I've been living with my electrical glitches long enough. I tried..did my best 5 years ago, but i absolutely hate the work itself. Have no problems in the engine compartment, I didn't do that part--lol, but under the dash is a rat nest, and although everything under the hood works fine, it's certainly not as sanitary as the rest of the car, and thats what I want. Gauges that won't light up, wipers don't work, blinkers that don't work if the headlights are on--sometimes.
I'm going to pull the body this winter. Some have said its easier to just pull all the wire and start over, and if I was a totally anal guy, I'd go there, but I just can't imagine thats necessary. I'm looking for somebody who will let me pay them reasonably and enjoys this stuff. Have some time to kill this winter? I'll bring it over your house and leave it with you. Make my wiring as pretty as my outsides are!
John Lipka located in San Jose, CA--but will travel, have a trailer.
PS: I'll pay for the work and I'll still be forever grateful. Yes, I'll buy beer.
PSS: Show me your wiring so I know what mine will be like (we'll do that in person)
Yep, I actually enjoy electrical work! I have been working with vehicle electrical systems for some 40 years, the past 24 on construction equipment. Unfortunately I am about as far from San Jose as you can get in the U.S., North Carolina. As others have posted, most of the problems are grounds. For some reason people design good wiring systems to get the power to a device but neglect getting the power back to the negative battery post.
In some cases it really is best to pull it all out and start over, especially if it was done poorly to begin with.
I'm shocked to hear you're not currently plugged into the exciting world of electrons in all its glorious continuity. My dad was a sparky and my oldest boy is a sparky but I hate working on anything electrical. I understand it and can perform it but I absolutely hate electrical work, it's the least fun of anything involved in building a car. I even prefer air powered tools over anything with a cord or battery. But I'm so glad that some people actually get excited about electrons and love pulling wires and landing them in the right place.
Ever think about how we rely so much on electronics in our lives and that electronics are one of the most unreliable things man has ever designed. Give me a lever and a wheel and I can move the world. But if my car worked like my computer I'd be on the side of the road trying to reboot it every week.
Good luck and don't give up. Just don't touch the red wire to the black wire.
Dart Little M 406" SBC 800 HP N/A & 1,100 HP on nitrous, 2-spd Powerglide with trans brake, 6,000 RPM stall converter, narrowed Moser 88 3.90:1 spool with 35-spline gun-drilled axles & Torino bearings, custom parallel four-link, custom tube chassis & roll cage NHRA certified for 8.5-sec (only two FFR Hot Rods have this cert).
If you are going to do part of it, you might as well do all of it. Our last few builds were riddled with wiring problems when they arrived here at the shop. In each of those cases, we've pulled the entire harness out and started over. This way, down the line, if a problem arises it's all on us. Met you at David's place last April (I loaned you some tools). Bring it down South and we'll get you fixed up. If you'd like to see some of our work (wiring in particular) go here. https://www.facebook.com/IE427-89165...?ref=bookmarks
Good luck, electrical was my favorite part of the build. I hand laid every wire to every component and I have EFI. The complete layout was figured on a napkin and wired in a just a few trips to the car during the week. I do rather enjoy the schematics, tricks, and things you can do with electrical and electronics. Its like manipulating art, you make it your own.