getting to the headlight switch

[troubsullivan]

more progress........i now have a working heater! took the part of the console that houses the heater controls out and got a good look at the back of all of it. it's pretty simple back there, even for me! both red and orange (hi/low) wires that run from the heater controls to the heater motor in the engine bay were there and hooked up. then i popped the hood and pulled apart the orange and red wires at their connections to the heater motor and jumped power from the battery directly to them. motor worked fine.
only thing left to do was hook up the brown wire with the inline fuse from the acc post (what does acc stand for anyway?) on the ignition switch to the back of the heater controls and see what happens.........the motor came right on. victory! that brown wire was the one that was laying loose when i started checking things out so i was afraid it was bad but i guess not. now about that non-working radio.....(i will start a new thread on that one!)

[Guest]

Hey Pat,
Good going! Hang in there my friend, I love someone who does not care to get there hands dirty!!!
Richard D. Hord

[simplyconnected]

...(what does acc stand for anyway?)

Four posts on the back of your Key Switch:

(B) Power IN

ACC (A): (left position) ACCESSORY It's on in two positions, ACC & IGN

IGN (C): (right position) IGNITION

START (S): (far right/spring return) START shuts off ACC but keeps IGN on.

[troubsullivan]

on to the radio!

i kinda thought that what acc stood for, thanks dave. so now as i travel down the dash wiring road i am now at the radio. i ran a search and found some good info but still have a few questions.

no life at all to my radio but in digging i found that the black power wire with the inline fuse that was cut and just laying there was the power wire from the acc post on the ignition switch to the radio.

also found new age speaker wire that ran from the radio area to each door, cut them and got rid of them. found the end of the antenna lead just laying back there behind the radio as well.

based on pics in previous threads i located my audio chassis.

questions:

what color and guage is the wire that runs from the audio chassis to the speaker in the center console? can't find it in the assembly or wiring manuals at all.

i have a double stock "bullet" connection behind the radio. (two connections on top and bottom of connector) one side has a wire that runs from dash area and pugs into the top of the connector and the bottom side continues with a wire that plugs in and runs to the glove box light. that light works fine. (that fills one side of the connector top and bottom) the other side of the connector has a wire that runs from the radio pilot light (i think) and plugs into the empty side on the connector. i have nothing that plugs into the last port of the connector. is this correct? will the light on the radio work if it is set up this way? it looks odd to have an open connection here.

[simplyconnected]

Pat, the clock and radio lights dims with your headlight switch. If you can follow the color code, all the instrument lights are Blue & Red. If your bullet connector has a BLUE & RED wire, match the wires to your clock light and radio light. Spare bullet connector receptacles are a gift. Someday, you might need it.

For radio power, the wire color is probably BLACK, it should have an inline fuse next to the radio, and it may continue to the glovebox light.

Speaker wires are real skinny and they have a connector that pushes into the radio chassis. Back then, the radio was MONO-AM and it had no fidelity. To tune the antenna; turn the radio on for a good ten minutes, make sure the antenna is raised all the way, and tune to a station around 1200KC on your dial. There is an adjustment screw on the side of the radio. Turn it in either direction to get the best reception.

I'm puzzled about extra wires going to your doors. Maybe someone mounted speakers in them, but I don't know. If they did that, look for another pair going towards the rear (package tray). Do you have a Speaker Balance switch/potentiometer?

[Guest]

Hey Pat,
In Christine, the wire looks to be a double #18 gauge wire, it is black in color. Since it is not seen I would go to Radio Shack and get a good gauge speaker wire. It will not take anything very heavy.
Also remember the old radio has tubes in it! Once you put power to it it takes sometime for it to come on!
My step grandson went for a ride with me in Christine. He asked does the radio work, I said yes! I turned it on and he said its not working. I said it has tubes in it and has to warm up before it comes on. He had this deer in the headlight look! He then asked does it only play old music? I about peed my pants I laughed so hard!!!
Never under estimate the mind of a child!
Richard D. Hord

[simplyconnected]

Look at the speaker wire. It just goes from the speaker to the back of the radio. Nothing fancy.

[Guest]

Hey Dave,
Once again you came through with some pictures! Looks like a Thunderbird dash to me. We are going to have to talk you into getting one of these old Birds
Richard D. Hord

[troubsullivan]

you guys are awesome!

super cool diagram, thanks! does that speaker wire run from the radio to the speaker or from the audio chassis to the speaker? i thought the shop manul said from the audio chassis? shop manual is the only place i found info on the radio, my wiring manual and assembly manual don't seem to have any. i'm thinking that at one point there must have been some speakers modded for the back panel and that someone took them out and made the panel stock again. oh a question i forgot, when you pull the metal trap door off from under the radio are you supposed to be able to drop the radio totally out. when i took that panel off i have only about a three inch by three inch square cut out, (and not very neatly) not nearly enough to get the radio out! along with that covered glove box light switch, methinks this again points to a dash replacement somewhere in my cars past.

[YellowRose]

getting to the headlight switch

Hey Patrick! Here is the info on the radio. Maybe this will help.. The speaker lead goes to the audio chassis assembly instead of hooking up directly on the radio. Then it comes back to the back of the radio in that 4 pronged connector. This four page break out of the radio should help you.