed, wires burned. Was the harness at least clipped into place? Don't be silly! Why bother?! This looks like the work of multiple Bubbas over the last 41 years. Miracle #2: I was able to identify all the unplugged and cut off wires (ok, I did have the help of an excellent wiring diagram from Don Olson). I'll be so happy to have new wiring in place that the cost will not even be a consideration 
Wasn't that bad, really; so any of you who have been debating about whether to bite the bullet & replace it, I'd say it's worth the effort. Here's where the miracle comes in: after removing the old harness and getting a good look at it, it would have been just as likely for the car to burst into flames as it was to start each time I turned the key! Fuse box so rusted you can't pull the fuses out, wires not plugged in, wires cut off, wires spliced, wires "T'd" into, wires frayed, wires burned. Was the harness at least clipped into place? Don't be silly! Why bother?! This looks like the work of multiple Bubbas over the last 41 years. Miracle #2: I was able to identify all the unplugged and cut off wires (ok, I did have the help of an excellent wiring diagram from Don Olson). I'll be so happy to have new wiring in place that the cost will not even be a consideration
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 2,740
Likes: 4
From: Marblehead MA
I had the same problems with my 63 SWC, the wires were completely rebuilt by Bubba... 
And when the always "live" wire to the Cigarette lighter burst into flame and started burning the plastic connector on the end..... I did not hesitate to pay the price from Lectric Limited.... the beautiful thing about replacing the harness is that everything worked.... even the interior lights when you opened the door... 
The only modification I made to the wiring was that I spliced an inline fuse for the Cigarette lighter, which I spent the required amount of time to correctly solder it and heat shrink plastic sheaths over the solder joints... No bubba here.... 
And when the always "live" wire to the Cigarette lighter burst into flame and started burning the plastic connector on the end..... I did not hesitate to pay the price from Lectric Limited.... the beautiful thing about replacing the harness is that everything worked.... even the interior lights when you opened the door... The only modification I made to the wiring was that I spliced an inline fuse for the Cigarette lighter, which I spent the required amount of time to correctly solder it and heat shrink plastic sheaths over the solder joints... No bubba here....
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 483
Likes: 1
From: Livonia Michigan
Originally Posted by achapman
The only modification I made to the wiring was that I spliced an inline fuse for the Cigarette lighter, which I spent the required amount of time to correctly solder it and heat shrink plastic sheaths over the solder joints... No bubba here....
