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How to connect electrical in 1958 rambler

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troutwilly View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote troutwilly Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Dec/26/2020 at 11:30pm
The only thing I would add to bigbad69's and farna's directions would be to use a 10 amp battery charger in place of a battery to start out with.  That is what the instructions in the wiring harness I installed suggested when testing the circuits.  That way if something goes wrong you're only hitting the system with 10 amps, not the hundreds the battery is rated at.  You can run pretty much everything individually on the charger and check the availability of 12 volts to those that require more amperage.

Also, if you're thinking you may rewire anything, doing the engine bay is much easier with the engine removed.
Bill O.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote farna Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Dec/28/2020 at 6:01am
Well, when installing a totally new harness it's easier with the engine out. You could just pull ALL the old wiring out and start from there. The 50s and 60s cars (until around 67) didn't use a connector at the firewall, the harness just passed through a hole in the firewall with a rubber grommet around it. The hot-rod wiring kits are designed to do the same. You might have to screw a metal plate over the factory hole and make a smaller hole (in the plate) for the hot-rod kit. You pull all the wiring from under the dash too. I don't recall if there is a big round connector on the 58 instrument cluster or not, but I think there is. That's a connector you might have to cut off the original harness and reuse. Just leave 3-4" of wire on it and use butt connectors to attach the appropriate wires from the new harness to it.

The only reason to strip the car down is if it needs extensive body repairs. Many will do that anyway if restoring the car, or even modifying it like I did. I rebuilt nearly everything on my car when building it since it was pretty rough from weathering, but it wasn't absolutely necessary. I wasn't intending to drive it for a while, and could afford to take it all the way down. I still didn't take the doors off -- they were still all aligned too good, and it can be a bear to adjust them all just right. I'm not one of those that have to have perfectly even spaces all around the doors -- they didn't come out of the factory perfect -- just "close".

I've done several cars like it sounds like you're doing -- drive it, and restore/rebuild parts as needed/I have the time and money. As long as it's safe you're fine. Some looseness here and there and squeaks give the car character, and can be tracked down and fixed over time.
Frank Swygert
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 1958 rambler super Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/11/2021 at 9:36am
Pheeeewff... Sounds complicated guys... Ok, I like the idea of using the 10 amp battery charger for safety's sake, and I also like the ideas I heard from you guys about getting rid of like sixty years of degradation and using new wires ect for the rambler, I'm just worried about getting in over my head. When I changed out a heater core in the 83 buick skylark I used to own (I lived in that car for three and a half years between 2009 and 2012, it was a two door car and after my first year I had a decent set up and lived well, alot better then the sidewalk...) And when I took off the dash pieces to do the job I almost had a hard time getting it all back on, and after it was all back on some how I had like six extra screws and had no idea where they were supposed to go... So I'm worried about making a mess out of the rambler by taking off the dash to do the wire work and put in a new harness and wires. Last night I located and identified some things like the horn relay, current and voltage regulator, and under the dash i managed to identify things like the ignition switch and gas gauges ect by looking at the wiring diagram and seeing what color of wires go to those switches or gauges (but man oh man was it hard with the gas pedal hitting me in the head and getting in my way) I'm sure they way to do that part of the job is to have the dash unscrewed and not be all upside down. But at that point I stopped poking around and said ok, the thing you want to do is see with the 10 amp battery charger if these work, so how will I do that? 
My next question is, how will use the battery charger to send some electricity to these gages or ignition switch or radio and then test it with the voltmeter? I assume the volt meter is the little pointer that you contact onto the wire to see if there's electricity going to it? If there is no pathway for the electricity to travel along the wires from the battery to the starter selenoid, then to the starter motor and current and voltage regulator and onto the generator and else where after that( or maybe the sequence of travel is in a different order then that, I'm not sure, the wiring diagram doesn't say where the electricity goes first) if there's no pathway for the electricity to travel am I supposed to use little clips from the 10 amp battery charger and clip them onto the gages individualy?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote farna Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/12/2021 at 5:55am
Disconnect the battery and put the clips on the battery cable ends. You could also use a smaller battery, like a lawn mower or motor cycle battery, or even a 6V lantern battery. Won't turn the starter or burn the headlights, but you can check for power with the voltmeter. For the voltmeter, you need a good ground for the black pointer, touch the red to the wire you expect to find power on. Start with something like the battery wire to the switch (largest red wire on back of the ignition switch). You may have to "scratch" some bare metal with the black tip to get a good ground. Voltage should be a little less than whatever battery you're using, should be about 12V with the battery charger. Start by checking voltage at the battery cables the charger (or battery) is clipped to. That will give you a base voltage. As stated, voltage will be 1-2 volts under what you get there when you check under the dash, as voltage drops due to length of wires.
Frank Swygert
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 1958 rambler super Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/30/2021 at 8:29pm
Hi everyone, I feel it's a good idea to post on here that at this time I will not be putting time into the electric system, and focus more on getting the engine installed correctly and doing lots of reading watching and asking questions. So this topic I will momentarily put on the back burner!!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 1958 rambler super Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jun/20/2021 at 11:57am
Ok, I'm activating this thread again at this time, pursuing basically the same goal, althoigh now I have some additional info, I have found one red wire to be chewed in half, I looked at the wiring pages and have seen a red colored wire does go to and from the volt regulator, and also a red wire is seen connected to the ignition switch. I'm sure there's red wires doing other things to, but as for now thats what I've seen. Here is a pic, also, in the wiring diagram, what would this big white plastic block all these wires come and go from be called ? The only things I would geuss it would be are the big blocks that have color labels on them "black" "orange" "red".....  
I bot a multimeter yesterday and will start asap to try and sort things out with the electrics of the rambler to get the break in achieved.



Edited by 1958 rambler super - Jun/20/2021 at 12:03pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote farna Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jun/21/2021 at 6:42am
The wire looks more "cut" than "chewed". Near the brake pedal? Clutch pedal? Looks like it got caught in something and cut/broke. You can see the other end coming out of the connector above. I'd repair this and keep going.

Pulled my 58 TSM and looked at the wiring diagram. You are correct, that connector is one of the three mentioned, labeled "black/orange/red". Can't see the connector well in your photo, but it appears that the bottom part is "black" and has the three wires in the diagram (can clearly see yellow & brown, must be a black right above...). The other color wires for the other two connectors orange and red) are close by, so the other two connectors must be above it, maybe three small connectors plugging into a larger connector? Can't tell from photo or TSM.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote billd Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jun/21/2021 at 1:55pm
Originally posted by farna farna wrote:

The wire looks more "cut" than "chewed". Near the brake pedal? Clutch pedal? Looks like it got caught in something and cut/broke. You can see the other end coming out of the connector above. I'd repair this and keep going.

Pulled my 58 TSM and looked at the wiring diagram. You are correct, that connector is one of the three mentioned, labeled "black/orange/red". Can't see the connector well in your photo, but it appears that the bottom part is "black" and has the three wires in the diagram (can clearly see yellow & brown, must be a black right above...). The other color wires for the other two connectors orange and red) are close by, so the other two connectors must be above it, maybe three small connectors plugging into a larger connector? Can't tell from photo or TSM.

Have you ever had chipmunks or mice? I have - and they CUT as if you used side cutters. I even had a couple strings of Christmas lights I use out front CUT, not chewed, by a rodent (chipmunk or squirrel)
There were no other tooth marks aside from one wire that had a couple of holes, otherwise it was as clean a cut as you'd make with a took. 
I had mice do the same in a camper I had - it looked like someone had gone in with scissors or cutters and neatly snipped several wires. I had to replace the entire underside wiring because of rodents - but under there at least they had chewed insulation off some parts of the wires, others were simply cut. 

Dam things are borrowing my tools in the middle of the night - gonna have to start locking them up. 
You should see what mice and such did inside our outside heat pump unit - expensive Trane system, chewed and cut through high voltage lines, and one snipped very neatly the wires going to a motor starter cap - he laid in the wires like he'd been smoked. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote farna Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jun/22/2021 at 6:40am
I'd think that if it was mice or some other rodent there would be more than one wire in a tight area broke or chewed on though. Doesn't appear to be the case.

At least when rats from a house being remodeled behind my rented house (when I was in USAF, GA) decided my car was a good alternate living area they chewed more than one wire up. I think the greatest damage was from them peeing on the iron carb base though. Had to take the carb apart and work on the throttle blade shaft with penetrating oil to free it up. Mostly chewed the wrap off the wire harness, only a couple wires.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Trader Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jun/22/2021 at 8:59am
Agree Farna, one wire is likely not mice or other rodents.
I had a 78 Pacer left it outside while on 2-1/2 weeks of vacation. Came back and mice had destroyed the car prepping for their winter home. Interior, wires, plastic ... all chewed up and defecated. Had to be several hundred mice in the car. The metal parts were parted out. Expensive vacation!
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