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I am trying to reinstall all harnesses in my 68 corvette small block. I work on the starter and solenoid wiring. I have two kind of lugs which I don’t know where to connect. The bundle is the one with the two fuses.
Everything is wired on the solenoid but I have these two kind of lug that are still unconnected (red circle).
Could you please tell me where I have to connect them ? I can’t find anything in the manual…
Zivaldo03
Below is an Alan 71 starter pic.... and the link to where they exist. I saved that link to my favorites so I can look stuff up. Hope it helps...if not then just say so and I'll go get a picture of how my 68 is setup (nowhere near as beautiful as alan71 ) https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...71-photos.html
Zivaldo03
Below is an Alan 71 starter pic.... and the link to where they exist. I saved that link to my favorites so I can look stuff up. Hope it helps...if not then just say so and I'll go get a picture of how my 68 is setup (nowhere near as beautiful as alan71 ) https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...71-photos.html
Thank you for your quick answer and this very interesting link with so many pictures which will be very helpful for my restoration.
Nevertheless, on this picture, I can’t find the lugs that I encircled in red. If you have a picture of your car or if you know how to connect them, it will be very helpful. Thank you.
I suspect it is just this bracket (yellow circle) thing that bolts onto the side of the block/tranny.... or the one to it's upper left? I'll try to get a picture of mine today for you.....
Zivaldo03
Well. I got a picture of mine but it's not much help. If I get ambitious tomorrow I'll be unwrapping that since I plan to run a larger 6-Gauge lead from the Alternator to the Starter post. We'll see how far I get....but at least I now already have the car up in the air.
Last edited by carriljc; Mar 31, 2024 at 05:39 PM.
I might be a day late and a dollar short but when running the wire down to the battery (+) Post on the starter. As you are aware the wire needs to be sized properly but the trick I use is using "Marine Grade" flexible wire which is like welding cables made of thousands of tiny strands with a thicker than normal insulation jacket and is very flexible. It is much easier to run away from any High Heat areas. I have a 427 BB and the only starter I am able to use is the Gear drive Starters, mine has a Hitachi High Torque Motor with the gear drive and is so much smaller and lighter than the original. Having long tube headers and high compression makes for some heat down there. My gear drive can start the engine any time where the original starter had a major issue with heat soaking.
When you are in that part of the wiring you should check your two fusible links down by the starter motor. I have found one burned out on mine so I replaced both.
Zivaldo03
I went and unwrapped mine today (since I am replacing that 10 gauge red lead with a larger lead...and you gave a reason to get going ) but it did not do much good since I previously redid the fusible link and cleaned up the wiring and also previously did heat shrinking on several leads. Spread out your harness so we can get a better look at your leads and stuff. I can't tell what those 2 hoops are BUT I think they are just support straps for the harness (from what I can see).
The fusible link is on the originally RED 10-gauge lead that comes from the horn relay terminal.
Note that there is BLACK lead that taps off that RED 10-GAUGE lead and goes to the ammeter in the cab (by the wiper motor on my 68. Anyway here is drawing I found somewhere.
Originally Posted by Zivaldo03
Hi,
I am trying to reinstall all harnesses in my 68 corvette small block. I work on the starter and solenoid wiring. I have two kind of lugs which I don’t know where to connect. The bundle is the one with the two fuses.
Everything is wired on the solenoid but I have these two kind of lug that are still unconnected (red circle).
Could you please tell me where I have to connect them ? I can’t find anything in the manual…
Zivaldo03
I went and unwrapped mine today (since I am replacing that 10 gauge red lead with a larger lead...and you gave a reason to get going ) but it did not do much good since I previously redid the fusible link and cleaned up the wiring and also previously did heat shrinking on several leads. Spread out your harness so we can get a better look at your leads and stuff. I can't tell what those 2 hoops are BUT I think they are just support straps for the harness (from what I can see).
The fusible link is on the originally RED 10-gauge lead that comes from the horn relay terminal.
Note that there is BLACK lead that taps off that RED 10-GAUGE lead and goes to the ammeter in the cab (by the wiper motor on my 68. Anyway here is drawing I found somewhere.
Hi,
You are right. It seems that it is a fixation point but I don’t know where to attach it.
I might be a day late and a dollar short but when running the wire down to the battery (+) Post on the starter. As you are aware the wire needs to be sized properly but the trick I use is using "Marine Grade" flexible wire which is like welding cables made of thousands of tiny strands with a thicker than normal insulation jacket and is very flexible. It is much easier to run away from any High Heat areas. I have a 427 BB and the only starter I am able to use is the Gear drive Starters, mine has a Hitachi High Torque Motor with the gear drive and is so much smaller and lighter than the original. Having long tube headers and high compression makes for some heat down there. My gear drive can start the engine any time where the original starter had a major issue with heat soaking.
When you are in that part of the wiring you should check your two fusible links down by the starter motor. I have found one burned out on mine so I replaced both.
Following your message, I checked the wiring of the fuses and it seems that one is not in a very good shape…
How can I check the fuses ? Is it possible to change them ? How ?
Thank you.
that does look like a bracket that bolts onto the block or bellhousing somewhere.
That "loop" is a Fusible Link.
It is probably ok but you can take a continuity reading from the horn relay connection down to the starter post. Just lift all leads at the 2 terminal points and then take the reading at the 2 ends of the leads....and only at the leads. If they're ok I'd clean the leads up (you can use hand cleaner and a rag. Inspect them and then sheath them so those exposed areas don't make contact with the block. For that matter you can unwrap that tape and put heat shrink on .the individual leads so they're kinda protected. The fusible link will still fail if necessary......but really.....if you are going to all that trouble why don't you put in a 6-gauge lead with either a big fuse or it's own fusible link
IF you want to replace the fusible link you can buy replacement fusible links at Autozone (or just about any generic parts place). Solder them in and heat shrink the soldered connections. Ensure you have a heat sink when soldering.... .
that does look like a bracket that bolts onto the block or bellhousing somewhere.
That "loop" is a Fusible Link.
It is probably ok but you can take a continuity reading from the horn relay connection down to the starter post. Just lift all leads at the 2 terminal points and then take the reading at the 2 ends of the leads....and only at the leads. If they're ok I'd clean the leads up (you can use hand cleaner and a rag. Inspect them and then sheath them so those exposed areas don't make contact with the block. For that matter you can unwrap that tape and put heat shrink on .the individual leads so they're kinda protected. The fusible link will still fail if necessary......but really.....if you are going to all that trouble why don't you put in a 6-gauge lead with either a big fuse or it's own fusible link
IF you want to replace the fusible link you can buy replacement fusible links at Autozone (or just about any generic parts place). Solder them in and heat shrink the soldered connections. Ensure you have a heat sink when soldering.... .
Thank you for your help. On your 68, do you have this kind of attachment point near the fuses ?
For the fuses replacement, do you have any autozone reference or another supplier ?
Forum Member carriljc is absolutely right about checking the fusible links by checking the voltage at the battery (+) and then at the Horn relay. On my 1968 C3 I had no power to my fuse box when there is no voltage present at the Horn relay. It turned out a Electronic fan Controller let it's smoke out and took out one of the fusible links.
Fusible Links were available at NAPA auto parts in the past. If you replace it I would suggest that you solder the new one into the wiring harness. The only thing I do differently is that I only use Marine Grade Heat Shrink because it has a heat activated glue on the inside of the tubing and they seal really well. In the past people used to push pins through the wire on both sides of the fusible link. This is a BAD idea to do this unless you install a piece of good heat shrink over it. You really want to protect your Fusible links as they are a critical piece of the wiring harness and are there to protect your electrical system.
After up sizing my alternator I installed a #4 flexible Marine Grade Wire. I used a large in line fuse to protect the car from any shorts. Near my battery I have a Marine Circuit breaker made for DC current.
Zivaldo03
What fuses are you asking about?
My 68 does (did) have a fusible link near the starter similar to yours. I replaced that ages ago with a Fusible Link from autozone. See the response above from ctmccloskey if you are going to replace your Fusible Link.
BUT if you are going in there I'd replace the whole dang lead....it is quite undersized at 10-gauge.
Since you put me to work I replaced mine this past week (after putting it off for ages) --- I went to the boneyard years ago and picked up higher capacity lead from some newer car....and it came with a Fusible Link...... so I installed it after tweaking the end fittings/connectors to bolt onto my car.
I actually left the ammeter in place (it has it's own fusible links) just to see how it reacted. All I had to do was lift the 10-gauge connector at the Horn Relay Bus Bar --- that then leaves the Ammeter in the circuit. I only ran it for a little bit and now it's shitty out so I'll test it more next week. For a non-calculated application the ammeter seems to respond quite well as I turn on loads (a/c, mark viii fan, headlights, etc) and the battery terminal voltage drops.
I hope that is somewhat clear....if not, then just ask .....
Originally Posted by Zivaldo03
Thank you for your help. On your 68, do you have this kind of attachment point near the fuses ?
For the fuses replacement, do you have any autozone reference or another supplier ?
Last edited by carriljc; Mar 30, 2024 at 12:45 PM.
Zivaldo03
What fuses are you asking about?
My 68 does (did) have a fusible link near the starter similar to yours. I replaced that ages ago with a Fusible Link from autozone. See the response above from ctmccloskey if you are going to replace your Fusible Link.
BUT if you are going in there I'd replace the whole dang lead....it is quite undersized at 10-gauge.
Since you put me to work I replaced mine this past week (after putting it off for ages) --- I went to the boneyard years ago and picked up higher capacity lead from some newer car....and it came with a Fusible Link...... so I installed it after tweaking the end fittings/connectors to bolt onto my car.
I actually left the ammeter in place (it has it's own fusible links) just to see how it reacted. All I had to do was lift the 10-gauge connector at the Horn Relay Bus Bar --- that then leaves the Ammeter in the circuit. I only ran it for a little bit and now it's shitty out so I'll test it more next week. For a non-calculated application the ammeter seems to respond quite well as I turn on loads (a/c, mark viii fan, headlights, etc) and the battery terminal voltage drops.
I hope that is somewhat clear....if not, then just ask .....
my question was about the attachement point I have near the fuses. Do you have it on your 68 ?
For the fuses, what is the recommended size for them ?
Forum Member carriljc is absolutely right about checking the fusible links by checking the voltage at the battery (+) and then at the Horn relay. On my 1968 C3 I had no power to my fuse box when there is no voltage present at the Horn relay. It turned out a Electronic fan Controller let it's smoke out and took out one of the fusible links.
Fusible Links were available at NAPA auto parts in the past. If you replace it I would suggest that you solder the new one into the wiring harness. The only thing I do differently is that I only use Marine Grade Heat Shrink because it has a heat activated glue on the inside of the tubing and they seal really well. In the past people used to push pins through the wire on both sides of the fusible link. This is a BAD idea to do this unless you install a piece of good heat shrink over it. You really want to protect your Fusible links as they are a critical piece of the wiring harness and are there to protect your electrical system.
After up sizing my alternator I installed a #4 flexible Marine Grade Wire. I used a large in line fuse to protect the car from any shorts. Near my battery I have a Marine Circuit breaker made for DC current.
Understood. Thank you for the advises. Do you have a web link, reference or size for the fuses ? Not easy to find the correct one with marine grade.
Zivaldo03
As far as the marine grade heat shrink....just take your new fusible link with you to the boat place and ask for marine grade heat shrink that would fit over it...
The term is FUSIBLE LINK. It will help you communicate to use the appropriate term when discussing with the parts store places. Let me check but typically I believe you use a Fusible Link that is 4-gauge sizes smaller that the lead being protected.....gimme a sec.
Zivaldo03
As far as the marine grade heat shrink....just take your new fusible link with you to the boat place and ask for marine grade heat shrink that would fit over it...
The term is FUSIBLE LINK. It will help you communicate to use the appropriate term when discussing with the parts store places. Let me check but typically I believe you use a Fusible Link that is 4-gauge sizes smaller that the lead being protected.....gimme a sec.
The second one. Do you have a nearby parts store like autozone? Just go look it. It just looks like a piece of insulated wire.
I sent you a link to read on fusible links.... "
What is a Fusible Link?
A fusible link is a short piece of insulated low-voltage cable within an automotive wiring harness that is designed to protect the harness in applications where a fuse is unsuitable. In an extreme current overload situation, the conductor within the link is melted while the ensuing flame and spark is contained within the link's insulation.
From: Loud, Raw and Dangerous 1968 327 4S in Southern California
Is is the wire itself that is the fusing part. The black pieces on each end are likely to protect and hold the connections from the car harness to the link. Doesn't look like our 50+ year old links are going to do much containment once they have been exposed to the engine heat and started to rot away.
There are other options if originality is not a concern. Car fuse holders and fuses have come along way over the ensuing years and you can get replacement waterproof marine grade enclosed versions like shown below. Makes fuse replacement a lot easier. On my car the previous owner had already installed one of these. Has survived the nearby header heat with no signs of deterioration and so far no electrical issues.
68 corvette starter wiring
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