Hey guys, I have been working on little problems on my 68 valiant when ever I can get a chance. Its been up on jackstands until I get the majority of problems worked on. Just recently I read and printed out the instructions on updating the regulator for the dash circuit. My gauges werent working except for the blinkers and the turnon light. My dash lights wouldnt work either. So yesterday I pulled housing and began updating. I noticed though while looking over the circuit board (before I started the upgrade) that part of the copper on the board was lifted and wrinkled, so it wasnt connected. So I made a jumper out of wire. Then I continued and soldered on the capacitor and new regulator. Then I looked through the bulbs and a few were burnt out. So I got the number off the bulb (GE 158) and went to autozone. I looked for a replacement but all they had was a 168. So I asked one of the guys there and he said, thats what it is 168 the 6 just looks like a 5. I said no, its a 5. So he got irritated I guess but he said it would do the same. So I took his word. So I went back home and replaced all the bulbs. Then I reinstalled the housing and put a new battery in too. I thought all of this would have corrected the problem. But then I turned the key over, without starting it, and tried the headlights and nothing. Not even the gas gauge worked. it was like I never did any work. I still left the dash unscrewed just 'in case'. So I looked over the connections again and noticed the where the bulbs was on the right end was warm. Then I remembered when I got the car I was looking over everything under the hood and there was a melted wire from the alternator. I never followed it and I actually forgot about it. Could it be a short even though the blinkers and turnon light still works? Or is it something else? - Dan

Damn idiot at the parts store. Anything to make a sale, even if he sells you the wrong part! 158 and 168 are not the same bulb! 168 is a higher-wattage bulb that will produce more light, but at the probable expense of some of the plastic parts in your dashboard. The best bulb for this service is a W3W (such as a Sylvania 2821 or a Wagner 17097), but if you can't find those locally, then use 194.


As for nothing working: The dashboard cluster has to be installed before you'll know if it works or not; if I'm not mistaken it gets its ground through the attaching screws.

Melted wires: Yep, you've got to trace 'em down and fix 'em.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Thanks Dan, so I take it I should replace the 168's huh? I'll go get the sylvania's later. I thought the dash was grounded by the black wire on the left end, that's why I didnt screw it in. When I get the other bulbs I'll install it all the way. Hey I just remembered another thing, I found a 'newer' radio under the seat so I dont know if the PO was trying to install it and burned up some wires or not. Which brings me to the fuse box didnt have a fuse in the radio spot. And I dont want to put one in there just in case thats what caused that meltdown.

Hey I remember you had posted a sight that had the colored wiring diagram that can be downloaded. Do you happen to have that handy? Thanks again - Dan

Time to get out the wiring diagram and test light.
DD

Problem is, the wiring diagrams don't tend to go into a lot of detail on the instrument cluster itself. But if you can deal with that shortcoming, then the site I posted (with diagrams in black and white, not colour) was here.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Once in awhile, I find a damaged dash trace - usually burned up due to a short somewhere. I've found that if I carefully sand what's left so it's clean & shiny copper, I can solder a solid (uninsulated) wire there following the same path and it works fine. The stiffness of the wire helps hold the damaged trace in place.

Well, I thought it was going to be pretty simple; just remove the cluster then update it, put it back in and wala. Yeah right. I have been studying the wiring diagram over and over and just last night I had a chance to start looking under the hood. Well, turns out someone thought they were slick by cutting wires here, changing them there, removing them and anything else they could ruin. There is a fried wire from the alternator, then there are cut off wires (left bare) at the bulkhead. Oh and the fried wire is bare and touching others along the way. I'm gonna have to go and just rewire it.

Any thoughts or tips anyone can give me as I begin this journey. lol. I saw in the wiring diagram that there are numbers along the wiring. I'm assuming they the gauge of the wire. For example, the alternator wire (black I think) has 16 (16 guage?). Should I up the gauge for each wire 14 for 16, 16 for 18 and so on? Any help appreciated. Thanks again, Dan

I don't know how "original" you want to keep the car, or your budget, but you may want to consider putting in aftermarket gauges since it seems you need to completely rewire the whole thing anyway. You wouldn't be the first to tire of the problematic factory gauges.



Here is some discusssion on what some are doing. If you do a search I'm sure you will find other discussions on gauges.

Actually I just might upgrade the gauge in the near future but at this point I just want to get it running. There are so many things (and more that keep popping up) that need fixing. I still have to redo the brakes, change the oil pan and trans pan gaskets, replace plugs and wires, hoses and belts, new tires, shocks and more as I get into this project. Not that I'm complaining, I'm enjoying it. But I just want it on the road already. I dont have a deadline or nothing but the anticipation is killing me haha.

Plus I have to save up to get handcontrols (I'm in a wheelchair) before I can even drive it. My wife tells me, "hey I'll drive it when you get it going", uh huh yeah I know. The guys at my work tell me to just rig something up but I have to have it the same as my honda accord has. If its set up different it would be like getting in a car with the gas and brake pedal swapped. The ones I have installed in my accord cost $900. I couldnt believe it after I saw them that they could cost so much for such a simple setup. Oh well.

C'mon, now, the factory gauges can't legitimately be called "problematic". They work just fine for many, many years. Eventually, they wear and require attention. That doesn't make them "problematic".

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

While I've always been able to fix the stock harness using donors from various models and years, I would strongly recommend looking at the YearOne and other reproductions - they seemed to be very reasonably priced for the quality.

Generally, there's little point in just replacing every wire with a heavier one - if you want to add a HD charging system, those wires could use beefing up; also, the bulkhead feedthrough is fairly marginal to start, even the factory didn't use the bulkhead pins w/ the HD system. If you'd like to keep the factory ammeter, but run a really HD alternator, you may want to consider an active shunt - there was quite a discussion of them earlier.

KBB, I appreciate you replying. But I'm not going to use the car as a racer or showcar. Or go extremes with it. I just want to update it so it will run the best it can and be reliable. I want it to be a daily driver plus just to cruise with my wife, etc. Now dont get me wrong, I wouldnt mind getting it a bit souped up here and there but again just for driving purposes.

I have tried to look up wiring harnesses from different places; paddock and I've lost count of others but they were way expensive. I think they were $300-500 or more. I'll go check out yearone though. While on this subject, is there anything electrical under the hood I should replace while I'm at it? Thanks -Dan

The underdash harness do seem expensive, but the underhood seemed much more reasonable the last time I looked. If you underdash and body seems OK, I'd just carefully check them out and clean the contacts carefully.

Almost everything you need for repairing a Mopar harness is not model specific, but the bulkhead pinouts ARE very specific; even if they use the same physical connector, the wires don't go the same places between a '74 and '75 Duster.

Don't even touch the electrical system w/o a FSM for the right year and model. You'll also want a decent DMM (digital multimeter), good crimping tool, and hot air gun.

If you want to repair your factory harness, remove it from the car while documenting everything. Follow the FSM and use vinyl wrap, not electrical tape! Do not use the insulated emergency-use crips - get proper uninsulated crimps and heat shrink tubing and self-vulcanizing tape. Try to be at least as neet and clean as factory. Make every joint like your life depends on it, and you'll have a system that works well & reliably for years. Document anything that differs from the FSM for future work - you'll be thankful later.

Generally, I'd test and/or replace every component in the system - it's lots easier to do them at once than stumbling over problems over a period of months or years.

underhood:

coil - replace if old; hard to isolate problems are common due to internal arcing and breakdown

ballast - if old, prone to corrosion and sudden failure, so either replace it or carry a spare

points,condensor - electrolytic capacitors can go bad with age, points generally go with use

alternator - can be tested for blown diodes; if bearings, stator & diodes good, just put in fresh brushes (very easy & cheap). It is fairly easy to rebuild an alternator, but generally costs more than just buying another
Don't slap in a high current replacement w/o following the directions - you can melt the harness.

horn - if sounds weak or intermittant, drill out the rivets and clean the internals

heater fan - if it works OK, leave it

wiper motor - if it works perfectly, don't touch it, relubing is rather easy, replacing the park switch hard - expensive to buy

starter motor - generally go bad with use, if old, you can cleanup the solenoid contacts fairly easily
Cracked noses are common, replacements starters cheap

starter relay - fairly easy to open up and clean, but cheap to replace

voltage regulator - new replacements are cheap and have electronics inside; so I'd replace it. If you want to really appear stock, move the old cover to the new regulator.

windshield washer - I think the '68 used the disposable motor on the washer tank; replacements are easy to get, but beware of the orientation of the electrical connections - some are listed as exact replacements that aren't

underdash:
Plan on removing the instrument cluster and all wiring unless everything looks virgin and working in perfect shape. Almost always, the damage I've seen has been entirely due to ill-concieved attempts to hook up a radio, CB, tach, etc. The only exception is that the factory ammeter connections tend to corrode and get hot - I recommend you cut the nuts off rather the break the ammeter trying to unscrew them. Clean everything so you've got shiny metal and good connections, and reassemble with a little welding grease for good measure.

The whole system is only as good as its weakest link, so it is craftsmanship and care is essential. For a daily driver, I'd recommend electronic ignition of some sort, keeping in mind that some systems (like the Mopar kit) will increase the current draw at idle significantly - you may want to go to a MSD6 or something like that and hide the box somewhere.

Thanks for all your advice KBB. I'm making a list of things to replace as I go along from everyone's advice. I've asked the guys at my work on different things and each one seems to have a completely different view. Where as here, everyone has advice but its all basically similar along with being backed up by experience.

I am going to replace the regulator, balast (resistor), and other components that you guys listed but are there certain manufacturers that you guys prefer over others for these parts. Such as, I found paddock has the electronic regulator but is it good quality or is another company's better? Thanks, Dan

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1968 Valiant 100, 4dr, 225 - FOR SALE TO A GOOD HOME!