Instead of using the stock bulkhead connector...

[Dino]

Is there a better way to connect the stock engine and dash harness?  I can buy a new stock type connector, but I don't have to.  Any other connectors I need to look at?  The more plug and play the better btw.

[MaximRecoil]

I don't think there are any improved connectors that would be a drop-in fit into the rectangular hole in your firewall. Metri-pack or Weatherpack connectors would be better, both in terms of sealing out the elements and in terms of low resistance. I don't know if they make panel-mount versions of those or not, but even if they did, you'd need to make a panel for them to mount to. You could leave them free-hanging, but you'd still want to make a plate with a hole/grommet in it to cover up the empty rectangular hole, and for the wires to run through.

The best type of bulkhead connector would be the type they used in the old days, the very old days, i.e., a non-conductive panel with threaded studs passing completely through it. Each wire would have a ring terminal and be secured to each stud on both sides of the panel with a nut. You would also want a cover for the panel, because it would have a lot of exposed connections. I've thought about making something like that for my car, but there isn't enough room, unless you make the panel bigger than the rectangular cutout in the firewall, which I wouldn't want to do.

Even better is to have no connector at the firewall at all, just a big wire bundle running through a grommet, but you lose whatever conveniences are offered by having a connector there obviously.

The stock Delphi/Packard 56 bulkhead connector assembly isn't bad for low-current circuits (which includes most of them that run through there). It isn't so great for the battery charging circuit, but you will have that shunted with 6 gauge wire running from the alternator to the battery, so that takes the demand off that factory circuit anyway. I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure the bulkhead connector's copper terminals are clean and packed with dielectric grease, and you'll probably never have any problems with it.

[myk]

Even better is to have no connector at the firewall at all, just a big wire bundle running through a grommet, but you lose whatever conveniences are offered by having a connector there obviously.

Dino, this is how my car is wired now.  To me, the bulkhead connector design just introduces another variable when and if something goes wrong and you need to troubleshoot; it's ugly but it works...

[Mopar Nut]

Even better is to have no connector at the firewall at all, just a big wire bundle running through a grommet, but you lose whatever conveniences are offered by having a connector there obviously.

My only concern on this is if a fire breaks out under the hood. This happened on my 68 before I bought it, the guy tried to hook up an electric choke.

[MaximRecoil]

Even better is to have no connector at the firewall at all, just a big wire bundle running through a grommet, but you lose whatever conveniences are offered by having a connector there obviously.

My only concern on this is if a fire breaks out under the hood. This happened on my 68 before I bought it, the guy tried to hook up an electric choke.

How is that concern related to the elimination of the bulkhead connector? The bulkhead connector does nothing to prevent a fire, in fact, it has been known to be the cause of fires, i.e., when one of the high current connections (such as the battery charging circuit in a car with an all-stock wiring configuration) develops enough oxidation on the copper bulkhead connector terminals to create high resistance at that point, it can generate enough heat to melt the surrounding plastic, and possibly start a fire (example).

Eliminating any form of connector there, thus just having uninterrupted wires running through a firewall grommet, eliminates this potential issue, because all the wires are insulated, thus sealing them from air, which prevents oxidation. This is why you should pack the bulkhead connector with dielectric grease, because it displaces the air and keeps the air out, thus preventing future oxidation. You still won't get as low resistance as you would with uninterrupted wires though, because the connections in the bulkhead connector depend on surface-to-surface contact which isn't particularly tight in the Packard 56 type terminals. The additional resistance isn't a big deal though, as long as you prevent it from being compounded by oxidation.

[Mopar Nut]

Even better is to have no connector at the firewall at all, just a big wire bundle running through a grommet, but you lose whatever conveniences are offered by having a connector there obviously.

My only concern on this is if a fire breaks out under the hood. This happened on my 68 before I bought it, the guy tried to hook up an electric choke.

How is that concern related to the elimination of the bulkhead connector? The bulkhead connector does nothing to prevent a fire, in fact, it has been known to be the cause of fires, i.e., when one of the high current connections (such as the battery charging circuit in a car with an all-stock wiring configuration) develops enough oxidation on the copper bulkhead connector terminals to create high resistance at that point, it can generate enough heat to melt the surrounding plastic, and possibly start a fire (example).

Eliminating any form of connector there, thus just having uninterrupted wires running through a firewall grommet, eliminates this potential issue, because all the wires are insulated, thus sealing them from air, which prevents oxidation. This is why you should pack the bulkhead connector with dielectric grease, because it displaces the air and keeps the air out, thus preventing future oxidation. You still won't get as low resistance as you would with uninterrupted wires though, because the connections in the bulkhead connector depend on surface-to-surface contact which isn't particularly tight in the Packard 56 type terminals. The additional resistance isn't a big deal though, as long as you prevent it from being compounded by oxidation.

Like I said before, it was a fire, no connector would have prevented it. With a connector, you can unplug the burnt wires, like I did and plug in a new harness. I would need to rewire my whole car if the wires ran through the firewall. I really don't think anyone in their right mind would run wires front to back without connectors. Isn't that pretty stupid?

[MaximRecoil]

Like I said before, it was a fuel fire, no connector would have prevented it. With a connector, you can unplug the burnt wires, like I did and plug in a new harness. I would need to rewire my whole car if the wires ran through the firewall. I really don't think anyone in their right mind would run wires front to back without connectors. Isn't that pretty stupid?

No, you didn't say before that it was a fuel fire. And being able to unplug the engine (or dash) harness and plug in a new one is one of the conveniences of having a bulkhead connector. As I said before with regard to eliminating the connector, "you lose whatever conveniences are offered by having a connector there obviously".

And no, it isn't stupid to eliminate the bulkhead connector, given that the electrical performance is better. Plenty of people in their right mind do it. Most everything you do involves a compromise/tradeoff. It is perfectly reasonable to accept the possibility of a major rewiring hassle in the future in exchange for better electrical circuits, just as it is perfectly reasonable to accept lesser electrical circuits in exchange for the conveniences offered by a connector.

[Mopar Nut]

No, you didn't say before that it was a fuel fire. And being able to unplug the engine (or dash) harness and plug in a new one is one of the conveniences of having a bulkhead connector. As I said before with regard to eliminating the connector, "you lose whatever conveniences are offered by having a connector there obviously".

And no, it isn't stupid to eliminate the bulkhead connector, given that the electrical performance is better. Plenty of people in their right mind do it. Most everything you do involves a compromise/tradeoff. It is perfectly reasonable to accept the possibility of a major rewiring hassle in the future in exchange for better electrical circuits, just as it is perfectly reasonable to accept lesser electrical circuits in exchange for the conveniences offered by a connector.

Only hillbillies would run wires through their firewall or ones taking crack. Why didn't car manufacturers run wires that way, they could have saved money.

[MaximRecoil]

Only hillbillies would run wires through their firewall or ones taking crack.

False. People who want the best possible electrical circuits and are unconcerned about the remote possibility of a fuel fire that's most likely the result of negligence and/or incompetence would run their wires through the firewall.

Why did car manufacturers run wires that way, they could have saved money.

They did run their wires that way, in part, and when reliability/conductivity was of the utmost importance (important enough to trump convenience); i.e., the Chrysler fleet wiring upgrade for fleet vehicles such as taxi cabs. This involved bypassing the bulkhead connector for the battery charging circuit wires, by running heavier gauge wires directly through a firewall grommet. So, were the Chrysler engineers that decided upon the fleet wiring upgrade "hillbillies" or were they taking crack?

[Mopar Nut]

So, were the Chrysler engineers that decided upon the fleet wiring upgrade "hillbillies" or were they taking crack?

Is this a trivia question? They were in a hurry, did I win?

[MaximRecoil]

So, were the Chrysler engineers that decided upon the fleet wiring upgrade "hillbillies" or were they taking crack?

Is this a trivia question? They were in a hurry, did I win?

"In a hurry"? Whether they were in a hurry or not (you've cited no evidence that they were) is irrelevant, because they managed to come up with the best type of electrical circuit in terms of performance. It is pretty common knowledge that the best way — with regard to performance — to connect a component to a power source is with an uninterruped run of wire of the proper gauge. Quick-disconnect type connectors are used for the sake of convenience only; they always degrade performance of the circuit (sometimes only by a trivial amount, but a degradation nonetheless).

[Mopar Nut]

"In a hurry"? Whether they were in a hurry or not (you've cited no evidence that they were) is irrelevant, because they managed to come up with the best type of electrical circuit in terms of performance. It is pretty common knowledge that the best way — with regard to performance — to connect a component to a power source is with an uninterruped run of wire of the proper gauge. Quick-disconnect type connectors are used for the sake of convenience only; they always degrade performance of the circuit (sometimes only by a trivial amount, but a degradation nonetheless).

Did you run your wires this way, because it could be your problem, see below.

The voltage in my car ('69, but with the later style dual field terminal alternator and electronic voltage regulator) used to be very steady; you could hold a meter on it and it would only move up or down by .01 volts every so often.

Recently I noticed the illumination of my radio rapidly fluctuating in brightness slightly when the engine was running. I measured the voltage with a multimeter and it is rapidly jumping back and forth from about 14.1 volts to about 14.6 volts. Is the alternator or the regulator the more likely culprit? They were both junkyard parts in unknown condition when I installed them in 2011.

[MaximRecoil]

"In a hurry"? Whether they were in a hurry or not (you've cited no evidence that they were) is irrelevant, because they managed to come up with the best type of electrical circuit in terms of performance. It is pretty common knowledge that the best way — with regard to performance — to connect a component to a power source is with an uninterruped run of wire of the proper gauge. Quick-disconnect type connectors are used for the sake of convenience only; they always degrade performance of the circuit (sometimes only by a trivial amount, but a degradation nonetheless).

Did you run your wires this way, because it could be your problem, see below.

The voltage in my car ('69, but with the later style dual field terminal alternator and electronic voltage regulator) used to be very steady; you could hold a meter on it and it would only move up or down by .01 volts every so often.

Recently I noticed the illumination of my radio rapidly fluctuating in brightness slightly when the engine was running. I measured the voltage with a multimeter and it is rapidly jumping back and forth from about 14.1 volts to about 14.6 volts. Is the alternator or the regulator the more likely culprit? They were both junkyard parts in unknown condition when I installed them in 2011.

My factory bulkhead connector is still in place. However, the bulkhead connector is utterly irrelevant to the alternator-to-battery circuit in my car, because I have 8 gauge wire from my alternator to my battery. The factory 12 gauge charging circuit wires which run through the bulkhead connector twice, and through the ammeter, are still connected (though my ammeter is bypassed), but they see no use for battery charging purposes, because electricity takes the path of least resistance, which in my case is the 8 gauge shunt wire.

This issue has nothing to do with wiring, or the bulkhead connector (which is irrelevant). The regulator and/or the alternator is the problem, which isn't surprising, considering they were both taken off junkyard vehicles from the 1970s, and have been on my car (working fine until recently) for over 2 years.

[Mopar Nut]

"In a hurry"? Whether they were in a hurry or not (you've cited no evidence that they were) is irrelevant, because they managed to come up with the best type of electrical circuit in terms of performance. It is pretty common knowledge that the best way — with regard to performance — to connect a component to a power source is with an uninterruped run of wire of the proper gauge. Quick-disconnect type connectors are used for the sake of convenience only; they always degrade performance of the circuit (sometimes only by a trivial amount, but a degradation nonetheless).

Did you run your wires this way, because it could be your problem, see below.

The voltage in my car ('69, but with the later style dual field terminal alternator and electronic voltage regulator) used to be very steady; you could hold a meter on it and it would only move up or down by .01 volts every so often.

Recently I noticed the illumination of my radio rapidly fluctuating in brightness slightly when the engine was running. I measured the voltage with a multimeter and it is rapidly jumping back and forth from about 14.1 volts to about 14.6 volts. Is the alternator or the regulator the more likely culprit? They were both junkyard parts in unknown condition when I installed them in 2011.

My factory bulkhead connector is still in place. However, the bulkhead connector is utterly irrelevant to the alternator-to-battery circuit in my car, because I have 8 gauge wire from my alternator to my battery. The factory 12 gauge charging circuit wires which run through the bulkhead connector twice, and through the ammeter, are still connected (though my ammeter is bypassed), but they see no use for battery charging purposes, because electricity takes the path of least resistance, which in my case is the 8 gauge shunt wire.

This issue has nothing to do with wiring, or the bulkhead connector (which is irrelevant). The regulator and/or the alternator is the problem.

Would you like to PM me, sounds like your alternater is bad.

[John_Kunkel]

Only hillbillies would run wires through their firewall or ones taking crack. Why didn't car manufacturers run wires that way, they could have saved money.

Never worked on a pre-sixties car eh?

[Cooter]

I rewired the bulkhead with weather psck connectors from an old fox body I had layin round.
Didn't fit, but no more bulls*it ptobkems with bad conn.

[tsmithae]

I don't know if you're up for lots of soldering or crimping but there are a lot of different mass connectors in the Pro Audio realm that are waterproof and could be used.  Might get a bit pricey tho.

[Budnicks]

Try looking over @ www.madelectrical.com , they have some great tech articles on the Mopar Bulkhead connections & the way to fix them &/or parts & instructions to do it correctly, might be worth a look at-least....  , there are a few easy fixes, that will help a ton...

[Mopar Nut]

I take everything I said back, I like the idea of just running wires straight through. I'm posting a picture of bypassing the bulkhead connector, which is a good idea.