'73 K5 - Stevoandaredk5's Build - [Pre-Summer Update - (4/5/11)]

[StevoandaRedK5]

try the fusible links by the junction block on the firewall.

I may wake up in the morning early enough to take another look at it. I have found the wire that needs to have power, but not the reason why it doesn't lol I'm getting lots of use out of my $2 HF multimeter

If I haven't said it enough before, I hate electrical problems...the one thing I can't fix with a hammer 99% of the time...

 

[StevoandaRedK5]

Still no luck on the wiring...

Well it has been almost two weeks and I still cannot figure out what the deal is with the wiring. I was reading up about EZWiring Harnesses and saw that Chris (38377k5) had the same problem and he went ahead and rewired the truck. I was planning on doing a rewire eventually, and it seems that there's no better time than the present. I can eliminate this problem and have the reliability of a new harness in one fell swoop. So....hopefully I can get that ordered today and have it in by the end of the week, and get this thing back on the road.

 

[colbystephens]

sounds like a good plan.

 

[Chevy305]

If i were you check out my build thread in the last couple pages, you could really save some money if you go with Ez Wiring

 

[StevoandaRedK5]

If i were you check out my build thread in the last couple pages, you could really save some money if you go with Ez Wiring

Actually I've already read your build thread, and I went back to read all the posts about the new harness. In fact I'm taking lots of leaves out of your book: rewire, headlight relay mod, and the offroad lights behind the grill(eventually).

I'm gonna order up the harness tonight. oh and thanks to 38377k5 for the advice. There won't be a single butt connector on the truck if I can help it, every connection will be soldered and covered with heat shrink. Even though my truck has the bare essentials atm, I'm buying the 21 circuit harness so I'll have room to add on.

I'm going to roll alot of small projects into this if I can.

I need to get my fuel gauge functioning, right now I always have a 1/4 tank.

I also have a new bezel (black) and dash (tan, needs to be dyed black). I want to drop some aftermarket gauges into the stock bezel (I already have Sunpro Oil Pres. and Water Temp), but I think I'll do it different than Chevy305. I'm going to round out the actual outer bezel and put the gauges in there so I can view them easier(like pictured below, though I can't afford AutoMeter anytime soon haha).

Instead of having my switches (blower/HVAC motor, etc.) stuck in random convienient places, I'll try to fab up a panel and put them all in one spot. I might try to wire up my horn to the button on my Grant steering wheel, but so far I've had no luck and the button on the dash works to pass inspection lol.

Looks like alot to do, but harness will take priority over all else, because they can be done once it's back on the road.

 

[Chevy305]

If you have any problems or questions shoot me a PM and I can usually respond within a day. Check out the links:

http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi/headlight-simple.htm

http://brochures.slosh.com/wiring/

 

[StevoandaRedK5]

awesome! thanks for the links

 

[StevoandaRedK5]

So I gots some questions...

Well the wiring harness will be here on Monday, I picked up some heat shrink, a soldering iron, zip ties, and electrical tape from HF today. No progress on the truck because I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed yesterday...yay hydrocodone

Anyways, as for questions:

1. I have been considering a remote starter solenoid to reduce heat soak and to get the wiring up where it is easier to work on because I hate having to work on it under the truck. Is it worth it? Summit has a kit for $25, and I don't think it would be that hard to hook up, add another $8 and I can have a nifty starter switch under the hood.

2. I want to get my fuel gauge functioning again. Is there a single wire that runs back to the sender in the tank? will i need to drop the tank to work on it? I'm pretty sure the printed circuit on the back of the gauges is messed up, is there a way to hardwire the gauges, any particular side that's signal or ground? Or should I just grab an aftermarket one and call it good?


I need to pick up relays from the parts house, plus some inline fuses, and whatever else I find that I need for the headlight mod or other electrical stuff.

Once she's back on the road I really need to work on tuning the engine, and then I gotta get the 35's on there b/c the current tires are about gone. Finish the metalwork, por-15 and herc, bodywork and paint, and there you go...I like short to-do lists

 

[colbystephens]

regarding your fuel guage, take a look along the drivers frame rail. the fuel guage wires are pink and yellow, and are fixed together. (at least that's how it is on my '83 frame/tank under my '73 blazer). they run to a plug that connects up to some wiring harness. check and make sure that plug is in tact. the plug should be not too far forward from your front spring hangar of the rear drivers spring.

let me know what it connects to - my guage doesn't work because i'm missing the wiring from that plug forward.

 

[StevoandaRedK5]

regarding your fuel guage, take a look along the drivers frame rail. the fuel guage wires are pink and yellow, and are fixed together. (at least that's how it is on my '83 frame/tank under my '73 blazer). they run to a plug that connects up to some wiring harness. check and make sure that plug is in tact. the plug should be not too far forward from your front spring hangar of the rear drivers spring.

let me know what it connects to - my guage doesn't work because i'm missing the wiring from that plug forward.

cool thanks, i'll be snapping pictures and making notes of most of the connections for future reference, and let you know about the fuel gauge

 

[Chevy305]

my fuel gauge wire was a single pink wire that ran back to the tank in the tail light harness running along the drivers side frame rail.

 

[colbystephens]

should have another wire running to ground.

 

[Chevy305]

should have another wire running to ground.

Yup you're right, I do have a wire that goes to ground off of the frame rail.

 

[StevoandaRedK5]

Harness is here!

ok so the new harness from EZwiring arrived today courtesy of the brown-suited santa

I'm still feeling like crap from getting wisdom teeth pulled, and now my allergies want to act up, but i started separating the harness tonight anyways.

all I can say is wow, i'm pleasantly surprised at the quality and detail of this setup. I can also say that I never expected to have so much wiring that I don't currently use...this thing would work on a loaded burb! I don't plan to cut out wires until way on down the road when I know I won't need them, it's not like space is a premium in my truck anyways haha It is pretty cool b/c now I will have functioning gauges/indicators, solid connections, room to expand, and best of all, peace of mind about electrical hackjob-ery...

So...i should be feeling better tomorrow (if not i'll dope up on painkillers and do it anyways) and start pulling the old harness, making way for the new...oooh get paid tomorrow too

 

[Chevy305]

i suggest before ripping out any of the old stuff have an attack plan so that you leave your self with leads off of switches and stuff like that as well as knowing how and where stuff goes to. I did extensive research and drew out the whole harness. it took a few pieces of paper but its redundancy of seeing it reading it and writing it that will help make the rewire go alot smoother.

 

[StevoandaRedK5]

i suggest before ripping out any of the old stuff have an attack plan so that you leave your self with leads off of switches and stuff like that as well as knowing how and where stuff goes to. I did extensive research and drew out the whole harness. it took a few pieces of paper but its redundancy of seeing it reading it and writing it that will help make the rewire go alot smoother.

sounds good, thanks for the heads up so i don't get ahead of myself

 

[StevoandaRedK5]

ah the joy of electrical...

ok guys, this whole last week i've pretty much been outta commission trying to recover from that oral surgery/wisdom teeth mess...and now that i'm feeling better, the weather screws me over since i don't have any type of cover to work under haha. Anyways, i have made some progress on the harness install, but not anywhere near as much as i wanted to.

I started by pulling the gauges and making note of what connectors went to what switch/etc, and basically pulled the old harness out in 2 pieces, the interior and the exterior. Instead of trying to patch the hole in the firewall, i used the back of the old fusebox to mount the new one in the stock location. worked like a charm. Popped an extra hole and used the supplied grommet, leaves me more than enough room to run the wires.

I separated the harness down further to groups like charging system, rear lighting/fuel gauge, headlights, interior gauges, headlight switch, etc. and with that done i began running wire. I found that my fuel gauge sender wire was running down by the starter and then up the passenger side frame rail, and in a very sad state of affairs. however the connection on top of the tank and to ground look and feel solid, though i will have to figure out how to wire up the gauge... the wires for the rear of the truck are ziptied and run down the driver's side frame rail as stock, and all the wiring that will be in the engine compartment is at least run through the firewall. I still need to pick up the relays for the headlight mod, then the next big thing will be to pick a section and begin making connections. ah well it'll be worth it in the end...

 

[StevoandaRedK5]

ok so I've been making some headway on the rewire and hopefully with some help I will have the truck powered back up tonight. I started out soldering connections, but my HF soldering gun didn't like me, so I'm making solid solderless connections with heat shrink over them. headlights and taillights are hooked up, and so are the majority of the underdash connections, just have the headlight(partway done) and wiper switches, alternator, starter, fuel gauge, and lots of grounds.

A question though:

I was looking at the headlight relay mod diagram, and was wondering, is it possible to run only one power wire to the relays from the battery or do they need to be separate?

also, I was going to just put the relays inline, mounted high up on the drivers side fender(ok spot?). use the wires coming from the switch for triggers, and the headlight wires that are part of the harness. am i required to use 12 gauge wire instead? I'm trying to keep this simple, but i don't want to fry something if it's gonna be too much juice for the smaller stock wire.

overall though, this has been much more straightforward than i first thought, and i don't hate wiring as much now haha.

 

[StevoandaRedK5]

ok, taillights are done, fuel gauge wire is the only thing left at the rear of the truck. headlights need grounds. everything else is wired up, battery was pretty much dead from sitting this long so all i could do was see that the turn signals worked haha. but that's progress, and better than it was when nothing happened. so no start tonight, but tomorrow with a hot battery and a quick check of what's left to connect we should be ready to rock

 

[Chevy305]

ok so I've been making some headway on the rewire and hopefully with some help I will have the truck powered back up tonight. I started out soldering connections, but my HF soldering gun didn't like me, so I'm making solid solderless connections with heat shrink over them. headlights and taillights are hooked up, and so are the majority of the underdash connections, just have the headlight(partway done) and wiper switches, alternator, starter, fuel gauge, and lots of grounds.

A question though:

I was looking at the headlight relay mod diagram, and was wondering, is it possible to run only one power wire to the relays from the battery or do they need to be separate?

also, I was going to just put the relays inline, mounted high up on the drivers side fender(ok spot?). use the wires coming from the switch for triggers, and the headlight wires that are part of the harness. am i required to use 12 gauge wire instead? I'm trying to keep this simple, but i don't want to fry something if it's gonna be too much juice for the smaller stock wire.

overall though, this has been much more straightforward than i first thought, and i don't hate wiring as much now haha.

As far as headlight relay mod...

I ran just 1 10gauge over from the bat + terminal on the starter solindoid to provide a good solid source of constant power. From there I split it into 3 in-line fuses that I just bought at autozone rated for 30 amps. I used the circuit breaker termial as a junction box to split the wire 3 ways. 1 wire to power the low beams, 1 for high beams, and 1 for the aux lights. I have everything at the headlight switch wired just as the factory. Once the high/low beam wires are through the fire wall I used them to activate each relay so it can direct the power from the 10 gauge wire into each light. As far as mounting the relays, I found 3 convient holes already in my fender that I could and ground each relay to. They should stay dry enough there as long as you dont hit water holes at 45mph.

Pictures: