test wiring harnesses

[Danny H.]

Hi all,

My '64 conv. body is on a dolly now, is there an esay and safe way to test the wiring harnesses? I just got the engine/dash/rear installed.

Thanks,
Danny

[Mike Z.]

Re: test wiring harnesses

Danny-
Smart move-it is a whole lot easier to correct or repair a problem before the body drop. On my frame off restores (have a shop), we always test as much as possible before the drop: lights, headlight function, antanna, windows, etc., etc.
We built a test rad support and dash with gages to test run/break-in the engine on the chassis, less the body-try to put several hours run time before the drop. If there is a problem with wiring or engine, we know and can repair prior to the body drop-saves time & money, but most of all avoids possibility of damage to the paint.
Our body dolly is metal, but most all light, switches, equipment are independently grounded to the frame.
We welded a battery tray to the dolly about where it sits in the car (C-2), and hook up the cables-we grounded to the dolly. If your dolly is wood, you would have to run some ground wires to complete the circuit.

Good luck,
Mike Zamora
#12455

[Dale M.]

Re: test wiring harnesses

I will try to get another member to comment on this post. We have an "electrical" guy in our group that is really great on electrical problems. I know that he helped another member with a '59 before the drop. He uses some small 12v batteries to check out lights and other circuits. Since my knowledge is all second hand, let me see if I can get Steve to respond.

I am replacing the dash harness in my '64 this winter. Any recommendations?

[Danny H.]

Re: test wiring harnesses

Danny-
Smart move-it is a whole lot easier to correct or repair a problem before the body drop. On my frame off restores (have a shop), we always test as much as possible before the drop: lights, headlight function, antanna, windows, etc., etc.
We built a test rad support and dash with gages to test run/break-in the engine on the chassis, less the body-try to put several hours run time before the drop. If there is a problem with wiring or engine, we know and can repair prior to the body drop-saves time & money, but most of all avoids possibility of damage to the paint.
Our body dolly is metal, but most all light, switches, equipment are independently grounded to the frame.
We welded a battery tray to the dolly about where it sits in the car (C-2), and hook up the cables-we grounded to the dolly. If your dolly is wood, you would have to run some ground wires to complete the circuit.

Good luck,
Mike Zamora
#12455

Thanks Mike. Unfortunately my dolly is wood... so where did you hook up the positive?

-Danny

[Doug L.]

Re: test wiring harnesses

I will try to get another member to comment on this post. We have an "electrical" guy in our group that is really great on electrical problems. I know that he helped another member with a '59 before the drop. He uses some small 12v batteries to check out lights and other circuits. Since my knowledge is all second hand, let me see if I can get Steve to respond.

I am replacing the dash harness in my '64 this winter. Any recommendations?

I replaced my entire wiring recently while the body was off. The complete harness came from Lectric Ltd and everything connected without problems. Colors seem to be correct. I believe they sell individual harnesses so you can replace the dash harness without buying the remaining pieces. I'm not certain if it is better to remove the entire dash or to try to make the replacement with the dash in place. My car was completely stripped of commponents when I installed the dash harness. The dash went on after the harness was in place, and it was very easy that way. There is a nice article on the TDB about installing the instrument cluster if you do disassemble.
Doug

[Dennis B.]

Re: test wiring harnesses

Hi all, My '64 conv. body is on a dolly now, is there an esay and safe way to test the wiring harnesses? I just got the engine/dash/rear installed. Thanks, Danny

Yes there is I have tested alot of wiring in my life and substituting a 12volt battery for a flashlight with low amperage is the best. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Energize...&skuId=3870859 Its some what like testing a low voltage Xmas tree light set, the only difference is the battery you are using is not capable of drawing enough current to fry your harness, like the car battery. You can plug in all your lights to the harness and then connect your small 12volt battery to ensure they work. Don't leave it on, because the battery will be dead quickly. You can also check all the connectors by rigging a light that has two bayonet connectors attached to it. This will allow you to check the + and - side of each connector, whether it is for the radio or whatever. You can also plug in the Headlight switch and check the outputs from the firewall plug connection to ensure you have power out to the engine compartment. The same goes for the ignition switch etc. D Cells You can do this with 2 D cell Batteries if you want too, the only issue is then you have to have a Bulb from a flashlight (that uses two D Cell) and touch the centre and outside casing of each bulb socket. There is no current too 2 D cell batteries so even if you make a mistake and short the power side to the ground side the only problem you have is the D Cells will eventually get hot. Just pretend every connector is a bulb, every dual connector has to have a positive and a negative, or, at worse, a positive and using your chassis as the ground return. So use one of the ground wires for a single connector to "light the bulb". So for instance plug in a bulb to a dash light connector, then touch the ground from the harness on the side of the light. The light should light.

So single wires with a light connector are "hot or live" and the ground touches the shielding.

Test bulb to test connectors.

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