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Story of two '72 K5's build

scottishdave said:
You mean a Red (Pos) wire and Black (Neg) wire from the fans straight to the battery terminal's?

Then by jumping the thermostat connections you mean disconnecting the thermostat and place a piece of wire to connect #10 & 11?
Click to expand...


Yes and yes.


The hard part about diagnosing that setup as it currently sits, is that you don't really know for sure which parts are good. By direct wiring the fan (and all I mean is touch the wires to the battery terminals for a second to see if the fan blade moves, nothing fancy required) you'll know that you are working with a good fan.

The thermostat could be bad and not triggering the fans to come on, so if you use a small paperclip or piece of wire on that control box between #10 and #11 you can see what happens... if the paperclip works and the fans spin, then you know that the thermostat is probably bad.

Those other wires for the switches and AC sensor are the last battle.... but see where you end up after the first couple of tests. (Disconnect 5,6,7,8 before you do the other stuff though)


EDIT: Also, keep track of what LEDs are lit up when you do your experiments. Looks like there are at least 4 of them on that controller....that could be useful for diagnostics also.

-G
 
Wow, Thanks.....

I had to cut the + and - wire coming from the fan from the butt connecters attaching them to the yellow and purple wires coming from the control box. But i touched them to the battery and the fans spun right up.

Before I can jump 10 & 11 I will need to go to the store and get two butt connectors to re-attach the fan + and -.

Step one down...Thanks greg:waytogo:

Now...There is this small box next to the fan control, I have it circled in this picture. It is simply a screw with about 5-6 wires connected to it via "ring terminals" The screw is not a ground as it does not touch any metal.

The two connections coming from the left of the pic are from harness leading all the way from the drivers side firewall.

The solid black one on the left is from the Pos. Batt. terminal, and the other two red come from the flexalite box.

From looking at the flexalite diagram it shows a Red wire with an inline fuze going from the Pos terminal to the #3 spot. In my truck, this wire is one of the 5 connected at that black box.

I am assuming that all these wires connect there so that they can draw from the Pos. Batt terminal? Instead of having 5 wires all directly connected to the terminal? Is this thinking correct?

Also this is the before pic...It looks a touch different now.

fans.jpg
 
Yep.

That is a factory block for consolidating the positive wires from the battery. Yours looks a little cruddy...might want to clean those connectors up a bit with a scotchbrite pad or wire brush, then reassemble with some dielectric grease in there to help keep the water out and to keep the connectors from corroding.

Keep at it.... you'll get there. I won't let you fail. :D


HINT: Clean grounds are just as critical as clean power wires. Check to make sure that the grounds are touching clean metal and aren't corroded or sitting on top of painted metal, etc. I think bad grounds cause more headaches than anything else. (That small black wire screwed to your PS fender doesn't look like a clean connection) Check to make sure your engine block has a frame ground attached also.... you might have forgotten that when the new motor went in.

One for the "Might As Well" File: Power wires coming off the battery (or that terminal block) should always be RED in color. Do yourself a favor when you get some time and swap out some of those black wires for the correct colors. You'll save yourself (or your buddies) a lot of headaches diagnosing electrical issues in the future. :waytogo:





-G
 
Ok here is how that block looks now.

I replaced the connectors before I even had the truck running, and replaced to rotting screw with a new and slightly larger screw with a washer sandwiching all the connectors.

Is there anything wrong with that? I wonder if something is wrong with this setup and the system is not getting the power that it should now.

IMG_3375.jpg
 
It ain't pretty but it looks like it's working....

The camera angle makes it look like those ring connectors are REALLY close to the screwhead that holds the insulator to the fender. REMEMBER, those wires are coming right off the battery so if they short out, you'll probably weld them to the fender!!!

I edited my last post about 3 times, so be sure to go back and read all the updates there... more hints, etc.

-G
 
Grounds are all solid, and bare metal. I made a good point of that during the engine install.

Yeah, The PO left this thing a rat's nest as far as wiring goes. He installed the Vintage Air, Fans, 4 gauges, a stereo and a B&M shift controller all by himself and zero attention to detail.

One of my first projects in Cali is going to be isntalling my 600 carb to replace the carter comp. that is a tad to big and learning the in's and out's of carbs and tuning them.

Then also slowly and carefuly install the Painless wire kit that I have.


On to better news...Greg, you are a genius:waytogo::waytogo:

I went ahead and just taped the Fan's + and - to the control box wire then jumped the thermostat connections and bam...Fan turns on with the ignition. Didnt even need to start the motor, 6 seconds after the key was turned, the light went on and the fans kicked on. Then once i turned to jey off, they ran for 30 seconds like normal and switched off.

Looks like a bad thermostat.


I will put some butt connecters on the + and -, then leave the jump inplace until i get to Cali.

I have got rather good at cutting, stripping and crimping wire throught all of this.


Once again...without CK5, where would we all be:woot:
 
C'mon now......genius?

That's a strong word. I'll simply put a few more points in "karma bank" for later on when I really need them. :waytogo:


Glad to hear its all working out. Getting a new temp sensor should be simple, but most importantly you learned how to bypass it in case you ever need to do a trail repair...

-G
 
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I figure that after I get to cali and work through the Painless kit install, I may not be such a wiring noob afterwards.
 
Definately do yourself a favor and get the electrical sending unit that goes in the head with the relay.

Super easy and alot cleaner looking. Plus you can toss a toggle switch on it for a manual over ride as well and kick them on anytime you want. Or you can wire it to where you flip the switch and it wont come on- great for water crossings.
 
bigbadchev84 said:
Definately do yourself a favor and get the electrical sending unit that goes in the head with the relay.

Super easy and alot cleaner looking. Plus you can toss a toggle switch on it for a manual over ride as well and kick them on anytime you want. Or you can wire it to where you flip the switch and it wont come on- great for water crossings.
Click to expand...

x2. I think it works better in the head or water pump anyway.


-Brian
 
Will placing one in the thermostat housing work?

Would I just use a sending unit the same as the one used in the head for the cars temp gauge?
 
scottishdave said:
Will placing one in the thermostat housing work?

Would I just use a sending unit the same as the one used in the head for the cars temp gauge?
Click to expand...


You could put the sender in the t-stat housing but I prefer to put the sender in the intake manifold (you should have a spot in the intake) or in the driver's side head.

Most fan controllers use a dedicated sender so you may want to check with the manufacturer.
 
The temp gauge is already using the hole in the drivers side head. Not sure if there is anouther spot that i could use. I know there are a couple plugs near the thermostat housing on the Manifold that I could use too.

I do like the idea of putting in a manual switch to overide the control's to turn the fans off incase of a water crossing.

Other than that, I like them being set to come on at a fairly low temp and when the AC compressor is on.
 
scottishdave said:
I do like the idea of putting in a manual switch to overide the control's to turn the fans off incase of a water crossing.

Other than that, I like them being set to come on at a fairly low temp and when the AC compressor is on.
Click to expand...


I'll bet that fan controller has inputs to do take care of the A/C and possibly manual over ride. Track down the wiring instructions if you don't already have them.
 
There is....The control box is already set with the AC and there is a diagram that shows a manual switch.

Something I plan on doing when I re-wire the whole truck.
 
There is a plug in the passenger side head as well, I got mine in there and temp sender in the drivers head. They use different senders on at 210* off at 180* type of thing instead of just the temp range for the gauge.
 
Okay, So...

Sunday, I drive the blazer to church, after church i head to a gas station. After I fill it up I cant start it...Dead Battery it seems like. I get Jump and it fires right up.

The volt gauge reads around 14 for a minute then drops off below 8.

I get home, turn it off, then instantly try to crank it. Click...Nothing, dead again. I pop the hood, go to check the Pos. cable in the back of the alternator and the stud that it attaches too pulls right out theback of the alternator. Cool! Found the problem, easy fix.

I get an Alternator for a 72' and go to put it in. I first notice that the two terminals on the plug are turned different. So i change the plug so that the terminals match. Now...at this point we all assume the Batt. is dead right, Well i turn the ignition on and the volt gauge shoots right up at 14, cool...so I crank her and she fires right up. But my Volt gauge instantly stops working, along with the radio, elec. fans and all Climate controls to include fans. Hmm:dunno:

After some research I found out why the plug on the Alt. was different. The PO had switched the truck to an Internal regulated Alternator. I did not know this and bought an older, External regulated Alernator. Easy way to tell is the plug:doah: So the old external regulator is obviously not there, so the Alternator gave everything it had to give when I cranked it and fryed the aftermarket gauges, aftermarket cooling fans, aftermarket vintage air, and the aftermarket radio. Everything factory still works though, so i assume that the PO had all the things that he added wired up to the same fuzes or relays, or whatever other electrical talk.

So...I get an Alternator for an 84 instead, one thats internaly regulated. Put her on and the truck fires right up. I drive it to church today, on the way I notice that the gauges are super Dim:dunno: After Church, the truck wont start:dunno: I get a jump, she fires right up, after a few second, the gauges go real dim again. I make it home, turn it off, try to crank it and nothing.

So i jump it and while its running i disconnect the Pos. terminal and she dies:doah: So that means the truck is running off pure Battery and that the Alternator is not doing its job right???

None of this makes sense to me. I have no tools anymore as they are all boxed, the movers load my stuff on trucks tommorow. I am supposed to take the Blazer to the Inlaws tommorow but she aint making an hour drive on Battery alone, and also I drive to California on Friday.

I think what I am going to do is drop her off at an Auto Electric place that i know and trust. Hopefuly he can rig it enough to run right so the inlaws can get it, and she will run well enough to be loaded and unloaded to ship out here to California.

Mother ****er:angry1::angry1::angry1:
 
Man that sucks. I'm no help, but wish ya the best of luck with the tight schedule.
 
Damn Dave, sorry you're having so much trouble with it. Hopefully you can get it sorted out and after the move get to enjoy it some:thumb:
 
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