When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hi all,
I have a 1969 442 and I don’t know where this wire goes and what it is for? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I went through the wiring diagram and could not find it. It’s a black and White striped wire. The end of the wire looks like it was soldered. Pic is below Where it comes from
From the 1969 A-Body V8 wiring diagram most likely candidate is wire from the main lamp switch which feeds the LH & RH dome lamp jam switches, courtesy lamps & map lamp.
You should note & I'll point out the white wire is the ground side of that circuit, the hot (power) wire is the orange wire. The door jam switches (and each switch in that circuit) are a normally OPEN circuit switch. Meaning, the circuit is OPEN (incomplete i.e. no power). When a door is opened, the switch becomes closed, the circuit is closed and the circuit is complete allowing current to travel to any one of the switches. NOTE the ground symbol associated with each switch along the path of the white wire.
Without my head under the dash and determining what lights do &/or do not work, there's a possibility of the stop lamp switch, I think if you stick your head up there you'll figure it out.
The wire for the turn signal switch is part of the dash harness and unlikely to be loose like that. It's almost certainly part of the dome light wiring.
Thank you all for your responses, they are very helpful. My courtesy light fuse has been blowing immediately and it is taped to an orange wire. I will go under there and take a look to see where it might have come from. My guess maybe the ground to the drivers door jamb switch.
Thanks again, I really appreciate you insight and advice.
I paid no attention to your fuse panel/box during the initial responses. You have at least one "hack job" which you need to address since I re-examined your fuse panel. I can't tell if that is a red wire or orange wire (it appears red). That's a hack job - that needs to be addressed. I have no idea where it leads, what it's doing there, but that red (we'll call it) wire is a disaster waiting to happen. Trace that wire and address why it's sticking in between the fuse and the fuse clip. Additionally, those blue connectors are not OEM factory, so someone has made some modifications. Is that the area you're referencing "My courtesy light fuse has been blowing immediately and it is taped to an orange wire."? Do some tracing and clean that up best you can.
Thank you, I think that went to an after market radio that was in there. I have a whole bunch of wires that are coed with bullet connectors. I’m terrible with electric, but more than willing to learn. I wasn’t sure if that was for the radio wires or a fusible link. I’ll take more pics. Really appreciate the advice.
Thanks
BTW, if you can't read the fuse panel labels either on the wiring diagram I included (above) or on the fuse panel itself, the fuse panel labels are in the CSM and the Operators manual. Someone did some creative wiring - who knows why (often times to get a radio, amplifier or some other device to work). Try to get back to square one with the wiring.
I will try to get it back to stock. I don’t have the battery connected, I have a birds nest under there that I have to go through. Winter project!!
I just took the wiper motor off because it stopped working and a prong was loose. Turned it over and a white wire was broken that the prong attached to.
It’s snowballing into me going through the wiring to make sure it all is set up stock and working.
thanks again
Thank you, I think that went to an after market radio that was in there. I have a whole bunch of wires that are coed with bullet connectors. I’m terrible with electric, but more than willing to learn. I wasn’t sure if that was for the radio wires or a fusible link. I’ll take more pics. Really appreciate the advice.
Thanks
If that red wire jammed into the fuse is not functioning, IOW, not being used - the entire wire needs to be removed. Not sure where you're getting the blown fuse from, on the orange wire - it's being shorted out somewhere. Be mindful when you're working on the fuse panel items and messing with the power wires (e.g. orange & red in particular), it's best to disconnect the negative (-) battery terminal in case you accidentally mishandle a wire. You don't necessarily have to tighten the cable wire on the battery every single time, just remove it, then when you need it, just put it back on but you don't have to necessarily tighten it down - just enough to provide energy to the circuit.
Word of advice. As you dive more into your wiring one of the best tools ($10-$15) to troubleshoot/diagnose is a simple test light, it makes life so much simpler/easier to find issues and trace wires. The other piece would be a volt meter, or digital multi meter. A simple test/circuit light tester will take you a long way. If you buy one get one w/ the sharpest needle point possible.
OK Well glad you took a close-up of the fuse panel. What "appeared" a hack job, really is not. They just used the free IGN fuse panel block for the radio (you said) which is fine.
I will try to get it back to stock. I don’t have the battery connected, I have a birds nest under there that I have to go through. Winter project!! I just took the wiper motor off because it stopped working and a prong was loose. Turned it over and a white wire was broken that the prong attached to. It’s snowballing into me going through the wiring to make sure it all is set up stock and working. thanks again
It takes only a couple extra minutes but the time spent is absolute money/time well spent. Each time you find a wire, take a piece of painter's tape (blue), yellow, white, whatever and a marker. Make a label and place the label on that wire you found. Saves soooooooo....much time from having to remember what is what and going back to a wiring diagram every time. Find the wire, determine what it does then label it - hot/power radio, courtesy lamp, dome lamp, trunk lamp, etc. etc. - ground wire, etc. etc. Label stuff - it works.
X2 on labeling stuff. I’m a big believer. I label all kinds of stuff from wires to cables to frozen food (with dates…)
I use a Dymo Rhino 6000 which will do vertical wire wrapping so there’s a neat label on each wire where ever you need. Fantastic tool.
Great holiday gift if someone around you needs an idea.
Only (minor) downside is it’s the ol “razor & blades” business model. You get the printer, then buy tapes to feed it. I use the 3/4 nylon all the time.
Upside is you get to remember less and you have some guidance when you go back into the electrical system 2-3 years down the road. Previous labels either tell you you’ve been in there before, maybe what you did or tell you you might be able to ignore it since you’ve previously fixed it.
Many of us have made wiring modifications for various reasons. I have a fairly up to date custom wiring diagram, but nothing beats labels on the car. Also very useful to the next owner…
Does your dome light work at all? That connector on the white wire looks like it plugs into the door jamb switch for your dome light circuit. You can unscrew the door jamb switch and see if it has a white wire connected to it. If not, that loose one probably goes there. If the dome light fuse blows immediately, check your cigarette lighter and make sure it is not "unscrewing" itself. Lighters can unscrew and short out the lighter circuit which shares the dome light fuse.
That red wire has the correct size connector on it and is not a "hack". It is an aftermarket add-on so make sure it doesn't get wrapped up in the brake pedal or something like that, but looks decent where it connects to the fuse panel. It was simply blurry in that first photo.
Something is, however, scotchlocked onto that orange wire and may be causing issues. You might want to trace that one out and find where it goes.
Your factory wiring harness looks to be unmolested and in good shape so "what is new, is what is wrong". Trace out any extra wiring that has been added on later to find any problems.
I traced the red and green wires they went to added radio and speaker wires. I tried to chase the orange wire, but it looked like it may have connected to a harness. Any idea what the orange wire is? And what should I do to clean this up? Any suggestions appreciated. Also not sure what the red plug is in the fuse box. It has a grey wire running from it? I didn’t see any of this in the chassis manual and wondering if it’s been added and should be removed?
Orange is used for the +12V battery power circuit in the dash harness. It is always hot and usually used to feed the dome light, courtesy lights, clock, and other devices that need power even with the key off. GM did not use those crappy Scotch-Lock connectors, which should be outlawed. They also did not use insulated crimp terminals, so any of those you see are not factory.
The red connector is plugged into the feed for key-on accessories like power windows and the map light on the rear view mirror.
Thanks, that’s very helpful. The grey wire does go to the review mirror light, I think that was factory. The scotch connections I need to remove, just not sure what to do with the orange wire. Does that just get connected back the fuse block and the other wires removed?
Thanks, that’s very helpful. The grey wire does go to the review mirror light, I think that was factory. The scotch connections I need to remove, just not sure what to do with the orange wire. Does that just get connected back the fuse block and the other wires removed?
The connector with the orange wire in it is a factory connector. Like Joe said, it is the factory dome light circuit. It should be fine. Scotchlock connectors can be sketchy and the green wire is an unusual color for a battery feed wire on an aftermarket stereo. They are usually yellow. I would remove it and trace that green wire and make sure it is not running through the brake pedal or somesuch and shorting out. If it connects to a yellow wire on the stereo, it should have an in-line fuse in it. See if that resolves the dome light issue.
The factory wiring is not typically a "wear item" in an automobile. Left unmolested, the factory wiring will almost never go bad. Problems usually happen when the wiring is modified or added on to, so that is how I came up with the "what is new, is what is wrong". As an aftermarket automotive installer/troubleshooter I was able to find and resolve many, many issues using that.
Thank you for this info. I’m going to go back out there tonight and stick my head back under there and look around. I’ll try to figure out what has been added and how.
December 9th, 2023, 07:46 PM
