I replaced my front wiring harness (for lights and alternator). It is a replica of the original. After hooking everything back up I now have no power to anything. No lights and the car will not start. My voltmeter reads 0. My battery is fine though. Any suggestions?
No power
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I would pull it back out partially and compare every socket in the firewall connector. And the single most important thing, make sure no terminals were folded down during the install. In a perfect world to snap it in and draw it together with a 3/8 wobble, in the real world the car has no powa!
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What year car?
Did you remember to reconnect and tighten down the nut on the main power distribution terminal stud? (Hidden behind the battery, three heavy red wires with eyelets, sharing a common distribution point in the form of an insulated terminal mounted on the radiator support.)
If 67 or later, Did you somehow accidentally blow the main fuse link during disassembly or reassembly? it is located on the horn relay...between the two heavy terminals, if memory serves me...which it sometimes doesn't
Just some things to check.
Keith
Did you remember to reconnect and tighten down the nut on the main power distribution terminal stud? (Hidden behind the battery, three heavy red wires with eyelets, sharing a common distribution point in the form of an insulated terminal mounted on the radiator support.)
If 67 or later, Did you somehow accidentally blow the main fuse link during disassembly or reassembly? it is located on the horn relay...between the two heavy terminals, if memory serves me...which it sometimes doesn't
Just some things to check.
Keith
I'd bet that the secondary lead on your battery cable is missing. It goes from the battery over to the horn relay. That is what energizes the entire electrical system.
Donny
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is it a SS ?
if so you 've got a shunt for the ammeter
check it
if so you 've got a shunt for the ammeter
check it
Exact thing that happened to me. This wire is needed to "energize" the system. Without it, you have exactly 0 power to anything.
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how do you protect that wire ? (from the battery to the horn relay)
fuse? breaker?
it seems that in the factory wiring there is nothing to protect, right ?
fuse? breaker?
it seems that in the factory wiring there is nothing to protect, right ?
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That's right. No fuse or breaker or anything until 1967 (at the horn relay). Dumb and Dumber, IMO. Can't believe they got away with that for so long. Easy to insert an inline fuse here, unless you're persnickety about originality.
Keith
Keith
You can't use a fuse. There isn't one big enough to protect the circuit properly. Use a 6 inch piece of 14 gauge fusible link spliced to a 10 gauge wire. Put the fuse link at the horn relay, and the 10 gauge at the battery.
Donny
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Donny,
What? We're talking about a 10 gauge accessory wire? Why not? There are plenty of 40 amp inline fuses available. and, when would that 10 gauge wire ever be tasked to draw more current than that? My engineering training always taught me that the the wire size x length determines max amp load, which then defines the fuse rating. I don't have the AWG chart right in front if me , but if memory serves me correctly, the max current for a section of 10 ga wire at ~10ft. length is certainly no more than 25-30 amps. Seems like a slo-blo glass fuse would easily fit the bill.
What am I missing here? Are we talking about the same wire?
Confused again
Keith
What? We're talking about a 10 gauge accessory wire? Why not? There are plenty of 40 amp inline fuses available. and, when would that 10 gauge wire ever be tasked to draw more current than that? My engineering training always taught me that the the wire size x length determines max amp load, which then defines the fuse rating. I don't have the AWG chart right in front if me , but if memory serves me correctly, the max current for a section of 10 ga wire at ~10ft. length is certainly no more than 25-30 amps. Seems like a slo-blo glass fuse would easily fit the bill.
What am I missing here? Are we talking about the same wire?
Confused again
Keith
Not trying to get in trouble again for "Post Stealing", but did anyone see the episode of American Restoration with the 1920's floor buffer? The danger of the wiring of the pre 67 cars reminds me of this. This floor buffer had clamp-on cables that went straight to the buffer from a wall power supply. Don't bump into one of these!:noway:
Do you have a wiring diagram? That's kinda necessary if you're messing with the wiring; it will show all the grounds.
http://binatani.com/wp-content/uplo...-Chevell-electrical-system-Wiring-Diagram.jpg
http://www.wiring-wizard.com/Diagrams/64 Chevelle/MWireChev64_3WD-084.jpg
http://binatani.com/wp-content/uplo...-Chevell-electrical-system-Wiring-Diagram.jpg
http://www.wiring-wizard.com/Diagrams/64 Chevelle/MWireChev64_3WD-084.jpg
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Study the schematic. Get a test light and start at the battery terminal, grounding your test light on the chassis at all times. Do not use the battery ground lug. Work outward, following the red 10 and 12 ga wires. Test each point where the red wire bifurcates into a new branch circuit. Just follow the red wire...like wizard of Oz and the yellow brick road.
With a failure this complete, you will quickly find the problem by following the flow of current until it disappears. Test for power at the distribution lug, the horn relay, the alternator red lug, the bulkhead connector, etc. Just follow the red wire. Faster and easier by far than fumble fixing and/or guessing.
Keith
With a failure this complete, you will quickly find the problem by following the flow of current until it disappears. Test for power at the distribution lug, the horn relay, the alternator red lug, the bulkhead connector, etc. Just follow the red wire. Faster and easier by far than fumble fixing and/or guessing.
Keith
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