General wiring questions?

[Tonker1]

Hey,
I'm doing a complete re-wire of my '73 Challenger using one of 'Painless Performances' complete wiring harness kits and about 3/4 of it is complete. I've waited a while so I could ask I hole bunch of questions at once.

1. There is a small white plastic button which has two red wires coming out of it and is located under my key ignition in the steering column;
what is it for?
what is it supposed to be wired to?



2. Where is the oil temp sensor mounted on my 340ci engine?
There are 2 small lugs on the front passenger side of the engine, they are directly beside the heater hoses, is it one of them?


3. While taking apart the steering column I discovered the horn switch in my steering wheel wasn't wired to anything


4. The following is all related to the ignition control unit/orange box and its also where I get really lost!
a. When I go the car in January most of the wires on the ignition control unit where hanging loose, but the engine ran perfectly?
b. Would an after market distributor make the unit redundant?
c. If I need it, how should it be wired?

All and any input would be appreciated,
Thanks

 

[Tonker1]

For the horn (3.), I meant to ask how the switch should be wired to so the connections wont be damaged while turning to full lock?

Thanks again

 

[burdar]

The sending unit at the front of the engine is for the coolant temp. The oil pressure sending unit is at the back of the engine next to the distributor.

The small switch by the ignition switch is for the key buzzer. The wires go into the two outer possitions of the ignition switch connector.

The black horn wire doesn't twist up when you turn the wheel. It is connected to the brass piece at the bottom of the crush can. If it was disconnected, there could have been a problem and the easiest fix was to disconnect the wire. Worn parts can cause the horn to honk without pushing the button. That could be the case here.

 

[Tonker1]

Thanks, Burdar!
Just to clarify, what is the ignition switch connector?
Which of the two pieces in the picture is the coolant temp sensor?

 

[burdar]

The factory looking coolant temp sensor is the one on the inside.(brass) It just has a small post sticking out the top. The other one looks like it has a black plastic connector on the top. That's not the right one.

The two wires from the key buzzer go into the ignition switch connector...the one down at the base of the steering column. The main dash harness plugs into it.(factory harness) I don't know how the painless system is setup. The factory connector is flat and has 8 pins I think. The two wires plug into the empty outer holes in the connector.

Here's a pic of my column. You can see the flat style connector and the two wires plugged into the lower end.

 

[Tonker1]

Thanks, for wiring knowledge and the picture of the column, as I'm currently resembling mine its nice to see a picture of the end result!

 

[cudajoe13]

Hey, TONKER1,
How painless was that Painless Wiring kit? AND can you do sections at a time or is to be done all at once? Are connectors compatiple with original? Any hints from one that's been there before?

 

[Tonker1]

Hi CudaJoe13,
My 73 challenger arrived in Australia in January and I bought the Painless Performance complete 1966-1976 Mopar wiring harness from summit racing for $500 in March. My car isn't road bound as it is yet to be in a condition which complies with the immensely strict Australian road registration standards. So fixing the harness has a worthwhile decision, that way it could be repaired and remove the hassle out of any future work!

The Painless Performance harness is installed in sections except it won't function properly until the entire harness is complete as it comes pre-wired to a modern 14 circuit fuse-block. There are no OEM connectors in the kit but you can splice and ad old wires with connectors if you wish, although there will be no directions on that provided in the manual. You can however buy sections of reproduction harness from Year One which will plug into your current system.

Insight into the Painless harness.
1.Be prepared for it to take longer than you expect
2.The painless wires are coded with vibrant colours and numbers, with the point of connection, section of connection and starting section of the wire printed onto each wire in 6-8 inch increments. The wire will red something like this, Grn, #949, Left rear turn signal, tail section, turn signal switch.
3.The manual is almost a demigod, it should be read thoroughly, some sections are lacking in information which displeased me. Painless performance have good email response time with questions.
4.You'll need to get your own ground wire which isn't a problem, just match the gauge of the wire feeding into whatever your earthing.
5.Although the harness will appear daunting at first because it arrives as a big as roll of wires, which frankly made me question what I'd got my self into. It is actually tied into small Manageable sections.
6.Start with the tail lights, the boot is spacious, simple and go work your way up from there.
7.Don't ever assume if something is wired with the same colours that it is wired the same, Chrysler continually changer colour of wires between models years and changing pairs of socks. Use a Multimeter and test light to check old wires where necessary.

Hope this helps you decide on future or imminent plans. Although mine is yet to be complete I'm glad that I decided to do it.

Oh yeah, I have done other stuff on the car in the past two months of weekends which I've dedicated to the car, it hasn't just been wiring harness. Good luck