Last night I was hooking up the electrical components under the dash in my 63 Valiant. I had removed the dash to be painted and have finally gotten it installed.

I am totally new to working with the electrical system in my car. So I need a bit of help.

Here’s the story.

I installed a NOS AM radio. At first, I wanted to just test the radio. I hooked up the battery and no Tunes. The lights came on. (I haven’t’ installed the switch yet.)

I then remembered that I should plug in the ignition switch. This turned on the wiper (which wouldn’t shut off.) I had power to the radio. I was able to turn the starter.

I do not have the main wiring harness connected to the instrument cluster. (This may be my problem).

Well, as the wipers were going, the wiring harness started getting hot and I noticed a burning smell. I shut everything off and unplugged the wiper switch. (I’m not convinced I have it wired properly.)

With the wiper switch out, the harness did not heat up and the smell was gone. I hooked the switch up again, and nothing. I also still haven’t gotten any sound from the radio.

Also, I have an after market alternator gage hooked up under the dash. The original one works if it is hooked up outside of the dash cluster, but once it is in there, I get nothing.

I could really use some pointer here. I don’t want to fry anything just because I don’t know what I’m doing.

Thanks,

John

Let me know if I need to provide any more information. I know this post is kind of vague even thought it is long.

Wow. I strongly recommend you get a factory wiring diagram and spend an afternoon making sure all wires go where they are supposed to and that all grounds are in place and in good condition.

Reed

I don't mean to sound rude, but did you have the speaker wires hooked up to the radio? Are they the original speakers? You might look to see if the solder connections are tight at the speaker terminals. What about the antenna cable? Even if the radio is not on a good station, you should at least hear hissing from the speakers.

Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

The Speaker wires are connected. So is the antenna. I'm not as worried about the radio. It is an original speaker. There may be a problem there. I can test that fairly easily. Of course, I never bench tested the radio before I installed it.

I went out last night and compared the wiring to the service manual diagrams. I had some of the wiper wires hooked up wrong.

I think my real problem is the ground. I am going to spend this weekend making sure everything is grounded properly. This is a freshly painted car, so it is very possible that I am not getting a ground to the body.

Thanks for the suggestions. When I come across a problem like this I usually get a bit panicky.

John

Well, I think I got the electrical gremlins ironed out.

I replaced the voltage regulator with one from a 75 Dart. I got this new from NAPA. They also had the connector available.

The wipers are working properly.

The radio works. It's nice to finally have tunes.

I was even able to get the factory alternator gauge to work.

The best tip I got on this problem (and one that I will pass on) Thanks for the help,

John Killin