1969 Dodge Charger wiring issues, no brake lights, bezel lights, flasher, dome

[rikubot]

Okay, here's the low-down:

My dash wiring was completely make-shift and my gauges were mounted on a piece of wood. The previous owner had all aftermarket gauges, and all the engine wiring was also his own creation. He had spliced the headlight harness and wiper harness into his wiring, and riveted a plate over the hole where the bulkhead connector was located. I recently purchased a dash and engine harness from Year One. I cut out all the wiring I could tell was his and on the dash side was left with mostly plug-and-play connectors, less the body lights and one or two other small things. Under the hood I began splicing the wiring back into the correct location on some salvage yard bulkhead connectors I cleaned up. I have everything hooked up into the bulkhead on the engine bay side EXCEPT the four wiper wires. On the interior side, I don't have the door switches, radio, heater, brake pedal, cigarette stuff, light by ignition, speedo and clock (no big deal), or console lights hooked up. I'll post a bunch of pics in that thread to show you what I've got going on under my hood.

What I have working:
- Car starts
- Headlights work (brights too)
- Reverse lights work (had to make Neutral safety plug out of salvage parts)
- Neutral safety seems to work
- Tail lights work
- Turn signals
- Left and right turn indicator
- Alternator Gauge

What I don't have working:
- the three gauges on circuit (assuming voltage limiter, going to do the solid state mod when parts come in)
- gauge back lights
- dimmer switch
- flasher switch
- right turn indicator
- dome light
- door switches (not hooked up anyway)
- washer fluid button
- brake lights
- brake indicator light (assuming it lights when E-brake is engaged?)
- wiper switch (no big deal as it isn't hooked up

I'm sure I left a few things out. My main concern is with the gauge stuff not working and the brake lights. It's mostly plug-in stuff so I figured it was a no brainer. Does it have to be bolted to the dash to work? I usually don't bother as I have to have it out all the time anyway since I'm trying to get it all dialed in. I'm pretty familiar with the diagrams but I have no experience with electrical and It takes me a while to figure routing out. But, so far, so good with the harnesses I've made (other than the gauge issues haha).

Any tips for grounds would help a lot too. I just realized that my column doesn't have a ground on it and apparently its supposed to? Ground locations would be awesome too!

Thanks for your time, it is very much appreciated.
-Mike

[nascarxx29]

start with a wiring diagram for the car you have.www.mymopar.com in reference has the 69 wiring schematics .Aslo in search in this forum search etc [no brake lights] most times turn signal switch.What ever function that's not working do a search in this search forum someone already had the same issue and you might find a solution

[cdr]

the dash cluster has to be grounded to work, so yes is has to be installed.

[rikubot]

Thanks guys, I am pretty sure you're right about the T/S switch. I pulled mine out today and saw some splicing that shouldn't have been there. I think when I had it replaced 12 or so years ago, the people who did it spliced the new one into the old connector, "Thanks G*Star!" NOT! I did do a bench test with a couple batteries on the three gauges on the PC board and had all three gauges working. Two AA batteries together brought each gauge to about 3/4. Also, the test on the PC board had good results. Finally some good news. As soon as I have some spare cash I'm going to order a solid state regulator off eBay ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/380917322935?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT ). Does anyone have any experiences with these? Also there's a guy on there that repairs and cleans dimmer switches for $75. Any thoughts or experiences on that? Thanks again guys

[Dino]

Thanks guys, I am pretty sure you're right about the T/S switch. I pulled mine out today and saw some splicing that shouldn't have been there. I think when I had it replaced 12 or so years ago, the people who did it spliced the new one into the old connector, "Thanks G*Star!" NOT! I did do a bench test with a couple batteries on the three gauges on the PC board and had all three gauges working. Two AA batteries together brought each gauge to about 3/4. Also, the test on the PC board had good results. Finally some good news. As soon as I have some spare cash I'm going to order a solid state regulator off eBay ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/380917322935?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT ). Does anyone have any experiences with these? Also there's a guy on there that repairs and cleans dimmer switches for $75. Any thoughts or experiences on that? Thanks again guys

I run that IVR4 and love it!  Can't go wrong with it, great customr service to boot.   

I rebuilt my own rheostat but the chrome was good so I didn't have to do a full rebuild.  I jut cleaned up all the parts and it's still working.

[rikubot]

Thanks for the information Dino. I'll probably be ordering that one this week then. That's all the convincing I need lol. rheostat is fancy for dimmer? All this lingo is new to me haha. I was thinking about just spraying mine out really well with some carb cleaner, putting some Phil Wood grease on the gear mechanisms, and some dielectric grease on the contacts. Is there a "how-to" on rebuilding/cleaning them? Also is there a way to test them?

[Brock Lee]

Brake lights, dome light, bezel lights are all on the same circuit. Start inspecting wires for areas where the insulation is frayed, also inspect anything that is hot possibly grounding out to the body (lamps, door pin switches, cut wires, disconnected connectors, etc).

My car had a huge issue with this and it ended up being the map light. A hot tab on the switch was somewhat loose and would rattle occasionally touching and grounding out to the dash frame. These things are usually really easy to fix, the hard part is chasing them down.

[rikubot]

I had a feeling that not having the door switches hooked up would probably affect all those interior lights on the orange circuit. I see that they have two pegs on them, and I assume one goes to a ground. Is there anywhere specific the grounds in the door switches bolt to? Also I have the map light (the light above glove box?) completely out right now. I'm not sure where that thing hooks up to my "new" dash harness. For a minute I thought someone had just stuck it in there but the hole is too clean. Had to be factory, right? Before I yanked out all the makeshift wiring, the map light did work. I did notice that the switch was very touchy and had a little wiggle that affected it a bit, so I could see that happening in your car real easily. Tomorrow morning I will try to put my switches and map light back in and try to tie up all the loose ends on that "interior light" circuit. Thank you Brock Lee for your advice and experience. I appreciate it more than you know.

[472 R/T SE]

Pretty sure I've replaced the turn signal switch in every old Mopar I've owned.

If you replace yours, the reproduction ones are based off a Sea Body so there's a good chance it'll have the extra plug for fender mounted turn signals.  It's OK.  The switches are the same for quite a few years for all models.  Don't let anyone tell you that you have to have a specific one cause if they do, they're just trying to get into your wallet.
Also, the black button for engaging the hazards needs to be trimmed on to fit your steering column.  I saved my old buttons hoping to install on a new one?

This is the one I have in my car.  If you pay more than $100, you're not looking around enough:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mopar-71-72-73-74-Charger-Turn-Signal-Switch-NEW-/400922137169?hash=item5d58d25251&vxp=mtr

[rikubot]

Thanks for the tip, 472.

I found this on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mopar-67-68-69-Barracuda-Turn-Signal-Switch-NEW-/171912330351?fits=Year%3A1969%7CModel%3ACharger&hash=item2806c5fc6f&vxp=mtr

Only $70 (haha thanks MOPAR) and looks like the right one, except the yellow. Says it fits '69 Charger? You have a '70, right?

[Dino]

$50 at mega, mine came with the cancel cam installed as well.  It's been in the car for a few years and it still feels as tight as day one, and yes I do use my signals all the time.   

http://www.megapartsusa.com/proddetail.asp?prod=114-190080

[rikubot]

$50 at mega, mine came with the cancel cam installed as well.  It's been in the car for a few years and it still feels as tight as day one, and yes I do use my signals all the time.   

http://www.megapartsusa.com/proddetail.asp?prod=114-190080

Daaaang! Thanks Dino! I always forget about Mega. Thats a great price too. How are their rates on shipping?

[Dino]

$50 at mega, mine came with the cancel cam installed as well.  It's been in the car for a few years and it still feels as tight as day one, and yes I do use my signals all the time.   

http://www.megapartsusa.com/proddetail.asp?prod=114-190080

Daaaang! Thanks Dino! I always forget about Mega. Thats a great price too. How are their rates on shipping?

It's been too long to remember, but I doub it was a lot because I've ordered more from them.   

[Brock Lee]

I had a feeling that not having the door switches hooked up would probably affect all those interior lights on the orange circuit. I see that they have two pegs on them, and I assume one goes to a ground. Is there anywhere specific the grounds in the door switches bolt to?

Not sure of the year/configuration of your car. My 69 with console has a one connector switch on the drivers side and a 2 pin on the passenger. None of the wires on the switches are grounds. The switch bodies are grounding when they are screwed into the body of the car.

I can't remember the exact wiring, but on the drivers side there is this loop of yellow wires added to the stock door pin connector that branches off to control the console lights. I guess it would be considered an accessory harness. It adds another, identical connector for the jamb switch and wires to run to the console.

On the passenger side, two wires run to the switch. One may run all the way back toward the drivers side and one by the fuse block. I can't remember for sure. Check out a schematic. Non-console cars likely are different.   

[rikubot]

Sorry I should have stated my options.

Its a '69 with air and heat, console, map light and ignition light.

Ok so the body acts as the ground on all door switches. I do have that driver-side wiring together correctly I believe. Also it looks like there's another plug from console lights that runs back into the dash and ties into the fuse box (pink and orange wires connected to each other). I found a picture of a diagram, but it might be from a '68. Let me know what you think. I'm just gonna try bypassing that map light and key light for now if I can. Thanks for the help Brock!

[rikubot]

I have managed to make a little progress.
I got bored last night and went to go start up my car (anyone else just sit in their car?), so of course I started playing with switches. I noticed a tiny little glow on my gauges when I put the headlights on. So I started messing with the dimmer. Low and behold, I have backlights to all six of my gauges! I about had a heart attack. I've never seen real Charger gauges lit up, and although it was pretty dim, it looked so cool! I did find a sweet spot toward the top of the dim setting where they are bright enough to read with ease. My dimmer switch is dodgy as it gets but I'm just happy it sorta works, and now I can see my dead gauges at night haha. 

Also, I went to check out a buddy's '69, and found that the console accessory wiring ties straight into the fuse box, and somehow I managed to save almost the entire wire from the old wiring. I'm waiting on a couple of the piggy back clips to get it put in there, but on the accessory diagram I found, it shows the passenger side door switch going to the console wiring. Neither my '69 nor my friend's had anything like that. I will just tie it into the fuse box and see what happens. There's not a whole lot left on the interior wiring. I just have to get the door, map, and dome stuff to figure out and it will be complete!

[nascarxx29]

When I lost dash dimmer roll switch or didn't want to replace .I would jump power to its 3 amp fuse to see if they fully came on.And unplugged 3  wire connector from back of roll switch.And tapped into yellow black wire to another power source  .And upgraded all dash bulbs from orig 158 to 194s which where bright enough .Never  needed to dim them down

[rikubot]

I was thinking of doing something similar. Glad to know that someone else has and it works. I never understood why people would want to dim interior lights. They don't make them "too bright" on any car I've ever driven haha

[472 R/T SE]

I was thinking of doing something similar. Glad to know that someone else has and it works. I never understood why people would want to dim interior lights. They don't make them "too bright" on any car I've ever driven haha

Daytime driving with the lights on?  That was why I'd dim them in the OTR truck I drove.


Speaking of cool Charger gauge light, the 1st gens are really cool!   

[rikubot]

Seems like the early-mid '60s stuff was real spaceship lookin'. I dig it. I used to have a '57 Chrysler New Yorker with the coolest interior. Power everything, push button trans. I miss it so bad! Should have never gotten rid of her

[rikubot]

I've got an update on my issues:

First, let me apologize for being a newbie and NOT REPLACING ALL MY FUSES!

When I cut out my old harness, I reused the 4 20A fuses. Even though they looked okay, one of them must have had a bad connection. I had a suspicion of this when I was having a spotty dome light, so I changed the fuses around. Dome was then solid, then other stuff didn't work. Last night I picked up a pack and replaced them, ALL NEW fuses now! In the end, I now have working interior lights (except map light, it's out right now being gone through), gauge back lights, and BRAKE LIGHTS!!! I'm very happy I tried that befor ordering a $60 T/S switch. My dimmer has been working very dodgy, but it does work, and will turn on the dome/courtesy lights. I still need to get the piggy back connectors to tie the console wiring into the fuse box, but I had them connected last night and they were working great. Lesson learned: when working with electrical, replace all fuses and bulbs. It is cheap and rules out silly problems that had me scratching my head and second guessing my problem solving. Even if the fuses look good, do it anyway!   

Updated list

What I don't have working:
- the three gauges on circuit (assuming voltage limiter, going to do the solid state mod when parts come in)
- gauge back lights
- dimmer switch
- flasher switch
- right turn indicator
- dome light
- door switches (not hooked up anyway)
- washer fluid button
- brake lights
- brake indicator light (assuming it lights when E-brake is engaged?)
- wiper switch (no big deal as it isn't hooked up

Sadly, I can't be too proud of fixing most of the stuff crossed off because it was mostly bulbs and fuses I thought were good 

[472 R/T SE]

Funny.  Don't think you're the only one.      Difference is you were honest about it. 

I don't know how much time I've wasted looking for something & it was where it was suppose to be the whole time. 



With these old cars it seems as though any fixes are gonna be somewhat time consuming to get figured out so we never think, ( at least me ) of something simple & easy like a fuse. 
Now that I've thought about it, I don't remember checking the fuses when I replaced the 3 t/s.     I'm surprised I got that lucky. 

[nascarxx29]

    you could test all gauges except amp gauge with 2  1.5 volt C batterys taped together and 2 jumper leads.If gauge moves at all or goes halfway its good.If nothing its bad .Make sure the leads are not reversed or gauge wont move up

[Brock Lee]

You are making excellent progress!

I had the exact same moment with my dash lights. The difference was I was talking to a Charger buddy on the phone and he told me to roll it gently until they came on. Sure enough, it worked. It was the first I had ever seen my dash lights come on! I have even taken that thing apart and cleaned it. Cleaned the contacts with fine paper, it still has that tiny "sweet spot" .

I would also check your gauges PC Board. The problem most likely is the voltage limiter, but it isn't always. Sometimes people screwed with this stuff and got rough with the connector that goes to the harness. A slight crack is all it takes to kill that board.

Washer fluid button. Use a test light on the pump side to test the wiring. Pressing the button in should make the light turn on. If it checks out okay, make sure you have a really good ground coming off the motor. I have had problems with ones for just that reason. The hole may have been enlarged and the screw fits tight because of paint. Knocking that screw up a size or to a coarser thread has brought many of them back to life for me. Just enough to get a new bite on the metal and give it a solid ground. I use a O connector sandwiched between the washer tank and one of the mounting screws.

I still had a new issue develop with my map light. It only works occasionally. I suspect the original relay is tired and sticky.

[rikubot]

Funny.  Don't think you're the only one.      Difference is you were honest about it. 

I don't know how much time I've wasted looking for something & it was where it was suppose to be the whole time. 



With these old cars it seems as though any fixes are gonna be somewhat time consuming to get figured out so we never think, ( at least me ) of something simple & easy like a fuse. 
Now that I've thought about it, I don't remember checking the fuses when I replaced the 3 t/s.     I'm surprised I got that lucky. 

Haha thanks that makes me feel better. Yeah seriously, an EASY fix?! I wouldn't know what that would look like if it slapped me in the head!