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My chevy-- update 3-16 more problem please help.

robert97dodge

robert97dodge

1/2 ton status
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Lufkin, Tx
Ok heres the deal. First off let me start buy saying that I am a dodge man. I have had 2 dodge ram 1500 that I know up down left to right and inside and out. I purchased a 86' chevy 2500 from a friend of mine last november. I have been wheelin my dodges for about 4 yrs now and I have been wanting something that was strictly a trail truck so I got the chevy because it was a GREAT deal and they are supposedly so easy to work on. And you can find parts for them a lot cheaper than my dodges. So now I just have my '05 Dodge CTD as a tow rig and my 86' chevy. THe chevy had a 454 in it that my friend built and I helped install about 6 months before I bought the truck. This truck has been used mostly for mud races and the occasional OHV park every once in a while and sometime back roads on the weekend. BUt that was pretty much it. I had it 2 days and dropped a valve in the 454 and locked it up. So the truck got parked for about 2 months and I finally pulled the motor figured out that it needed a new head, piston, valves, and maybe bore out the block. So I got a good deal on a running 2wd 87' suburban. I pulled the 350 out of it and put it in the 4wd chevy. MY problem, the headlights, taillights, dome, and all running lights do not work since I put the motor in. THe night the truck broke they worked. I have been trying to track down wires and cant figure out the problem. So since this is strictly a trail truck I want to just wire the headlights up to a switch. I noticed that the headlights have 3 sets of wires going to the back of them. Does anyone know which wires are low, high, and ground or know where I can find wiring diagrams? I did a search and a lot of people mention autozone.com for diagrams but I couldnt find them. Eventually I want to rewire EVERYTHING and do away with the ingnition all together and go to a push button starter. I am gonna completely redo the whole interior and build a new dash inside.
 
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it sound like you didn't hook up one of the red wires to the hot wire on the starter. that is what powers the inside of the truck.
 
Jason4x4 said:
it sound like you didn't hook up one of the red wires to the hot wire on the starter. that is what powers the inside of the truck.
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How many wires go to the starter? There is one little one and one big on there. The wipers work too. Also I never unhooked the wires from the starter. I just unbolted it and had it sittting on the leaf springs but a wire could of came loose or something. THere is a heavy pinkish colored wire on the back of the fuse panel that is getting power with the key on. Also there is a little junction box thing on the firewall that has 2 threaded studs on it and red wires on both side it is hot all the time.
 
take the wires off the starter and start again, if you cross them sometimes that can screw it up

also, i dont want to sound like a jerk, but did you check the fuses, i have gotten a hot head many times only to find out that a fuse blew
 
irishraptor87 said:
take the wires off the starter and start again, if you cross them sometimes that can screw it up

also, i dont want to sound like a jerk, but did you check the fuses, i have gotten a hot head many times only to find out that a fuse blew
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I did check the fuses. THere are two at the top left corner that are not getting power but I cant read what it says under them to know what they are. Thats another reason why I would like to find wiring diagrams. Also what do you mean start again?
 
More problems. The other day I drove the truck and filled it up with gas. Went back out to start the truck and wouldnt start. So I got someone up there to jump me off. I got home and pulled the alt and took it to town and it was good. So I just put it back on and got out my test light and with the truck running I am getting power to the heavy single wire on the back. And on the wire harness on top with 2 wires I am getting power to the black wire but not the red. Anyone know if I am supposed to be getting power to all 3?
 
robert97dodge said:
More problems. The other day I drove the truck and filled it up with gas. Went back out to start the truck and wouldnt start. So I got someone up there to jump me off. I got home and pulled the alt and took it to town and it was good. So I just put it back on and got out my test light and with the truck running I am getting power to the heavy single wire on the back. And on the wire harness on top with 2 wires I am getting power to the black wire but not the red. Anyone know if I am supposed to be getting power to all 3?
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On the alternator plug you are supposed to hook up the #2 wire to + side battery for the alternator to work, I don't think you are supposed to have + from there but to there.:D
 
imiceman44 said:
On the alternator plug you are supposed to hook up the #2 wire to + side battery for the alternator to work, I don't think you are supposed to have + from there but to there.:D
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WOW that makes absolutely no sense. I dont know if I am reading it wrong or what. What do you mean the #2 wire?
 
did you try traceing the wires from the head lights back to the firewall, maybe putting in the new motor you cut or broke the wires somewhere? just a thought...
 
dmoney said:
did you try traceing the wires from the head lights back to the firewall, maybe putting in the new motor you cut or broke the wires somewhere? just a thought...
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Yes I checked the wiring from the headlights to the fuse box. I was talking to a guy earlier that was driving a older chevy and we got to looking at his fuse panel and the top left fuse is for headlights. He told me there are a couple fuseable links on the firewall so tommorow I am gonna look around for those and check them. Also I am gonna trace down some wiring on the tranny and stuff and see if maybe something got pinched putting the new motor in.
 
dmoney said:
I know this is off the subject Robert but what are you going to do with the 2wd burb body?
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I am gonna take some pics of the burban this weekend and give it a couple weeks to see if I can sell the whole thing. If I cant sell it as is then I will start parting it out.
 
robert97dodge said:
WOW that makes absolutely no sense. I dont know if I am reading it wrong or what. What do you mean the #2 wire?
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On the alt there is a plug with 2 wires numbered 1 and 2
The #2 needs + from battery.
 
dmoney said:
are you gonna post some pics here or can you send me some pics because I am interested...
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Yes I am gonna try to get pics today of the inside and out and will be posting them in my for sale ad.
 
imiceman44 said:
On the alt there is a plug with 2 wires numbered 1 and 2
The #2 needs + from battery.
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How do I tell which is #1 and which is #2? If you are facing the motor that black one is on the right and it is getting power. I was told that the other wire will get power only while the alt is charging. I went and got a haynes manual last night and it tellls me how to check and see if the battery is charging with a meter. There is also a hole in the back of the alt that you can stick something in and ground out to make it start charging and overide the regulater.
 
Well I worked on the chevy about 3 hours today and fixed the headlights and the altenator problem. I started at the back of the fuse box with the key off checking the heavy pink and red wires to see which were hot and which were not. I found one that never got power with the key on or off. So I traced it back and it went to the starter. Then I got to looking closer there is a metal tube that the wires run through to keep them from getting to hot by the exhaust and I pull that back and there were 2 fuseable links in it and one was broke. So the headlights were getting any power and the other wire coming from the broken link was the small red wire on top of the altenator. So I did some rewiring and I stole some parts off of my suburban that I am selling and I rewired it to where those 2 fusable links are no getting power straight from the battery instead of the starter. That way if one of them blows now I will be able to find it easier and now I only have one single wire going to the starter from the firewall instead of about 4. So now of course I have another problem. The tach lights up when the truck is on now which it didnt before but when I turn the headlights on the tach shut off completely. THe lights and everything. So now tommorow I will be trying to figure out how to rewire that.
 
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