Assistance with an ez harness in a 68 please

[70Tom383]

Hi everyone. I have a 68 Charger R/T that is being mostly rewired from nothing using an ez harness. My main problem is the tail lights and blinkers not working correctly. I have no power or lights to the passenger side and the wire that powers the left I don't think is correct, but stop and signal work. When I go right signal, the power is constant from the signal switch to the harness, not blinking like the left. I'm assuming this is because I found part of my signal switch that looks burnt (black wire on the back side). The ez schematic says 1970 signal conversion, and maybe that's another part I messed up on. Would anyone recommend me to buy a 70 signal switch and use instead or try to splice in another 68 switch? I apologize if this doesn't make a lot of sense, the problem has my brain fried at the moment. I can upload tons of pictures and answer anything else though! Any help would be greatly appreciated, and if anyone has used this harness, I'd very much love to pick your brain a bit! Thank you. Not to write a novel, but their schematic shows a five terminal starter relay and mine is four, which terminal would I use for "run" power, since they illustrate it from the 5th...I only have ignition power under cranking.

[chargervic]

If I remember correctly, 1970 cars had the ignition switch on the column and, I think the hazard switch was there too. That being the case, using a 70 signal switch won't work as they are quite different. Your best bet is to get another 68 signal switch, they are available in the aftermarket. Mopar doesn't supply them any more. From your description of the problem, it does sound like the issue is in the switch as you guessed.

[Pete in NH]

70 was the first year for the locking steering column with the ignition switch in the column and I believe the first year for a newer type turn signal switch. Your 68 still have the ignition switch in the dash so it's wiring is going to be different than a 70 if that's what E-Z is using as a reference.

Universal harnesses like the E-Z are a pain because they basically give you a bundle of wires and you have to do a cross over to your original wiring system. I suspect you don't have ignition run voltage because E-Z does not take into account Chrysler's unique IGN -1 and IGN-2 set up. I think the E-Z harnesses are basically designed around Ford and GM.

Post up E-Z's instructions and I'll try to cross over the ignition wiring for you. I'm not sure what to say about the turn signal switch because I don't know why they are referencing a 70 switch conversion in your 68.

[70Tom383]

Here's the pages that are for my Charger. As for the turn signal switch, I was almost sure the ignition in the column was not directly tied into the turn signal harness down the column, but if there's anything I've learned from this harness, it's that I could be wrong...

[70Tom383]

and the next page...

[70Tom383]

yet another...

[70Tom383]

and the last, I'm sorry I don't know any other way to post these pictures.

[Pete in NH]

Okay, thanks for posting the E-Z diagrams. Like their generic wire harness they also provided a generic wiring diagram that is not really 68 Charger specific. The task now will be to match wire for wire the original 68 charger wiring from the factory service manual to the E-Z wiring.

A couple questions about your car- What alternator and regulator are you using?  What ignition system are you using, is it a Chrysler type electronic system , points, or something else? Do you have the original 68 turn signal switch in the column yet and how much of the original rear wiring harness do you have if any?  Is the transmission automatic or manual? Are you using the original headlight switch or the E-Z GM type?  And, are you using the original Chrysler dash mounted ignition switch?

I think the best way to deal with these universal harnesses is to take one circuit at a time , get it working correctly and move on to the next. Where would you like to start?

[70Tom383]

Alright then!
1) powermaster alternator with mounted regulator, one wire capable (p/n 75191)
2) mopar electronic ignition with silver module and ballast resistor
3) original 68 turn signal switch (currently burnt, nos one coming from eBay right now)
4) I have the bulb plugs and a foot of wire for every rear light, I think that's it but I'll dig around
5) auto trans with tci outlaw shifter (have neutral/back up light plug and some of the wire harness)
6) original headlight switch with plug and inches of wire (open to suggestion for a gm, but I'd like to keep the old one)
7) original dash mounted ign switch with plug and inches of wire
and as for where to start, I have the engine all wired up except the "run"power for the ignition, so can we start with the ignition switch and ignition system to make sure I'm on the right track please? Thank you again, it's so awesome to have a hand with this!

[Pete in NH]

Okay, here we go.

If you are using the Mopar P3690152 AB wiring harness for the ECU- The black wire in this harness goes to the coil negative. The blue wire in this harness goes to one side of the ballast resistor ( run or IGN-1) This wire should continue on to the IGN-1 terminal on the ignition switch. The other side of the ballast resistor should go to the coil positive and a second wire from this side of the ballast resistor should go to the IGN-2 terminal on the ignition switch. This is where the E-Z diagrams don't get it quite right. If you have a green wire on the ECU harness it is not used.

If you did not use the Mopar ECU harness, I'll have to post up a picture of the ECU wiring because Chrysler did not number the ECU connector pins so there is no way to reference then other than a picture.

With the ignition switch in the run position you should have 12 volts on the Blue wire to the ECU, In the start or cranking position of the switch you should have full battery voltage directly on the positive side of the coil.

Since we don't know if your alternator/ charging circuit is working yet, I would keep a battery charger on the battery when not working on the car and since we don't know if things are wired correctly I would disconnect the negative battery terminal when not working on the car.

Once things are wired as above, it should run.

[70Tom383]

Fantastic, thank you very much! The way I had it, there was no power to the coil in "run." My fancy carb isn't being shipped on time from the manufacturer, so I can't run the car yet. The ballast resistor got pretty hot though in the couple min I left the car on for power checks. As for the original headlight switch, and probably the hazard switch, does it look like I'll be able to keep them? It won't hurt my feelings if I can't, I built a dash using micarta composite and autometer cobra series gauges, but it doesn't look like a cheesy race car, I promise!

[Pete in NH]

I would think you can keep your original headlight switch, I'm not sure bout the emergency flasher switch.

What do you want to work on next while you're waiting for your carburetor to show up?

[70Tom383]

The carb keeps getting pushed back, was supposed to be here in dec. can we make a move on the headlight switch? I think the keyed ignition is working properly, so the light switch would be nice to knock out. My turn signal switch should be here in a few days, so if you wouldn't mind checking that schematic out as well, that would be fantastic. Thank you again, this is really beyond a case of beer for thanks.

[Pete in NH]

Your 68 Chrysler type head light switch should have the following terminal on it- B-1, B-2, R, H, and P. It has a built in circuit beaker so no fuse was used in this circuit.

Here are the connections for it- B-1 is the 12 volts input and corresponds to the Red/Black wire on the E-Z diagram.  R is all the running lights like the license plate light, left and right tail lights, left and right rear side marker lights, left and right front side marker lights and connects to the panel light switch. The original Chrysler color code for all these wires was black. You can hook up all these R terminal wires together.  B-2 connects to one side of the stop light mechanical switch actuated by the brake pedal. Another wire from the B-2 terminal goes to the emergency flasher. H connects to the common terminal on the headlight high-low beam switch. the E- color code is blue/yellow. The original Chrysler color was light green. Finally the P terminal connects to the front left and right parking lights. The original Chrysler color has a yellow tracer.

The rear brake/directional lights run through the directional switch and we'll have to wait until you get your new one to hook that up. The E-Z instructions for their GM type head light switch are totally useless and didn't really cross over at all to a Mopar application. You would think if they are going to market these harnesses to a Mopar application they could go to the trouble of providing real wiring instructions for Chrysler applications. As I've tried to follow their instructions I've come away with the idea they sell you a bunch of wire and basically say you're on your own from there and good luck to you. You're going to have to reassign some of their wire colors to the circuits you need and might have to add some wire runs if you don't have enough.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[70Tom383]

Yes, I had the same feeling about the harness when I started looking at it compared to the cars original wiring. The new turn signal switch is installed, and both signals and brake lights work now! I might be looking into a new light switch. There's a possibility I confused some wires, but I only had headlights, no high beams and no tail lights. I'll head back out tomorrow after class and try to chase down what gets power and when.