Hot Rods Still wiring

So I believe I have followed nearly every wire in my T bucket since I made my last post from the fuse box to the termination point. Found some crimps pulled out, some grounds done wrong, and really kind of run anywhere and not organized. The only relays are for the horn and the electric engine fan. The fuel pump has a 30 amp in line fuse. Looking for your input but this is my thinking. Start at the fuse box because that is good. Just put all circuits on a relay and reconnect and straighten out excessing wire as the wire is also good. Also thinking of having one bar where I can run all rear and under dash wires to. Always open to any advise. Thank you

 

hi beams/low beams are much better/brighter when run through a relay........
Although the "experts" claim soldering wiring connection is NOT the way-to-go....
I do it anyhow.
I use bare crimp connectors and shrink tube. solder connection and shrink it.
Holds good for me.....but what do I know, I'm just a 'mystery-poster' !!!
I can't even post a picture of my hot rod !!!
6sally6

 

I'm not sure I understand "Just put all circuits on a relay".

Also, 30 amps fuse on fuel pump circuit sounds pretty large. What size wire connect pump? How many amps doesvthe pump specification indicate?

 

I agree with the 30 amp fuse being large for the fuel pump. I an going to look into that today. I was thinking that it would be safer to run most circuits with a relay to increase safety. I am serous thinking about making my own setup with fuse block, relays, and fuses to cut this rat race and hours of finding issues. I guess sometimes it is best to start fresh. Also looking at one main grounding bar for most of the items. That way if something goes wrong I may not have to chase a bunch of wires again.

 

I understand the idea of using a relay
but
with a Tbucket there can’t be a whole lot of wires
why not keep it as simple as can be

those old high beam/low beam switches on last 60 or 70 years or more

if you use relays be sure to purchase a quality relay with good contacts
or
you will be chasing more problems

 

You can buy relays that have a fuse made in them , great for jobs just like this !!!

 

not needed unless you have a plastic body. The frame is the most common ground bar

 

You need a relay for the horn, two for the headlights (maybe). What else are you thinking you need to add here? There’s no inherent safety with (or without) relays.

Maybe read Crazy Steve’s wiring thread before going any further.

Cutting out a rats nest and rewiring may be your best option. It was for me.

 

Wiring 101 by Crazy Steve

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/wiring-101.843579/

 

Rebel Wire offers a bare bones, hot rod, 8 circuit harness. They are a vendor (discount) here, offer great support and are highly recommended by the Hamb community. Sometimes a fresh start means to quit chasing your tail.
https://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb.dll?parta~partsort

 

Wiring is a Black Art........you have to join an Electricians Cult to understand the power of the electron.......

Seriously though, @Crazy Steve did an excellent job organizing thoughts and explaining the wheres and what fors behind making choices. Reccomended reading before proceeding. I went thru it and deleted most of the comments (not all) so as to make a reference manual from it........its that good.

 

I think putting low draw circuits on relays is a waste of time and money, and really unnecessary. Loads that have a heavy draw are always good to have on relays, and I would consider adding one to that fuel pump, or any other heavier loads.
I would also consider going over all your grounds, as this is a more common cause of failures than anything else. I use a full sized battery ground from battery to engine block, and engine block to frame. Then a good braided ground strap from body to engine or the frame. Then I have two ground bars that I install, one under the dash, and one in the trunk or rear, with a good sized ground wire running to feed each. All devices get attached to these ground bars to avoid using the body as a ground.
If you're still having issues after this, then you need to look at the circuits, devices, etc. that are giving you issues.

 

Thanks for the kind words...

If guys did voltage drop calculations on every circuit in their harness and kept the total individual circuit drops to 3% or less, the wire sizes will take care of themselves and you can eliminate a lot of unneeded relays. Most of the relay kits sold by the harness vendors are to mask the deficiencies in their basic harness design. One-wire alternators are another large contributor to this problem.

 

And yet , for many years , thousands of us have logged millions of miles without issue with those blasphemous 1- wire alternators ! Oh the horror of it !

 

Yep!

Ben

 

There is a reason why GM doesn't install those on actual cars...

 

I am by far not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I believe in doing things only ONCE, so I opted for a good quality harness kit for my car. Not a Rebel but a Kwik Wire. Rebel also has a nice 9 + 3 kit that has a lot of good features built into it.

 

I never saw the advantage of a 1-wire alternator. 3 wire is traditional and easier for most to understand.

 

And look at the condition GM is in !

 

And you think it's because they don't use 1 wire alternators?

 

Better be using an externally regulated alternator if you're trying to stay traditional . Internal regs didn't show up until '72

 

Yep, thats pretty much what I do, make sure I have plenty of good grounds between everything.

 

If it were my T-Bucket with a mess of old wires, I'd rip it out and start with a new harness.

Repairing wiring work others have done is a nightmare, but installing a new simple harness is easy.

 

How could anything be easier than a single wire back to the battery? And there's been numerous cases where guys got confused about the three wire alternator wiring! They usually get the large charge wire correct, but the other two smaller exciter wire, and charge indicator get mixed up by plenty of guys. Especially on hotrods that don't even have a charge indicator light usually!

 

Excellent advice! I've spent far too many hours troubleshooting and repairing ****py wiring on cars. It takes very little time to decide if an existing wiring system is too messy to save, and not worth all the hours to do so most the time.
When it comes to building a hotrod from scratch, I always install all new wiring harnesses. It just puts all the headaches behind me and I can concentrate on the rest of the build instead.

 

Any fuse should be just the next step over the amp rating of what it is protecting.
Way overkill for that T bucket unless it has a blown big block but looking up a Holley redtop the pump motor draws 2 amps and would in no way need a 30 amp fuse. I'd look up the specs on the pump and match the fuse accordingly.

 

A god rule of thumb is 20-25% over the load draw or rated draw of the device.

 

No , its a comment on just because someone else does something doesn't prove its better .

 

But it’s been proven better by more than just GM.

 

Whatever you say . you're on your own .