OK, we are cleaning up the whole engine bay on our 66 F250 and came across a strange little wiring piece. It is basically two heavy gauge wires - probably a 10 and a 4 or 6 gauge that are connected together on this wiring block, which is then insulated so that when its screwed to the fender apron it is not grounded. The two wires are wrapped together after the connection and can be traced back to under the dash. Seems like a very elaborate piece to connect two wires! Does anyone know what this is? Could we just connect these two wires together, cover in shrink tubing and call it good? Thanks

 

The piece is a terminal, or junction block. These were typically used on trucks with the Ford ammeter. The ones I have seen usually mounted low in the passenger inner panel, below the solenoid.
The two wires attached to it would be (1) the Bat+ from the alternator and (2) one of the leads from the ammeter.

The second lead from the ammeter would connect to the Bat+ terminal on the starter solenoid.

You can connect the two wires together and insulate the splice. Everything would work as it should.

I replace the terminal with later model terminals, that are plastic, rather than fiber. The stud on the terminal is a handy place to access battery+ power that is monitored by the ammeter.

Hope this helps.

Roger Carter

 

Roger: do you have the part number and manufacturer? Mine is in the same shape as in the picture and taped together. Every original I find is trashed. Glad I saw the post as it is just another thing I need to fix......Ross

 

I don't have any specific part number or application, Ross. I usually pick the terminal blocks up at the local Pick-a-Part, as I see or need them.

The originals were made from a fiber type material that just don't seem to last much more than 35-40 years. You have to wonder what Ford was thinking.

I do know the late 70's F-series had a terminal located on the driver side firewall, above and to the outside of the master cylinder. I have used these in the past. Can't say if the mounting bolt spacing is the same as the original, though.

Other F-series have used similar terminals, sometimes called "power distribution blocks".

An aside: Manufactures have gotten away from ammeters in newer cars for a number of reasons, most notably safety. Most now use voltmeters to monitor the electrical system.
With the ammeters in our trucks you are bringing full battery power, unfused ,into the cab of the truck. All the current, with the exception of the starter circuit, is flowing through the ammeter and the wires connected to it. If one of those wires has a fault to ground...., just think arc welder.
Give some serious consideration to using a voltmeter, rather than an ammeter.

Merry Christmas to all

Roger

 

At least 10 years ago acquired a amp gauge while salvage shopping and came across a 50 amp fuse block I had not idea what it was originally used for. Decided to install the block in the amp circuit; had concerns about high amps running to the instrument cluster. Several months ago decided to replace the fuse block shown in pic with a replacement purchased at local auto parts store, in this case, Car Quest, it was a direct swap and continues to work fine.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...IMG_0164-1.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...IMG_0002-4.jpg

 

We no longer have an amp gauge and no plans to ever re-install one. We have a volt gauge in a new 6 gauges cluster. Is there any reason to even keep a spliced junction box if we don't have a amp meter?

 

Should be on all custom cabs and if you had a Ameter.

Mine is marked C5TB-14448-J

 

You're complaining that this part only lasts 35-40 years? Ford didn't plan to make any vehicle last 35-40 years.

Back then the warranty period was 2 years/24,000 miles...whichever occurred first.

The fact that some vehicles have survived is a testament to Ford quality, proper ownership maintenance and a bit of luck.

This junction block was used on misc 1965/79 F100/350's as C5TZ-14448-E was replaced by C7TZ-14448-C and then by D3TZ-14448-A

 

Will have to see if I can read a number in the morning. Its pretty far gone though. Beyond nostalgia not sure its worth saving in its current condition.

Question is, does it serve any important purpose if I don't have a ammeter? Do I need to keep it intact either in its current state or by splicing the two wires together? Does it do something important behind the dash?

 

To volt gauge is fine and no reason keeping the junction block or any of the amp circuit, I would remove it.

 

ND:
Humor doesn't always translate well into the written word, does it?

Boss9F100:
I believe the amp and oil gauges were an option when the trucks were new. I have seen them on both Custom Cabs and non Custom Cab trucks. I have also seen Custom Cabs without the ammeter and oil gauges and without the holes in the plastic instrument panel.

daveengelson:
The circuit breaker is a great safety measure. At least you afford some protection to the wiring. The factory wiring diagrams I have all show a 70 amp (?) circuit breaker in the system, where you have installed yours. I have never seen a truck with the breaker, though.

65F250CS:
If you have removed the ammeter you should be able to remove the wiring as well, since it is ammeter specific. Follow the pair of large (#8-#6) wires from the terminal block / starter relay. They will run across the firewall and into the cab in their own loom (if still original). There is a wire from the oil pressure sending unit for the oil gauge that will join the loom at the rear of the engine.
After removing the two large wires you will have one wire left on the terminal block. Re-connect this wire to the battery (+) side of the starter solenold. This wire is the battery (+) wire from the alternator.
That's it. The wiring is gone, the terminal block is no longer an issue and everything should work as henry designed it.

RC

 

Fairly certain the 'junction' or 'fuse' blocks were installed on the passenger side inner fender?? The topic has come up before and the pic's of the setup members' poster were all on the inner fender, and junction block type connection and nor have I seen the 'fuse' block type connection??

The 65 w/ the 302 is a standard cab and the amp gauge was not offered. Came across an instrument cluster with the gauge, and it took a couple years for me to install it because concerns I had about running a heavy gage wire from the alternator directly to the instrument panel. The fuse block I mentioned salvaging may have been from the amp circuit; don't know, it certainly was the answer to concerns I had with the 'junction block'. Installed the fuse block just below the starter relay because it was convenient when I installed the DuraSpark ll electronic ign. Seem recall all the installations I have seen have been slightly lower and more to the center?? Perhaps another member will post pic's??

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...IMG_0002-4.jpg

 

RC and Dave, the PO put in a one wire alternator which has its own 175 amp breaker. The ammeter block was just below the starter solenoid as in your photo Dave but the PO removed the wire to the solenoid. It was just sitting there looking unsightly and serving no purpose. We removed the wiring block and just taped off the two thick wires and left them in the loom. We had just done a nice chase across the top of the firewall and so don't plan to remove the two big wires - at least not on this phase of the restoration

Thanks for all the great info and enjoy the rest of your day. Steve

 

Just as a waring to other reading this forum thread, we learned that you cannot just remove this ammeter junction box. We removed the wires from the block, taped them separately and tucked them away in a wiring loom. Then tried to start the truck and - nothing. We jumped the two leads together and it started. They must complete some kind of circuit under the dash critical to the ignition switch. Seems to be OK to remove the wiring block but the two wire still need to be connected together. I'm terrible at reading wiring diagrams but the one from the green Wiring Diagram Manual (p. 1) does show this junction box connecting to the ignition switch on the dash.

 

Sorry, when you mentioned the alt gauge had been swapped for the volt meter I assumed the circuit had been disconnected. My next question is what is the wire that originally went to the alt gauge connected to?; may be a matter of moving a wire and disconnecting another but you want to do the research, hopefully my comments did not end up frying your wiring??

I am not an authority on auto electrical circuitry; at issue was in looking at the wiring manual the circuit for the 'alt' gauge did not make sense to me. Years ago, in a similar thread, I mentioned difficulty and a member made a drawing and emailed it to me; it was if I had experience an epiphany and it became clear. There appears to be couple different ways to run the circuit so again important to do some research.

Posting couple links out of 65 wiring manual:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...reDiagP5-1.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...gncharge-2.jpg

This is a pic of the diag. I found helpful?? Appears the second pic is similar to the drawing except in the drawing the circuit is not tied into the ign. switch.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...os/Scan1-1.jpg