DONT TAKE SHORTCUTS, please

[rp23g7]

Hey guys, what a fun day i had.

20 yrs ago, the previous owner of my wife's 41 Chrysler just "HAD' to get the car done for a show. He took a shortcut with the wiring.

He routed the power window wires straight to the battery, even though there was a circuit for them on the fuse box.

He also routed the wires straight down the console next to the parking brake.

Well 20 yr old wiring doesnt like shortcuts, or being next to moving metal stuff.

The 41 almost burned today, because the wiring had shorted out on the parking brake, finding this out at 50 MPH isnt fun, neither is all the smoke and burning your hands on melted wiring pulling it out.

Remember, you may take a short cut to the junk yard if you take a shortcut to get your car done just because you may win some plastic stuff at a show.

 

[Propwash]

Good to hear she didn't end up as a pile of ash and no one got hurt.....

If someone could document, photo and print a book with just a smidge of the cobble jobs found cars, i'm sure it would be a best seller..

 

[74Satellite]

Hey guys, what a fun day i had.

20 yrs ago, the previous owner of my wife's 41 Chrysler just "HAD' to get the car done for a show. He took a shortcut with the wiring.

He routed the power window wires straight to the battery, even though there was a circuit for them on the fuse box.

He also routed the wires straight down the console next to the parking brake.

Well 20 yr old wiring doesnt like shortcuts, or being next to moving metal stuff.

The 41 almost burned today, because the wiring had shorted out on the parking brake, finding this out at 50 MPH isnt fun, neither is all the smoke and burning your hands on melted wiring pulling it out.

Remember, you may take a short cut to the junk yard if you take a shortcut to get your car done just because you may win some plastic stuff at a show.

Hopefully, you got the wires out before they did too much damage to the car. I had the same situation in a 1993 Ford Bronco, someone ran wires straight from the battery to the power window motor for the tailgate window. Somehow they shorted together while I was driving 70 MPH down a busy interstate Hwy, cabin filled with smoke fast and I had to roll the windows down to vent while trying to get over to the shoulder but noone would let me change lanes!! I finally got over and my passenger seat had caught fire, popped the hood and yanked the wires out of the battery (Burning my hand pretty good) then grabbed the fire extinguisher out of the back of the truck and put out the seat. So I totally understand you when you say to not take shortcuts. They always come back to bite either yourself or a future owner.

 

[Cranky]

Oh man....there are short cuts that are ok and then there are the ones that people should be whipped for with a small horse!

 

[Revhendo]

It's amazing how people take things for granted. I nitpick the details at work and catch a bunch of flak for it all the time. Common sense stuff like, "You need a grommet on that wire", You need a lock washer on that bolt". Yeah, it may look finished, but will it last? Cars MOVE. Things on cars MOVE. Sure it may look and work great on the garage floor, but how's it going to be after a few days of Road Rut Roulette?

 

[67 B-body]

I just added electirc water pump, electric fuel pump, electric fan, and switches to control it all through relays and fuses.
I attached the drawing I created to referance when wiring everything up. Feel free to use it in your application!

 

[Ron 73]

Im glad you didn't lose the car or worse over this. Some may know that ive been looking at my wiring to find why it was draining the battery, Ive found a nightmare of all this crap your warning about. The auto parts guy thinks im building the wiring with all the grommets, connectors and ends that should have already been put in/on. Glad you posted, good thing not to forget! Real mess and im almost glad now, i may not have known unless this drain happened. Good luck getting back where it should have been.

 

[Budnicks]

Wow that would really suck, I never seem to trust any ones else's wiring jobs I almost all ways redo ever thing with override switch's & relays it's cheap insurance for any aftermarket electronics add-on... Good luck putting it back to correct routing & switching.

 

[Meep-Meep]

It's amazing how people take things for granted. I nitpick the details at work and catch a bunch of flak for it all the time. Common sense stuff like, "You need a grommet on that wire", You need a lock washer on that bolt". Yeah, it may look finished, but will it last? Cars MOVE. Things on cars MOVE. Sure it may look and work great on the garage floor, but how's it going to be after a few days of Road Rut Roulette?

Boy is that ever true!

Glad the damage was contained to a couple of wires and not the whole car!

 

[rp23g7]

Hopefully, you got the wires out before they did too much damage to the car. I had the same situation in a 1993 Ford Bronco, someone ran wires straight from the battery to the power window motor for the tailgate window. Somehow they shorted together while I was driving 70 MPH down a busy interstate Hwy, cabin filled with smoke fast and I had to roll the windows down to vent while trying to get over to the shoulder but noone would let me change lanes!! I finally got over and my passenger seat had caught fire, popped the hood and yanked the wires out of the battery (Burning my hand pretty good) then grabbed the fire extinguisher out of the back of the truck and put out the seat. So I totally understand you when you say to not take shortcuts. They always come back to bite either yourself or a future owner.

man when you hear those stories its always kinda funny till it happens to you. 50 mph down the road, smell smoke, "hmm someones car smells like crap" A cloud of smoke drifts past my face, " oh crap, its mine. PANIC, #@^$@$@@^@&%@!@$, finally stop.

I yank the console out and the wires are shorting on the metal park brake, i pull the wiring out, clouds of smoke and flame, blow, blow, take shirt and smother it, dang still smoking, its coming from the trunk,

crawl into trunk, more sparking and flame, (pulling on it from the other side didnt help matters, Take pliers and bang on wing nut, (luckily it had wing nut connections instead of the usual squeeze connector, yank wires off, whew all is ok.

I burned the crap out of my hand on the wires, and probably inhaled some nasty stuff. Luckily it was me that it happened to, my wife wouldnt be able to do that crap. It probably would have burned.

I get home and pull all the wires out, what a mess, didnt do any real damage, some melted carpet and scorched wood. I try to put the console back in and couldnt figure out how i got it off so fast, it was a pain to get back in there.

 

[67 B-body]

Hey,,, I'm glad to hear you got'er home in one "NICE" piece! Get it all fixed up and hop the ferry over to the Island with it and crusie on up to GreenBake farms and enjoy a slice of that Rhubarb-Strawberry pie they make!... MM MM Good!

 

[rp23g7]

Hey,,, I'm glad to hear you got'er home in one "NICE" piece! Get it all fixed up and hop the ferry over to the Island with it and crusie on up to GreenBake farms and enjoy a slice of that Rhubarb-Strawberry pie they make!... MM MM Good!

Which Island B body?

She is still shiny on the outside and smells a little smoky on the inside, but she managed to win Best Custom and 2nd Place Hot Rod at a local show on Saturday.

 

[67 B-body]

Whidbey