OK, lot's going here. To firm up a couple of things:

- I am converting from a 6v positive ground to 12v negative ground.
- I do have electronic ignition and I assume that's why my solenoid doesn't have the "I" terminal (please correct me if I'm wrong).
- "The radio/ground/circuit breaker wires were connected to their perspective terminals when I received the truck. " -- That means that those wires were connected to those terminals when I received the truck. I did get it running, but it was a 6v Positive ground system at the time. I do not know how/why there was a ground off the ignition, and I thought it a bit strange (not because I'm smart, but because none of the diagrams I've seen have listed. Hard to see, but the black wire with blue plastic tab next to the yellow wire is the one that is listed as ground on my ignition. It is on the "C" side of the temp gauge (see next photo) and it's the terminal that has the metal bar on it that is connected to the other gauges. What should I do with this wire?



Black wire w/ blue tab. Connected to temp gauge.



I'm pretty lost now gentlemen......

I did buy a new ignition switch that would eliminate the push button, would that be the way to go? I'd like to keep the push button if I could.

 

As from the factory, the starter button was always hot, which has resulted in many exciting stories! Grandkids playing in the cab, owners working under the dash and bumping it, etc. You could do it either way, probably safer off the IGN feed, but useful when working on it to have it off the BAT.

The older, grounding style couldn't really be "turned off", if you see what I mean.

I am going to guess the black wire called "ground" is really the power for the gauges. If you are running 12v now, you need to get a voltage regulator to reduce that power to 6v, if you do a Search on here you'll find many threads on "gauge reducer" etc. Leave the gauges disconnected until you get one. That wire should be connected to the IGN pole of the switch.

 

Ross,
Not sure how you guys cut out the quotes but here's my version:

Quote:
Wrong; the alternator big wire should be connected (with the main power wire from the battery) at the circuit breaker.

Clarification:
- the alternator big wire and the main power from the battery are currently connected to the circuit breaker.

The coil should be connected to the IGN terminal on the ignition switch.

Clarification:
- my ignition switch only has one label "BAT" but I can use the new 4 terminal switch (see previous post for photo) and hook the coil to the IGN since that one is actually labeled.

"The radio/ground/circuit breaker wires were connected to their perspective terminals when I received the truck. " -- I don't know what that means but there must not be any ground wires connected to the ignition switch, period.

-explained in previous post

That is not a stock starter switch, it may work fine if it is a momentary contact, Normally Open switch. You need a '52 starter button to work with the solenoid you have. (two terminal, one connected to power)

- will the 4 terminal one work better since it's labeled?

Hope this helps

 

I think I figured out the quote thing......

I do have a reducer to the gauges and you can see a wire labeled 12v gauge reducer in the photos. It reduces all of them. I guess what I can do is get rid of that black wire then and connect the one from my reducer to where the black one is now on the temp gauge. Will that reduce them all since they are connected with that metal tab?



White wire goes to this (see next photo)




6v to 12v multi-gauge reducer. White wire is coming from ignition.

 

I hope this helps clear a few things up.

 

It all depends upon the solenoid that you have. In my experience most 6v single pole are not grounded and therefore will work in reverse. See the diagram in post #39. The solenoid that sere0501 shows in post #36 is a single pole.

 

Rimrock,
Hopefully Ross will chime in but this is not the first time he has said to connect the main large wire off the Alt to the circuit breaker. My ignition is then connected to that same circuit breaker under the dash.
I'm going to try to take everyone's advice and filter out what might not apply for a 12v negative ground with electronic ignition. My head is kindda spinning but I'll slap it together and post more labeled photos before I hook any power up.

Can anyone answer the question concerning my gauges being reduced?
If I run a wire from my reducer (that is designed to reduce several gauges) to the temp gauge (drivers side post that is connected to fuel and oil pressure) do I still have to run seperate reducer wires to the other gauges? I'm assuming that the connecting metal bar means they're all being powered by one source and therefore they would all be reduced if I reduce the first one in line. Additionally, are those posts either + or - or either or? In other words, for my oil pressure, do I take the wire from the sending unit and put it on or opposite (or does it matter) of the post that I have the 12v-6v reducer hooked to?
Wow that's a long confusing question, but I hope someone picks up what I'm laying down.

 

I missed that about the white wire going to the reducer, so what is that black wire? The ignition switch is only for power distribution, anything that is a ground connected to it will turn to smoke when the key is turned. You only need the one wire from regulator to one of the posts with a metal bar.

Rimrock, the alternator output wire (big red wire) should be connected to the circuit breaker stud, along with the battery feed after it is run thru the ammeter loop. The ignition switch gets fed from that post, too. It should be just like the stock wiring diagram shows, except that instead of the wire coming from the generator regulator, you have the wire from the alternator. See below.

If you don't make it as similar as possible to stock, you'll have to create your own new diagram.

 

Awesome! That one helped a ton. I'll Post some shots once I get it wired up.

 

You and Ross are correct about the alternator wire, sorry I didn't realize you were still going to use the ammeter (I'm not a big fan of them), but it will work just fine and keep closer to original. As for the gauges since they are hooked in series powering one should power all. You will now have positive power to the gauge and negative supplied by the sender which is the opposite of before. I think this is fine but Ross will have a better answer.

 

I thought about that but since he say's shorting the positive batt terminal to the "S" terminal makes it crank tells me it's grounded through the mount.

 

I'm no fan of shunt-type ammeters but these inductive are harmless enough.

The gauges aren't polarity sensitive, the needle is driven by heaters on a bimetal spring.

 

OK fellas, here's what I have so far: I used the new ignition since it actually has labels.


The crazy black wire has been eliminated and the rest should be apparent, but let me know if you have any questions.



No more ground wire.




What do you guys think, and hit me with questions. Thanks!

 

I do want to keep the gauges as original looking as possible, but if there's a way to make them more accurate and keep the sock appearance I would be up for suggestions.

So to clarify the gauges one last time; I run power to the first one (temp) and that's it so long as they are all daisy chained together. The other post should have the lead from the gauge on it?

My youngest adding some missing bolts to the tranny.


That's my boy!

 

The gauge voltage reducer should be on the IGN post, not BAT.