1971 Charger R/T Ignition Switch Wires Melted

[NateCharger]

I pulled my dash out to restore the pad and cluster. I had a hard time getting the ignition switch connector apart when pulling the steering column. I did finally get them apart, I was being careful, but I pulled a few wires through the connector ever so slightly. What would cause this? Can I replace just the connector somehow? How would all of you go about fixing it? Thanks in advance!

[Kern Dog]

Age and corrosion.
Are you very familiar with the Mopar electrical system? I'm sure that Chrysler wasn't alone in this, but Mopars were certainly never built with the expectation that they'd be still on the road 40 years after leaving the assembly plant. The electrical systems were surely engineered to meet minimum standards and not much more. They were fine for several years but ....
Several years of use. Several years of cold winters, hot summers, maybe high humidity and the wires build up resistance even though their insulation looks okay. The resistance that they develop generate HEAT. The more resistance and heat, the less they transmit the power, which leads to even more heat. Of course, heat is okay to a point, after which stuff starts to melt or burn.
The 3 electrical plugs on the firewall connect to a master bulkhead connector. This component was responsible for handling almost all of the power for every electrical component other than the engine. The small connectors that meet in this bulkhead connector can develop corrosion, which leads to resistance and heat. Remember what I wrote about heat. If everything is clean and tight, you have a much better chance of avoiding the problem you listed. Even better is to eliminate the ammeter and its wiring. Check out MAD electrical. They have articles on how to improve the MOPAR wiring setup. They used a mid 70s Dodge truck as a test bed, but the same stuff applies to the cars of the same vintage.
I had a headlight switch fail in my 70 Charger in 2001. This burned the + wire to that switch along with the fusible link. Good thing the FL was there to cut power before a fire took the car out!

[nascarxx29]

Just from being a loose power carrying load those terminals heat up melt plastic from resistance.check your bulkhead terminals and fuse box

[NateCharger]

Just from being a loose power carrying load those terminals heat up melt plastic from resistance.check your bulkhead terminals and fuse box

WILL DO! How would you go about repairing this?

[nascarxx29]

Those terminal can be removed from plastic to clean with brass or wire brush or electrical terminal cleaner .Once clean add a protective  coat of dielectric to prevent future corrision

[nascarxx29]

Someone may know of a vendor with those bullet terminals to replace them

[b5blue]

  Personally I feel that connection set is just too weak. I bypassed the factory connector for the main wires and used Alumiconn connectors instead. All of the "ignition on" power passes through the thin wimpy tube shaped connectors 2 times. (In and out.) The thin metal heats as more circuits like wipers or heater are turned on and the longer on the hotter they get. Heat = resistance and +resistance will in turn result in more heat. A few cycles of that and the tubes no longer fit tightly and that now adds even more trouble.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_423843-67088-95104_0__?productId=4433877
  I checked the spec. for Alumiconn, they are rated for copper or aluminum wire and can handle the car's electrical load along with providing an enclosed reusable connection. All 70 up vintage Mopar used that connector as part of the column/key change and it's the root cause of many problems. Last year I changed out all interior wiring in my 70 Charger and even new I traced voltage drop back to that connection.  Cutting and using wire nuts is safer than keeping that connection! 

[NateCharger]

  Personally I feel that connection set is just too weak. I bypassed the factory connector for the main wires and used Alumiconn connectors instead. All of the "ignition on" power passes through the thin wimpy tube shaped connectors 2 times. (In and out.) The thin metal heats as more circuits like wipers or heater are turned on and the longer on the hotter they get. Heat = resistance and +resistance will in turn result in more heat. A few cycles of that and the tubes no longer fit tightly and that now adds even more trouble.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_423843-67088-95104_0__?productId=4433877
  I checked the spec. for Alumiconn, they are rated for copper or aluminum wire and can handle the car's electrical load along with providing an enclosed reusable connection. All 70 up vintage Mopar used that connector as part of the column/key change and it's the root cause of many problems. Last year I changed out all interior wiring in my 70 Charger and even new I traced voltage drop back to that connection.  Cutting and using wire nuts is safer than keeping that connection! 

Thank you for your help!!!

[b5blue]

  Your welcome! You can get 2 or 3 hole connectors, I found the 3 hole (The kind Lowes has in stock.) can provide a port to tap into if 12V+ is needed for something extra. As they are designed to repair aluminum or add copper to an aluminum wired house they come with dielectric grease loaded into where the wire goes.