Vintage Chrysler electrical repairs and updates. Copyright. . Story and photos by. Richard Ehrenberg. For. more muscle car action, read Mopar Action! Every. motorhead you meet knows it all. He’s usually quick to offer up. But turn the discussion to things electrical, and, most often, you’ll get a blank stare. Not necessarily updated with all design improvements. Your complete Perfect Fit WIRE HARNESS INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS For Installing: 22 Circuit Chassis Harness Kits #10105 Classic Customizable Jeep CJ (’74-back) #10106 Classic Customizable. Need A/C To Cool Your Classic Ride? 67-69 Mopar A-Body Air Conditioning System from Classic Auto Air. High Performance / High Efficiency 67-69 Mopar A-Body AC Systems. Front Suspension and Steering : When you contact a vendor listed here, please tell them you saw their listing on the 1962 to 1965 Mopar Web Site! CRE Mopar Big Block Main Stud Girdle Kit - The new B/RB/Hemi 'Main Stud Girdle Kit' is designed to reduce 'Capwalk', stop block web flexing, cracking of the main. Hello, Allpar Forums member or visitor! If you were a member, you would not see this ad! Register or log in at the top right of the page. Sign up for the all the latest and greatest updates, discounts and info. This Week's New Tech Question And Ehrenberg's Sometimes-Wiseass Answer. Below is the massive Mopar Action Q&A Tech reference library Even if you don't find. As the old Hemi ads said: “It’s gotta be voodoo, baby.”But it’s not. Our classic, muscle- era Mopars had simple, generally reliable. Mr. But, hey. they’re now about 4. Nothing lasts. forever, and even if it did, technology leaves it behind. We figured the time was right (and ripe). Mopar electrical maladies, as well as a. We’ll touch on everything. We’ll, for the most part, not be covering aftermarket. So well be sticking to the usual Mopar. How many it will take is anybody’s guess - the. Charging systems are first on. Let’s turn the key and get crankin’.. HOT WIRED: Combatting wiring harness corrosion. Mopars. of the muscle era had generally good quality, pure- copper braided. The only true chronic problem appears at the firewall (bulkhead) connector. Two factors are at work here that conspire to almost insure. Corrosion and excessive current flow. Both these. problems generally show up at the high- current- carrying points only. The corrosion, which doesn’t stop at your quarter panels. This was. fixed on later Mopars, once and for all, by either moving the. O- ring sealed connectors. So what can we do about this problem? Aside from parking your car in. Ma Mopar in the late . Grease displaces air, no air, no oxygen. No. oxygen, no corrosion! But, of course, for this trick to work, any. While individual terminals can be swapped, in many cases a repro harness is the way to go. The second problem is a little tougher, but solvable. There are. really only two wires that carry any serious current at the bulkhead. This fatal flaw is inherent in all. Mopars built prior to 1. A- bodies), and, of course. Ohm called this I2. R, loss, and this equals heat. Chrysler’s first. In. this system, a very low- resistance element is placed in series with the. In this setup, the ammeter, though. Probably, full- scale is less than one volt! This system was introduced in 1. A- bodies). Even later, starting with front- drivers, Chrysler abandoned the. Intelligently. calibrated and understood, this works fine. If the voltage is above 1. Under 1. 2. 5, and dropping. The 6. 0s - early 7. If you. look any service manual of the era, you’ll see that Chrysler was. Sta- Kon connectors, and run directly. If you’ve. experienced firewall connector problems, you should consider this mod. The second plan is to convert to the . Simply connect the alternator output stud, via some serious. But be absolutely sure you splice in. A. 8. 12. 10. 0 - 1. A. 6. 10. With this done, the bulk of the charging system current will no. Obviously. the ammeter will no longer be accurate. The plan here is a simple. MASTER CHARGE: Alternators and generators. Alternators for automotive were pioneered by Chrysler, and first. Valiant. Their claim to fame was that they produced. RPM. Additionally, reliability was much improved. D. C. First, the slip rings. D. C. Without getting too scientific, let’s just. Then there’s circuitry: Whereas the generator required a. And let’s not forget the very significant weight savings. However. not all Mopar alternators are created equal. Early units were rated at. Add in a few kicker stereos, and the stocker is quickly. Of course, Mopar responded to the need for juice in. After that date, all alternators in Mopars were “purchased.”So what about your. If you car is a restoration or restification, you’ll. OEM- style unit (see photo at. But, unless you are going for concours certification, we. First, begin with the 1. Second, if your car is pre- 1. We found 4. versions of these kits in the J. C. Whitney catalog (!), including crazy. But be forewarned: if you make this swap, all charging- system wiring and connectors must be up to the task, including fusing, as outlined in the first section of this work. This caveat applies to any changes you make to charging system capacity! You could also swap in the later Chrysler- built alternators, we. The 1. 00- amp unit is a heavy beast requiring special. V- belt pulley is. The best alternator swap is the small, light. Japanese Nintendo (okay, Nippondenso) unit that was phased in during. While radically different at first glance, a closer. See photos 1. 0 and 1. Photos and easy update instructions. Bulkhead (firewall) are the universal trouble spot. Left. connector used on . These are the. trouble spots. Note that on fleet vehicles, the factory wisely routed. Here’s where those firewall wires terminate - the ammeter. Notice how beefy the studs and wiring are. To straighten out the wiring problem permanently. A few feet of automotive- grade wire, 1. If. you’re adding any other accessories, do yourself a favor and opt. Connect a fusible link to the starter relay stud. Crimp- splice. in a piece of suitable (heavy- gauge) wire, and connect the other end to. That’s it.. firewall problems bypassed. Still, you should repair the bulkhead connector. While. reliability is now much improved (since charging current is no longer. Begin by pulling all male. Then clean the terminals. A small wire brush is good for the. Then pack everything liberally with grease and reconnect. Fairy common is the huge 1. Chrysler (Indy). built alternator which was available from 1. Not easy to swap - requires special bracketry. Rare, but quite good, was the Chrysler- built 9. Still. it’s oddball enough that we can’t recommend it. Offered. from 1. 98. V- belt pulley available. The late- model Nipondenso alternators (left) can be. Mounting is basically similar. Stud (not called out in. Indy- built (right) unit’s 5/1. Pulley. bolts on and is easily replaced or swapped on ND unit. Wiring is easy. (see photo 8.) Biggest hassle is extra depth (thickness.) In most. To prevent potential major- league short. To wire the ND unit, simple swap your stock push- on field lugs for some ring- type terminals. To uprate and upgrade the familiar Chrysler alternator, we used. J. C. This one is for ’7. A., stock number is 7. GA7. 54. 1Y. The common Chrysler- Indy built alternator of the. The 1. 97. 2. redesign improved on an already good design by eliminating soldered. Installation requires only simple hand tools - a few 1/4. Begin by removing the brushes (don’t lose the special. Keep the stator with the rear (brush) half. All modifications. Next, remove the three hex nuts retaining the stator- wiring lugs, and.. Remove both nuts (one shown here with socket wrench on. Also remove the capacitor. Then, from the outside.. At this point, the diode assemblies basically fall out! Reassembly is the exact opposite of disassembly, with just two caution spots. One, be certain that the thin mica washer (shown here) is in place. Two, do not tighten. Also, a daub of fresh high- temp grease. To use it, you need any alternator with two field terminals, and. Simply splice the connector, wire- color for. Then simply. splice in one more blue wire which you then run over to the second. And you. waited 2. Charging- system schematic illustrates the simple differences. Okay, you’re. scared of electric stuff. But this is s- o- o- o simple, Vern. Hemi Andersen added. For more by Rick Ehrenberg, click here!
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