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1972 Cutlass wires hanging under dash need ID please
It never amazes me that certain people on this forum can look at a picture in a thread and tell what the item in question is for. Well. I have a couple wires hanging down and I didn't ever do anything to them. My brother says it's been at least 40 years since he even messed with the car. Any rate can any on give me a clue where what these wires are for?
Photo number 1 is driver's side and a gray wire with a clip on the end that looks like it should go under a screw or small bolt maybe as a ground?? I thought it was green instead of gray! LOL
The gray wire appears to go over the steering column and to the right over the radio area above the console and then what looks like the same grey wire comes down from the dash on the right of the console. The gray and a blue wire with a yellow or gold stripe both drop down and are taped together with black electrical tape. See 2 photos below. When my brother owned it in Texas in the early 1980's, he put an in-dash Pioneer Super Tuner cassette/radio in it, and I believe he may have had a 6X9 speaker under the dash above the console and one 6X9 in the back package tray area. He doesn't remember if this was for that or not. He also said it could be from the original owner before he bought the car.
Any help would be appreciated. I'm not much of a wiring trouble shooter and am somewhat color blind also so it's a challenge.
OLE442
Last edited by OLE442; Feb 3, 2025 at 05:58 PM.
Reason: added text
LOL! Yeah it won't let me change the wording on the title. Duh!
Contact a Moderator and they can do it for you. Auto spell can mess things up sometimes. Can’t help much on those wires, other than sayin that the terminal end looks like something out of Ace hardware
There is only one definitive way to determine function of those wires. Lay on your back (or direct someone to lay on their back), unravel the tape & the wires and find out where they terminate. I'm suspicious they were installed when your brother installed his 5,000 WATT stereo amplifier. There's nothing easy about this...get under the dash and find out what they're attached to.
The gray wire might be factory - possibly having originally gone to one of the dash frame bulbs that illuminate when you turn the headlight switch on (i.e. one of the bulbs over the wiper switch or a/c panel, or possibly one that illuminated the original radio dial.
You should probably power-test it to see if still connected to the headlight switch
Striped wire absolutely non-factory and possibly left over from the aftermarket stereo install. You have your work cut out to trace it all out. Would probably help if you remove the under-dash vent panel and at least one or more of the gauges so that you can increase your points of visibility behind the dash.
I'm 95% sure they are not factory. As stated, trace them out- keep tugging every few inches and cutting zip ties.
FYI: GM gray is usually instrument panel illumination. It should show voltage when the parking lights are on, and also dims when you turn the headlight kn0bb.
Olds did not use those cheap hardware store crimp terminals on these cars. That wire is not factory. The only way to know what it does is to trace it to the other end.
When my brother owned it in Texas in the early 1980's, he put an in-dash Pioneer Super Tuner cassette/radio in it, ...OLE442
Originally Posted by Vintage Chief
I'm suspicious they were installed when your brother installed his 5,000 WATT stereo amplifier.
A Supertuner deck is NOT a 5,000 watt stereo amplifier. I know that was sarcasm, but not appropriate for this diagnosis. A Supertuner was either 6 watts or 18 watts per channel.
The wire with the fork terminal on it looks a little heavy for a stereo ground wire, but it is possible. It is also possible your brother may have added a "Sound Exploder" amplifier(about 20 watt booster), available from K-Mart, Radio Shack, and various auto parts stores under different names. That would account for the unusual looking grey/black wire and the other multi-colored wires. They don't LOOK like anything I ever installed with a stereo, but it's possible.
I'm with the rest of the crowd on this one. Somebody's gonna hafta lay on the floorboard and look up under the dash to see where the wires go to find out what they attach to. Is the Supertuner still in the dash?
Ok, ok.....I don't fit very well in either side under the dash even with the front seats out BUT, the single wire on the driver side goes into the wire bundle of the Sun water temp gauge so maybe it's a ground wire for the light.
The two wires that are on the passenger side are blue and grey before the hanging wires were spliced in. The blue and black appear to come from the radio. When my brother had the Super Tuner in, he had a speaker in the back and a speaker below the radio and on top of the console. Maybe he spliced off of the radio to run the front speaker wires?? Any thoughts here? The stock radio did work but not well and may be due to using after market speakers (non 10 ohm)! I'll most likely tape the two wires on the RT off and tuck them under the dash. Maybe I'll remove the AM/FM stereo stock radio some day but doubt it at my age. The wire on the passenger side I'll dink around with the wire and the gauge. Maybe its the ground for the gauge light? I have no light in the oil pressure gauge but have a replacement light I need to install before I drive it at night.
Last edited by OLE442; Mar 11, 2025 at 08:43 AM.
Reason: added text
Well, the two wires hanging down from the dash over the console.....I looked as best I can and they may be coming from the back of the radio. Maybe front speaker wires. Whatever......I taped the ends up and tucked them up into the dash for inspection later when my son comes to town. He works in computers, wiring and electronics. He's smaller, more flexible, has better eyesight and has better understanding and troubleshooting skills. I lack in a lot of these areas!