difficulty level and which wiring diagram?

[Sandra H.]

Need some guidance here....I went on doc rebuilds site to order a wiring diagram for my '62. It has one for just wiring, and another that includes power windows and top, which my Corvette has......but that one says "automatic". What does that mean? Something other than transmission? Mine is a 4 speed, or is it referring to something else?

And with body on, how hard do all of you rate rewiring? For a car that has sat around since '79, I would think the whole thing needs to be redone (safety issue?). Any thoughts on this?

It didn't seem to come with a battery, so I haven't even checked to see what works or not.

Help would be really appreciated.....
Sandy

[Louis T.]

Re: difficulty level and which wiring diagram?

Hi Sandra,



Regards,

Louis

[William C.]

Re: difficulty level and which wiring diagram?

Neutral safety switch for the automatic entails a couple of changes to the wiring, I'd order the one that suits the configuration of your car the best. Personally I try to save old harnesses as some of the components are not availble for use on the reproduction harnesses, but it really depends on what the condition of your harness is.

[Greg S.]

Re: difficulty level and which wiring diagram?

I have not replaced the main wiring harness but I think it would be a fairly big job depending on if the car is apart or not.

I have replaced the headlight harness. It is relatively simple.

I have replaced the ignition harness which also is fairly simple. It requires some time on your back under the dash. It can be done without removing the steering wheel but would be easier with it removed.

The rear harness is not difficult but there are some tricks. The harness runs from the driver kick panel along the left sill under a metal sill plate. It goes through (under) the door sill up the seat divider through a hole in the top compartment into the trunk area. To replace it you will need to remove the kick panel and unhook the connections. If the carpets are going to be replaced remove the sill plate and pull up the carpet at the sill area to expose the steel wire cover under the carpet. Four small screws hold down the wire cover. They may be rusted and may need to be drilled out. This will expose the wires along the sill. If you are not removing the carpet it is helpful to remove the seat for the next step. Tie or tape a strong string to the end of the wires at the kick panel and slowly pull on the wires from the seat area side with the goal of pulling the wire through the sill cover to the seat area. It will hang up so you need to work it back and forth to free it up. The string will be used to pull the new wire back through the sill cover to the kick panel.

The fuel tank lid needs to be removed to get to the fuel tank connections.
Once the connections at the tank are removed the wire can be pulled into the trunk.

The 61-2 has a license plate light housing that is part of the wiring harness. The light needs to be cut from the old harness saving the light housing so that it can be re-soldered onto the new harness. At least the Lectric Limited harness I used needed the housing from the old harness.
Once the license plate light housing is put on the new harness you just reverse the removal process to install the new harness.

Before begin replacing harnesses make sure you have new rubber grommets for any holes the wire goes through.

I have no experience with the wiring harness for the power top or power windows.

[Sandra H.]

Re: difficulty level and which wiring diagram?

Good information....as far as safety goes, what really should be replaced?

I guess I really need to look at some of it and see what kind of shape it's in. Or better yet, get a battery and see what lights up.

So....follow the route of the old wiring with the new instead of just yanking it all out. (Honest, I wouldn't do it that way, anyway.) And don't throw anything away.

Mostly, I would like to get a good wiring diagram to study....the AIM doesn't seem to have the power windows and top or maybe I just haven't found it yet.

I will make note of all advice.....
Sandy

[William C.]

Re: difficulty level and which wiring diagram?

You will find the information for the electrical info on the power options in the options section at the rear of the AIM. Your index should call it out by option number, In my (ancient) copy, section 426 is power windows, and power top is a few pages farther back. Look in the index.

[Roger O.]

Re: difficulty level and which wiring diagram?

The 2 diagrams make up a car. The first diagram is inside the car,the dash. The second diagram is in the engine compartment,headlights,tailights and power windows.

[Sandra H.]

Re: difficulty level and which wiring diagram?

The assembly drawings and wiring schematics are pretty clear for those power options (starting on 426 still).

What old wiring is the most likely to catch fire?

Sandy

[William C.]

Re: difficulty level and which wiring diagram?

Anything that is cracked or shows signs of rubbing against a metal surface would be a candidate for replacement, also, if the car has been in a damp environment and the fuseblock is corroded, problems can arise that are difficult to trace and repair (see a couple of posts from the last week)

[Sandra H.]

Re: difficulty level and which wiring diagram?

Thank you for the tips and suggestions.....sounds like some common sense will work with this. But it's really nice to have a safety net on the TDB.
Sandy

[Richard M.]

Re: difficulty level and which wiring diagram?

Sandy, You may have seen the archives about this, but in case you didn't.....

Remember that there is no fuse protection from the main power wire at the starter feed junction up to the ammeter and into the fuse block. If you have any unseen wiring issues, when you connect the battery they may show up then.

There are several "unfused" circuits. One is the clock. Another is the lighter. They come from the unfused feed from the battery at the ammeter. If either of these has issues it can burn up the underdash harness.

On my way to the Regionals in Florida a few years ago I tested my new lighter element as I was driving my 59 and discovered it was shorted. Lots of smoke and scared the heck out of me. Burned up the red wire in the harness. I know it was stupid not to check it before but I was rushing to get the car ready and missed that test on my checklist. Lost points on that one!

For safety, you may want to remove the main power lug at the starter solenoid and add in a fusible link or circuit breaker before you experiment. I use these now(12v,40 amp).

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=262984

...and also added inline fuses for the lighter and the clock.

Rich

[Sandra H.]

Re: difficulty level and which wiring diagram?

Great information Rich......

I'm finding that late husband wasn't a bit bashful about modifying anything he wanted to, so there is some messy wiring under the dash, along with a couple of mystery wires that aren't attached to anything, that bug me.

I don't know what needs to be "fixed". Thinking for now is to check and correct any corrosion, loose wires, etc., get a battery and see what works, then go from there with inline fuses or whatever else.

Your suggestions are good ones.....the thought of any unprotected circuits is, to me (and you), not a very good idea on a car this old.

Thank you......I will take your advice.
Sandy

[Richard T.]

Re: difficulty level and which wiring diagram?

If you have any doubts at all about any of the harnessing just replace it. At best you'll have a constant source of aggravation and minor problems, at worse a major meltdown. I replaced the main harness and fuse panel in my 62 a few years ago and it only took a few hours. Dissconnect everything under the hood on the drivers side, remove the screws on the fuse panel, dissconnect everything under the dash, radio, heater, clock, courtesy lights, drivers kick panel and tail light harness, e brake alarm wires etc. Then pull it out.
Installation
Thread the wires for the engine compartment through the firewall (replace the grommet) and lay the rest of the wires in place using the clips under the windshield and screw the fuse box in place. Then just follow the schematic and hook everything up. I started with the passenger side courtesy light connection, then radio, clock and heater. Next the tail light harness, e brake alarm switch and dash board lights, last I connected the headlight switch and ignition switch. I did mine following the schematic in the ST-12 which at my age is a real challange. I understand the schematics that Dr. Rebuld sells are color coded and much larger so that would make it easier. As they say " It ain't Rocket Science" Good Luck, Go slow and Have Fun! Rich

P.S. Headlight harness,s , Ignition Harness, Power window harness, all are easy. The tail light harness takes some finessing but not too bad.

[Sandra H.]

Re: difficulty level and which wiring diagram?

Well, it's probably going to take longer than a few hours.
I don't think I will need any wiring schematics other than the ones in the AIM.......
Since you know I don't know anything anyway, that gives me license to ask the dumb questions......such as: I take it that there are several wiring harnesses to do a whole car and what you are referring to is a wiring harness for only the instument panel? Is there a separate harness for the power windows and top? And do these wiring harnesses come with each wire tagged? or some kind of identity other than just color?
Thanks Rich, for clarifying this some more......it's beginning to get less scary.
Sandy

[Richard T.]

Re: difficulty level and which wiring diagram?

Sandy,
These are the harness's for a 62;
1. Main harness which includes the fuse panel and connections for instrument lights, turn signal and high beam lights, gas temp and ammeter gauges, headlight switch, radio, heater, courtesy lights, clock, relay and connections for the taillight harness, also various ground leads. In earlier years the courtesy lights were a seperate harness.
2. Headlight harness, short simple harness that includes the connectors that the headlight bulbs plug into. It plugs into the main harness extension.
3. Ignition harness. Plugs into the ignition switch and runs out the firewall into the passenger side engine compartment with connections for the voltage regulator, ignition dropping resistor, and starter.
4. Generator regulator harness. A short simple harness that connects the generator to the voltage regulator.
5. Tail light harness. Plugs into the main harness up front and runs to the rear of the car under rocker. Contains wires for fuel tank sending unit, tail lights and license plate light.
6. Power window harness.
7. Power top harness.
8. Parking brake alarm, one wire plugs into main harness and the other has the bulb for the alarm that snaps into the speedo housing.
Note: A main harness for a car with automatic transmission will include hookup for the park neutral switch.

All wires can be indentified by gauge (dia.) and color but there are no other markings. The only difficulty that I recall is that there are 2 pink wires of the same gauge that plug into the rear of the ignition switch. If they're reversed then the parking brake alarm stays on all the time. Switch them and everything is fine.
That's about all I remember except a sore back for a few days. Pull the steering wheel, it makes it easier. Good luck Rich