( with hand raised in anticipation..)

Miss Julie!,.."So how does the battery fit into the theory picture??"
I would think driving down that Florida road at nite with all those accessories on..the Altenator would over heat and fail?

Doesn't the battery act like a 'storage-when-needed' container..? Sort of a "cushion" for the electrical system..So for the short while driving with all the accessories on..can't the battery supply some of that power..or temporary boost.., and let the altenator charge the battery back up on some sunny day later?

How many Volts and Amps are available in the battery? How is a battery rated,..and how might it be wired into my electrical system/
Thank's! in advance!

 

Very cool...I was thinking about this stuff all day at work today. I'd much rather get an understanding of how this works, rather than just having someone show me how to connect "wire 1" from "point A" to "point B"...

 

I didn't get the pics taken of the tools tonight so I'll do it and post the "tools required" discussion tomorrow.

 

Very thorough, as usual. You know those wire strippers you said not to buy?...

 

That's ok at least you had the good taste to not ask me why I had two pair if we weren't supposed to buy them.

Just don't use them on the the truck wiring. They tend to shred the copper wire strands, and really deform the solderless connectors!

 

Now Julie, this is Cool. There are many sites that one can get size of wire for different
appliances but with this great thread, can you (when ready) give us a list of just that?
wire size for -> appliance.
One stop shopping is what I look for. Thanks for your input and knowlegde as always.

 

Hi there!

Standby, I'm still working on materials.

I got a thought and am modifying my drawing to show AWG and also want to be able to tell you how much of each wire gage in what colors to buy - a materials shopping list if you will.

I'll try to get it posted tomorrow.....bump!

 

This is a really Helpful !

 

Julie, fantastic job.
Food for thought; You might make note somewhere that the larger the number on wire guage the smaller the wire. The smaller the number the larger the wire.

I like what you are doing and as usual you get all the Kudo's

 

Hi Vern,

Yep, great idea! Thanks. That point came to my mind when I replied to Retro the other day and told him with 6 volt to increase wire size by a notch from 14 to 12 AWG. I couldn't figure out a way to make that brief and non confusing. So a longer explanation is going to be necessary for sure.

I thought I would include that in the next section. I plan to talk about wire size, stranded and solid wire, coatings on wires, connectors, fuse holders etc.

I'm trying to measure and collect the lengths of all the wires on my truck so I can also tell folks about how much to buy. It's taking a little longer than I anticipated, but I'm hoping to have that up on the boards by tomorrow morning!

 

WOW Julie, this is a great write up, I'm finally getting to the point that the conversion to 12 volt and all new wiring is in sight and I really appreciate this thread.

 

I'd have to agree with Julie's choice on wire crimpers,.. I have used the last pair shown for many trouble-free years, they work perfect everytime and with predictable and dependable results ..once you get to how to operate them...,you will wonder how you ever got by without them..a worth-while addition and worth the extra expense ( don't short-cut here!!..), and benefit from the added peace of mind that you have made as good electrical repair/joint as you are able. Two thumbs Up!!

But,,,if you already have a pair of the first set,..don't throw them away just yet!.., they work great for 'chasing' threads on alot of machine screws/bolts from 10-32 to 4-0..,and they work well as wire strippers too!

 

Julie, you rock!! I can't even begin to tell you how helpful this is. Each of us who will use this info owes you a deep debt of gratitude for taking the time and putting in the effort to prepare and assemble these posts. I know it must be extremely time consuming. In return, please know that your efforts are very much appreciated! One of the rewards you may reap from doing this will be the satisfaction you get from knowing that you've helped others in several ways: first, we will be able to do the same for others one day thereby helping to keep these old trucks alive; second, you're saving us gobs of cash by teaching us how to do this for ourselves; and third, I predict you will achieve something truly groundbreaking in the annals of womankind--you will send many a willing man eagerly off to the store with a long shopping list in his hand!

ps: I got my NAPA fuse blocks...

 

You are very welcome! I'm enjoying it - like a science project.

What goes around, comes around....My dad took the time to teach me a lot of this stuff and a lot of other things too. I don't have any children to pass it on to so you guys are my kids that I'm teaching!

Also, after typing out this stuff 50 times over the last couple of years, I figured I'd actually save time have that "one stop shopping" thread to save and refer folks too!

Hey if you are happy, see that little heart on the upper right hand corner of each post? Click it for the post you like and leave a comment!

About 18 months ago we had a thread by Mr. John Smith Jr. He had bought a panel and was new here. He was asking all the questions about how to get it going. One of his specific problems was his carburetor. We all told him he could rebuild it himself and not to be intimidated. He did it and was amazed at how easy it was. I told him then that in a year he would be telling other folks how to rebuild carbs and get flatties running - he laughed. Then he started buying carbs and rebuilding them to try and get a better one.

Today he's doing just exactly that!

Share the knowledge - share the wealth! That's what we do here!

 

Ok Julie, not to hijack your thread but here are a few pics of my rewiring job so far and I do have a question to. Ok heres what it looks like under my dash after the PO did the 12 volt conversion.



Ok heres a pic of the Rebel kit once I got it through the firewall, I have left all the old wiring intact with the plan to do one part of it at a time (get the ignition hooked up and get the truck to start, etc) then I will remove all the old wiring.



Oh and so far the hardest part has been getting all those wires through the grommet...lol Ok and now to my question Julie. Do I need to use the white thing in the picture since the truck is 12 volt and what are those wires hooked up to it again, I know you told me once I just cant remember which post it was but if I dont need it why keep it on there.