I am trying to remove/unplug the bulkhead connector under the brake booster but it isn't budging at all.
I have removed the center bolt and am being very careful to not apply a lot of force on these old plastic parts but nithing is moving at all.
Am I overlooking something here or should it just pull strait out?
Thank you in advance for any help as I am dead in the water right now.

 

Sorry if I am kit in the right spot as I am a brand new member and trying to navigate as best I can.
cheers

 

On the engine compartment side there are 2 separate connectors. The left side is called the engine harness & the right side is called the forward lamp harness...
This photo is of a 77 engine side, your 74 looks much like this when both connectors are removed...


Hope this helps...

 

 

Thank you for the reply Joe.
I was aware of the two different plugs and need to work on the engine harness one.

Are the two connected and come out as one unit then get separated or can just one be pulled out to be worked on?

My problem is that with the center bolt removed, nothing is coming unplugged or moving.

Am I missing something or is everything just stuck?
Thanks again.

 

Welcome!
As long as the bolt is removed, the connectors should pull straight off. They mate together but don't lock in any way. The contacts were sealed with a goop to keep moisture out and that's likely thickened... maybe a hairdryer to warm everything up will soften the sealant. I'd gently pry the edges working my way around the circumference as best I could. I bet once you get them to move they'll come free pretty easily.

 

I'll give that a try once I have the garage heated up again today.
It dropped to 10 degrees outside last night.
Great idea and thanks to everyone for the info.
​​I'll report back when I have made some progress.

I'll bet the engineers who designed these cars never ever wanted to repair them. Lol

 

I finally got it apart but man was it ever stuck on there.
I gently heated around the outside circumference with the hair dryer and inserted a thin feeler stock all around and just kept pulling with a slight rocking motion up and down and side to side untill it came out.

I was surprised how much gunk was in there and at this point, I'm not sure if it's corrosion or something else.

My whole reason for taking this out was to replace the resistor wire going to the coil with a 12g wire to my new HEI ignition.

I'm looking at the whole harness and now contemplating replacing both.

The engine harness has this solid black hardened stuff almost like a JB Weld on the top inner corner and it surronds some of the wires there so if one of those is the resistor wire I'll for sure be finished with that harnesss.

I'll try sending some pics.




My engine is out right now so makes things easier to replace if I go that route

Thanks again for the feedback.

 

Nothing unusual about what you're showing. The greasy stuff and the JB stuff are factory GM sealants.

 

You could have left the fuse box connected and run a new wire from a switched terminal on the fuse box through the firewall and to the terminal of the coil + (positive).

 

I have a new wire with a 10a fuse going from the ignition slot in the fuse box for my new electric choke.

I didn't want to use that same location for my HEI, I wanted a strait line from the ignition switch to the distributor.

I am under the impression that the ign slot has other loads that ,in the event of a short somewhere, the engine does not run. I didn't want that to strand me.

 

Good you got them apart!!
Once you get the terminals cleaned up
Are you using a open cell in your fuse panel for a new wire or are you doubling up on an existing wire?
The reason I ask is you will notice most of the terminals are delphi/packard series 56 but you may find a couple series 59. Series 59 are 5/16 vs 1/4 on the series 56...
A series 59 terminal will not fit in a series 56 cell and vica versa, something to look for...

 

I had planned to remove and replace the old resistor wire for coil with a new 12g wire into the old bulkhead location.

 

I'm just not sure now if that is doable with all that jbl type of stuff/factory sealant, all over my engine harness block and a bunch of the wires there.
I'd I can't go that route, I'll hide a relay someplace that's fead 12v and triggered from the ign slot in fuse block under the dash.

If I can't remove and replace the old resistor wire and end up with a relay, can I use that junction block under the riverside fender that's just in front of the washer fluid reservoir?
Man,these cars, everything is a chore and a half.

Also one other question.
What's the best way to clean all the contacts in the bulkhead connectors?

Thanks again for all the info and your patience, I'm just trying to do this the best way and only maybe once, short of replacing harnesses.

Cheers!

 

I would start by using a small brass wire brush to clean the male terminals, the fm terminals are a little more difficult maybe a round solid toothpick and a good contact cleaner.
The terminals are brass so once cleaned up dip the tip of a q-tip in some household ammonia. This should brighten them up some.
As far as the removing the hard goop around the wire you're removing use a pointed metal pick.

 

I gotta say, I don't think I'd remove the hard stuff on the outside. It's there to seal the backside of the wires into the connector.

 

I removed my bulkhead connector on my 73 last summer to replace a broken wire for the wiper motor. I cleaned most of the hard black goop with carb cleaner or starting fluid, I dont recall which one did the trick. Before re-assembling the connector I covered the connectors on both sides with dielectric grease, which I think is the black goo the factory used. Modern stuff is synthetic and much less messy. It helps protect connections from the elements because the connector is not sealed like modern cars. A tube of dielectric grease can be found off amazon and probably most auto parts / hardware stores. Its pretty cheap.

 

Once I get things cleaned up and am able to identify where the resistor wire is located in the plug,I can decide then what direction to go.
( new wire install to keep thing tidy or use a relay).

Although I have a basic understanding of electrical systems, it is not my strongest attribute so just treading slowly here.

Thanks again for the feedback and will keep you posted as I go.

Cheers!

 

Sorry for the late reply, got a little caught up with the holidays but did manage a bit of work on the car so will give an update on my SLOW progress.

I got the bulkhead connector all cleaned up using electrical contact cleaner and a soft mini bristle brush.

The electrical contact cleaner is easy on plastic and leaves no residue on contact surfaces.

The contact cleaner got rid of all the gunk on the inside and was great at loosening up the hardened material that was on the outside around the resistor wire.
I found the hardened material was still somewhat soft and plyable underneath.

I used a dental pick along with a little contact cleaner to carefully remove all the material around the outside of just the resistor wire.

I was then able to squeeze the sides of the type 56 connector using small needle nose plyers to release it and push the connector down from the inside of the plastic housing, and out the back.

Once I get delivery of my new HEI wire, I'll install that and reassemble the bulkhead.

My only question now is, what product do we use to reseal the wires on the outside of the bulkhead in the engine bay.
Is there some type of bedding compound or sealer we use for this that isn't permanent, in the event that a future owner may want to reverse this back to stock specs. ???

Thank-you to all for your time and feedback.
This forum in invaluable.

CHEERS!
Mike