51 Wiring Loom

[51UKChieftan]

Hi Guys,

 

I am attempting to make an engine bay wiring loom for my 51 Chieftan Coupe as i have been quoted close to a $1000.00 for one shipped to the UK!!

 

I am trying to reproduce the loom as close as possible to the original but i'm not sure i'm interpreting the information in the shop manual correctly. Hope one of you guys can clarify the following for me.

 

Colours stated are:-

 

Black CR TR -Black with Cream Trace?

Green TR- Is this black with green Trace? or Green with trace, if so what colour trace

Red CR TR - Red with Cream Trace

Black TR - What colour trace?

Red TR - What colour trace?

 

Thanks in advance for your help

 

Joe

[Bloo]

I have seen this before and it is quite unclear. I came up with the best hypothesis I could, and then compared to the old harness to see if I could disprove it. In an old faded harness, they all look the same, but that may have been sort of true before the fading. I believe there was an unstated default color unless otherwise specified, and it was probably "natural", or maybe another of the brownish hues you see in old harnesses (oak?). For now I am going to guess "natural".

 

If I were doing it I would start with this hypothesis:

 

Wire color is natural unless obviously stated otherwise.

Black CR TR = Black crossed tracers. (X pattern)

Green TR  =  Green tracer.

Red CR TR = Red crossed tracers.

Black TR = Black tracer.

Red TR = Red tracer.

 

 

Edited March 3, 2022 by Bloo (see edit history)

[john hess]

I will agree will Bloo's explanation.  unless specifically stated as in the l/r stoplight wire that specifically calls for gray with black tracer or gray with red tracer, assume 'natural' as in off white... look closely at some of your old wires if available. if any is left with factory wrap, you should be able to make sense of the color coding.. 

[john hess]

I will attach a picture for your review.. this is some wiring on my 53.. your 51 will be similar. 

Note that it is possible to have 2 colors on same wire... as your voltage regulator 'B' wire will be natural color with black tracer and a red cross tracer..

[john hess]

not the best picture. I can get some better ones if you need them.... but this will give you an idea of them for a match....

[Andy J]

I will soon be facing this same project. I was thinking of buying modern wire to replace the original wire,but I believe I will get the original type wire because I want the car to be as close to original as possible.My '51 Chieftain won't be a show car,but I want it to look nice.

 

I thought about removing and replacing one wire at a time until it is all done.I'll be watching this thread closely,hopefully to learn the best way to do this.This is all new to me,so I'll be looking for any tips that may make the job easier or more efficient.

[VW4X4]

 I personally feel that cloth wire in its original form has a lot of disadvantages, and for a car that will be driven any length is not a good idea for safety sake.   These guy ( http://www.riwire.com/ )  advertise plastic covered with cloth.  I think they have the best of both worlds, but you pay for it...

 

ERIC

[51UKChieftan]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

Thanks for the deciphering bloo that was very helpful.

I’m thinking of using standard modern wiring as most of it will be covered in the loom and applying a braided plastic sheath over the exposed parts so it appears closer to the original set up. My car is not a show car it is something I use for my own pleasure but still like to keep things as original as possible.

 

I’m looking at using wiring of 8amp + does anyone foresee any problem with this bearing in mind this is for the engine Bay Area only.

Thanks for the picture John that is also very helpful.

 

Thanks again
Regards

Joe

[Bloo]

1 hour ago, 47FordCoupe said:

I’m looking at using wiring of 8amp + does anyone foresee any problem with this bearing in mind this is for the engine Bay Area only.

I'm not quite sure what you mean.

 

 

[51UKChieftan]

Hi Bloo

 

I’m looking at using wire that will be capable of drawing 8 amps minimum with all lights on etc.

 

regards

 

Joe

[Bloo]

I would duplicate the sizes of the original for everything except for highbeam or lowbeam headlights. I would increase those to the next standard wire size larger.

 

I might also increase the charging circuit to one size larger than it is now. That would be the wire from the ARMATURE terminal on the generator to the GEN terminal on the regulator, the wire from the BAT terminal on the generator to the ammeter, and the wire from the ammeter to the starter post.

 

By what I said above I mean everything current has to flow through to get from the ARMATURE to the battery. I don't have your wiring diagram here, so it might not be exactly the way I called it out, but it will be close. I might not necessarily enlarge that part anyway, but I would do the headlights for sure.

 

I find it odd that I am not seeing wire gauges on that piece of diagram you posted. The manual for my 36 just tells what they are. You might have to strip some the ends of some old wires and compare to new to find out. Probably most of the old wires are the same gauge, and then just a few are bigger, like the charging circuit and a couple others. Compare the size of the copper inside. Appearance or thickness of the insulation makes no difference.

 

Edited March 7, 2022 by Bloo (see edit history)

[VW4X4]

I've wired (from scratch) several vehicles.  Its not as hard as you may think.  You will save a lot of money even though small electrical parts are priced out of this world today.   If you can get the original wiring diagrams and your going to follow that,  it even easier.  Any question on wire gauge (AWG) can to calculated, if you know the device that your powering.   You can save money, by buying one or two colors of wire heavier than needed, in larger quantity, and using that for the entire vehicle...   Be careful when cutting wire.  There's no such thing as a wire stretcher..  Be careful with running wires over sharp edges.     Ensure all circuits are fused, and double insulated....  

 

Eric

[51UKChieftan]

Thank you all for your help.

 

I will bear in mind "there is  no such thing as a wire stretcher"😃

 

I will let you know how i get on but don't hold your breath, this may take some time.

 

Thanks again

 

Joe

[51UKChieftan]

Hi Guys,

 

Having now sorted my oil pressure issue i decide to start on the re wire. Firstly i decided to check that everything was working as it should be before disconnecting any wires. Glad i did as i have found that the passenger side parking lamp isn't working correctly. The light is on but it is very dim so i thought it was an earthing (ground) issue but having done all the usual earth checks including earthing directly off the battery i still can't get the bulb to illuminate fully whilst in the lamp holder. I then went to remove the bulb which didn't want to come out but eventually it did. It felt as though it had welded itself to the lamp holder connectors. Once out i checked the bulb which is a two filament bulb and both illuminate giving the correct intensity. At this point i looked at the wiring diagram in the manual and noticed this only shows a 3 junction connector with one (natural) wire going to the lamp unit. My car has a four junction connector and two wires (natural & black) going to the lamp unit. The manual also doesn't appear to show the turn signal wire unless the natural wire is for that also.

To illuminate the bulb fully on test i had to supply live feeds to both the bulb connectors and earth the body, remove one feed and one filament doesn't illuminate. Basic stuff but needed checking.

So the natural wire is definitely live but that only comes into contact with one connector in the lamp so hence one filament illuminating. The black wire is not live and doesn't appear to be an earth either.  I am sure the lamp unit is earthed through the body of the car when the retaining screws are tightened.

 

I may be coming across as dim as my bulb with this🤪 so can anyone illuminate me!? 😃

 

Regards

 

Joe

 

[51UKChieftan]

HI guys,

 

All sorted. Turns out i was actually dimmer than the bulb!😆🤪 😊

 

 

Joe