Sam,
What a timely thread. I have been having problems with the lights being dim until I started the truck, then they would be bright. Sometimes I would turn the ignition switch and get NOTHING. Well last night, when leaving work to go home, I got NOTHING. I wiggled the bulkhead connector, plugged and unplugged it (the battery feed one), NADA. I got under the dashboard to see if the other side wire on the bulkhead was pushed out. And it was in place. I wiggled the wires downstream of the ammeter and my dome light came on. I fired her up and drove home. On the wiring diagram it shows the likely culprit. A cluster of wires all tied to the incoming +12VDC. I suppose that cluster is just downstream of the ammeter. In a bundle. Is it all soldered together or crimped? I think I need to re-attach the incoming feed to the bundle. How is that best done?

bwhitejr

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'72 Duster (Performance 360)
'83 Ramcharger (Performance 318)
'80 TrailDuster (360)
'80 D-150 Truck (See Below)
CompCams 252S, Holley 390cfm, Offy manifold
Ported, Polished and Gasket Matched
P4286813 Springs,0.040 Overbore,
0.090 Shaved Head

Hi BWhitejr, That splice between all the outgoing B+ wires is soldered at the factory. Your problems could be in more than one spot. The splice could just be corroded. Or, the ameter could be going bad. You can detect where by looking for a voltage drop in the lines. You can also feel the connectors, and joints while things are running and look for a warm connector, or joint somewhere. Where heat is, high resistance is, or you can think of it the other way around if you wish.

You could also have a bad ignition switch. The bulkhead connectors are very prone to getting wet and then corroded. Cole Hersee sells replacement parts for the bulkhead connector.That would be parts number 31595 for the male, and 31100 for the female. Year one also sells them new. I am not certain the CH female part has the little tang to lock it into place, but the male one should work. I think the female ones can be found on local parts store racks if you simply take the factory part in and compare it. I have never seen the male part locally though. www.colehersee.com

I am certainly no expert, and I have made my share of dumb-dumb wiring mistakes. But the general priniciple here is that the battery power flows to the starter motor, then through the ameter, and then back out to charge the alternator. This circuitous route can get many high resistance joints in it. Either replace the connectors that are bad, or put in a new wiire. Just be sure to fuse everything if you add wires. I have snapped a few fuses in my time when checking a new circuit for the first time. "Oh, that didn't sound like a relay coming on". Good luck.

Sam

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