Okay I am re-doing the wiring harness on my 1977 F-250. When you take the instrument panel off there is a plug that connects all the wires to that printed circut. The connectors at the end of each wire are a crimp on connector with a barb on them. The barb keeps them in the clip. I was wondering what those crimp on connectors are called and where you might be able to get them. I don't want to have to cut them and butt splice the new wires on. Thanks


Seth

 

Maybe they are called a barbed crimp connector....I dunno, but I do think you can bend the barb back enough to slide them out, and then bend back to slide back in. I just reworked all of my harness, but I cut all of that out as I am using aftermarket gauges.

 

Good question, I'm planning on re-wiring my 77 also. So I'm subscribing and hoping for some very knowledgeable person to chime in.

 

****'s got it, I figure. :)

Hadn't messed with those exactly but generally a street-sweeper's
broom-straw works good on that sort of stuff. Modify it if needs be?

Question:
The new wring harness has the clips on the wires but no plastic part?

Alvin in AZ

 

I think thats what I am going to do is get the old connectors out. they aren't that hard, then I will just use a butt connector..... I will let you know how it goes.

seth

 

Can I ask what's wrong with the truck in the first place? Stuff like this is often the beginning of an electrical disaster story. If you're redoing a wiring harness, I recommend solder and shrink-wrap instead of butt connectors for two reasons: first, a lot of butt connectors in one spot takes a lot of room; second, butt connectors are a sloppy way of doing things. I think it's okay to do it if you're already in the back of the dash and you don't have a lot of room to work and you're just doing something simple like installing a stereo, but if you've got your wiring harness out on the bench and you're rebuilding everything, there's no excuse. Side note, I don't even consider using butt splices outside of the cab. Anything that gets exposed to the elements needs to be soldered and shrink-wrapped.

 

Yeah every thing out side the cab is solder and shrink wrap. I went with a whole new wiring harness because the old one was getting old and starting to crumble. As I peeled back the onion I found that who ever "fixed" the truck before me used all the same color wire.... red. Almost every inch of wire (including grounds) is red. I had a turn signal that stopped working and after trying to trouble shoot it, I decided on a new wire harness.
Side note: When I bought the truck every light and switch except the door switch for the dome light, worked. My hat is off to the guy who could keep all those wires sorted out using only red.

 

Gotcha. He must have done the circuits one at a time. Pardon my ignorance, but what do you mean by "onion"?

 

I think he's referring to the ball of electrical tape. That's funny.
I've seen that one before. Old and dried out like the flaky skin of an onion.

 

It is just a saying. An onion has several layers as do most problems. As you get to the root of the problem you are peeling back the onion or going layer by layer. At least thats what I take it to mean.

 

I agree, but I just tried something over the weekend.
I replaced the old flat four trailer connector (which was dangling from the bumper)
with a nicer looking one that snaps nicely into the hole the old one was dangling from.
There wasn't any slack in the wire, and the easiest alternative was butt connectors.
I injected dielectric grease into the connectors before crimping them,
then used heat shrink around them.
I have an icky feeling in my gut, but I don't pull stuff too often.
When this connection craps out, I'll let you know.

Murph.

 

Cool, I actually know-ed that one. :)

Your prior wireman wasn't a RR signalman or all the wire would have
been black! LOL :) Inside a signal relay house there's thousands of
wires, and they are all black.

"fourteen flex"

Alvin in AZ

 

That's going to work out real good, IMO. :)

Alvin in AZ

 

I hope so, It's just an experiment.

 

It's gonna be a long experiment is the way I see it, because your butt
connections are better than the factory's ground connections. :)

The main thing is not to ever use the 3M "box" connectors.
Strip 'n' twist 'n' tape is better than those 3M suckers, IME.

Alvin in AZ