[Mook]

1969 GTO dash harness the blue wire for the passenger side turn signal melted and ground. after learning a new Dash harness would be 6 to 7 months I decided to pull the original harness and repair it. Then the nightmare….Upon removal of harness I noticed the yellow power wire(BY-?)cut from the fuse box and was capped off, another red wire (BX-?)looks like power wire goin to ignition switch on column was also cut and spliced into the pink wire that also went to ignition switch! I assume from the size of those wires they are power wires.?

Thinking back over the years this cut and splice job may be why, my horn did not work without running a hot wire from battery to horn relay, or when I installed s new engine harness, the ignition did not have power and other rally gauges worked sporadically.

My dilemma after repairing the right-turn signal wire (and any other smaller wires that may have been effected), is should I repair back to their factory locations- the red and yellow wires and hope the car has power….or return the harness to it’s shade-tree, parts store parking lot mechanic rigging that was in place when I purchased the car…? Thx!!!

[Old Goat 67]

Sure, put it back.

Then wait for it to burn up!

Seriously, get a good wiring schematic and make it back right!

[punkin]

If this were mine, and I didn't have more history on what was done and why, I would most likely consider rewiring the the front half of the car. It may seem extreme but if wiring has been melted, fuses aren't in circuit as they should be to prevent that sort of thing from happening and the fear of fire would be my motivator. It seems that someone identified a failed component (possibly wiring) and simply found a power source and bypassed whatever the original problem was instead of fixing it correctly. Unless I could absolutely identify that original issue AND clean up all the damage from the melt down, I wouldn't be willing to trust it.

Depending upon the extent of the butchery and damage done, in someways rewiring may be a little easier and certainly a lot more reliable. Think of the possibility that there are melted/exposed wires you can't see. It would be a really bad day if the car takes on fire damage and/or worse if it happens in the garage.

Sorry, I don't mean to be a negative downer but that's just how my thought process would attack this situation.

[ZeGermanHam]

I sure as heck wouldn't install dry, hacked up original wiring harness back into the car, even if you make isolated repairs to it. Summit has plenty of American Autowire harness kits for your 1969 GTO in stock and ready to ship right now. Do the whole car.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/a.../gto/year/1969

[HoovDaddy]

I just got an American Autowire harness (classic update) from Summitt last month in stock. I would steer away from the restoration harnesses sold by the old car suppliers, I've had pins in the bulkhead connector lose contact. I only buy from Painless and American Autowire. Especially when you go resto-mod.

Only once have I left an old harness in a restoration job. I will never forget a '69 Charger burning up on the side of the freeway one day on my way home, likely due to an electrical issue. The wiring in 70s and older cars (especially western cars) is getting brittle and compromised to try and save it. Not worth the risk.

["QUICK-SILVER"]

What distributor/ignition system this engine running?

The cut yellow wire, at the firewall connector, is IGN-2 / BAT volts while cranking.

The pink and yellow splice is sending IGN-2 through the resistance wire while cranking. Could make for hard start/weak spark while cranking.

IGN-1 (resistance wire) is black with pink stripe. Pink is an accessory feed that comes off the same ignition switch terminal as IGN-1. So the pink to yellow splice works for tieing IGN-1 and IGN-2 together for coil power in crank and run.

Need to know what distributor you're running before changing anything.
Clay

["QUICK-SILVER"]

Did this car get swapped to GM HEI at one time and later get swapped back to factory type coil with points or electronic points conversion?

With GM HEI, the yellow wire needs put back and the splice left intact. That will let ignition power bypass the resistance wire.

With factory type coil and points, the yellow wire needs put back and the splice needs undone.

And might be fine 'as is' with factory type coil with electronic points conversion. Depends on how strong the spark is while cranking.

I don't see a problem straightening this out
Clay

[Mook]

Originally Posted by Old Goat 67

Sure, put it back.

Then wait for it to burn up!

Seriously, get a good wiring schematic and make it back right!

Lol…. Thx… hope to try and learn why the butchery accrued before … thx

[Mook]

Originally Posted by ZeGermanHam

I sure as heck wouldn't install dry, hacked up original wiring harness back into the car, even if you make isolated repairs to it. Summit has plenty of American Autowire harness kits for your 1969 GTO in stock and ready to ship right now. Do the whole car.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/a.../gto/year/1969

Thx… I will look into that set up…. I know the engine, headlight and a/c harnesses are less than 5 years old… hate to have to rewire entire car😐 but that is better than the car burning to the ground

[Mook]

Originally Posted by HoovDaddy

I just got an American Autowire harness (classic update) from Summitt last month in stock. I would steer away from the restoration harnesses sold by the old car suppliers, I've had pins in the bulkhead connector lose contact. I only buy from Painless and American Autowire. Especially when you go resto-mod.

Only once have I left an old harness in a restoration job. I will never forget a '69 Charger burning up on the side of the freeway one day on my way home, likely due to an electrical issue. The wiring in 70s and older cars (especially western cars) is getting brittle and compromised to try and save it. Not worth the risk.

Thx….. will check it out…. Want to avoid the fire you spoke of….

[rwfisher]

M & H also shows stock for complete dash harness. Be prepared, there is allot of work that goes into a complete dash harness so they are pricey and well worth it…. Most of these OEM type wire harnesses are completely hand made and require hours of work to assemble…

[ZeGermanHam]

The complete kits from American Autowire, M&H, and Painless are all hand made and around the same price, generally between $600-700 these days to wire the whole car (recommended). I've used both AA and M&H and like both. Heard less favorable comments occasionally about Painless, but I'm sure it depends. Ultimately, being able to find the parts in stock is a major consideration, and Summit has the AA kits in stock and they are U.S. made and very high quality.

[Mook]

Originally Posted by "QUICK-SILVER"

Did this car get swapped to GM HEI at one time and later get swapped back to factory type coil with points or electronic points conversion?

With GM HEI, the yellow wire needs put back and the splice left intact. That will let ignition power bypass the resistance wire.

With factory type coil and points, the yellow wire needs put back and the splice needs undone.

And might be fine 'as is' with factory type coil with electronic points conversion. Depends on how strong the spark is while cranking.

I don't see a problem straightening this out
Clay

Thx …. The yellow wire that was jumped to the pink wire that goes to the Gauges/trans fuse- was used to power the MSD BOX, the red (BX) was routed straight to the pos post of the battery and another wire was jumped from the orange / Acc - looks like was going to the MSD dis….

Thx PY again for all your responses….

[mgarblik]

IMO, replacing the entire vehicle's wiring harness is a bit extreme. Unless you are doing a ground up complete restoration. Generally, three areas get hacked up in a stock wiring harness over the 50-60 years in service. 1. trunk/tailights (usually for trailer lights and brakes) 2. Under dash (usually for aux gauges, sound system, brake controller 3. Underhood (usually for aftermarket ignition, alarm system) Generally the "hacks" are obvious as you have pointed out. I try to follow the hacked wires to where they are terminated. Then make the repairs to return them to stock and working condition. Obviously if connectors are melted, wire jackets are super brittle, you may need to replace an entire harness. But it's allot of work as mentioned and can get expensive. I make my wire repairs with the same color wires and guage sizes and only use heat shrink crimp connectors or solder and heat shrink. Never use plain crimp connectors and of course ANY ScotchLock found anywhere in the vehicle wiring must be removed and the wire repaired properly. Good luck with the repairs.

[1NC Again]

I'm in the midst of a total restoration on a 66, so the dash is out of the car. On Monday, 2/28 I ordered a complete dash harness from Ames, and it was in my garage on Thursday 3/3. $458. Extremely high quality. Don't drive yourself crazy trying to patch up that butcher job.

Make sure all the grounds are clean and tight thru the entire car.

When I did the restoration on my 72, I replaced all the harnesses, dash - engine - front lamp - rear lamp. It was a great feeling when the first time I connected the battery, EVERYTHING worked the first time!!!

[Lando]

EZwiring.com has nice kit for wiring the whole car. It isnt vehicle specific, but it’s what I used in my 68 and I’m glad I did. It is well made and the instructions were good. They had good support for the few questions I had too. I played around with my butchered original harness for awhile before deciding to replace the whole thing. The job isn’t too bad and it’s really nice knowing your wiring is squared away.

[Mook]

Originally Posted by 1NC Again

I'm in the midst of a total restoration on a 66, so the dash is out of the car. On Monday, 2/28 I ordered a complete dash harness from Ames, and it was in my garage on Thursday 3/3. $458. Extremely high quality. Don't drive yourself crazy trying to patch up that butcher job.

Make sure all the grounds are clean and tight thru the entire car.

When I did the restoration on my 72, I replaced all the harnesses, dash - engine - front lamp - rear lamp. It was a great feeling when the first time I connected the battery, EVERYTHING worked the first time!!!

Thx…I will check with Ames…ASAP

[Mook]

Originally Posted by 1NC Again

I'm in the midst of a total restoration on a 66, so the dash is out of the car. On Monday, 2/28 I ordered a complete dash harness from Ames, and it was in my garage on Thursday 3/3. $458. Extremely high quality. Don't drive yourself crazy trying to patch up that butcher job.

Make sure all the grounds are clean and tight thru the entire car.

When I did the restoration on my 72, I replaced all the harnesses, dash - engine - front lamp - rear lamp. It was a great feeling when the first time I connected the battery, EVERYTHING worked the first time!!!

Originally Posted by mgarblik

IMO, replacing the entire vehicle's wiring harness is a bit extreme. Unless you are doing a ground up complete restoration. Generally, three areas get hacked up in a stock wiring harness over the 50-60 years in service. 1. trunk/tailights (usually for trailer lights and brakes) 2. Under dash (usually for aux gauges, sound system, brake controller 3. Underhood (usually for aftermarket ignition, alarm system) Generally the "hacks" are obvious as you have pointed out. I try to follow the hacked wires to where they are terminated. Then make the repairs to return them to stock and working condition. Obviously if connectors are melted, wire jackets are super brittle, you may need to replace an entire harness. But it's allot of work as mentioned and can get expensive. I make my wire repairs with the same color wires and guage sizes and only use heat shrink crimp connectors or solder and heat shrink. Never use plain crimp connectors and of course ANY ScotchLock found anywhere in the vehicle wiring must be removed and the wire repaired properly. Good luck with the repairs.

Originally Posted by Lando

EZwiring.com has nice kit for wiring the whole car. It isnt vehicle specific, but it’s what I used in my 68 and I’m glad I did. It is well made and the instructions were good. They had good support for the few questions I had too. I played around with my butchered original harness for awhile before deciding to replace the whole thing. The job isn’t too bad and it’s really nice knowing your wiring is squared away.

Piece of mind is a good thing…,.thx