So 15 months ago I bought MAD Enterprises 'New System' which is basically instructions, wiring and hardware to not only rewire the starting system, the ignition system, the charging system and the headlights but reconfigure it to minimize voltage drop (which causes the classicly dim headlights in these old vehicles). I had the box and had read the instructions many times but never got up the gumption to dive in to the project because the truck would not run while it was being rewired. I broke up with my girlfriend, got a job, found a place to live and am now in the middle of a typically awful legal battle over our child so I have had plenty of excuses NOT to do this project. However, about two months ago I just said fuck it. "I will just take it a step at a time and see what happens."
Well it took me roughly 5 weeks working on Thursdays after I dropped Gracie at day care. June in New Mexico is hot and dry and this year it is so dry that all the local forests have been closed due to risk of fire. So working on the truck on a gravel parking lot in the full NM sun was challenging. I would work four hours and drink 3 liters of water just to keep from passing out. Over a year ago I wrote an entry titled 'Boogered Up Electrics' and took a picture of the kit laid out on the floor. In short there are a lot of little pieces that need to be put together in by crimping, soldering and shrinking tubing over the joint. I won't go on ad nauseum but even for someone that has lots of automotive experience (I don't) this might take an entire weekend if you didn't make any mistakes and had a nice shop. But in the end after a few 'redo's' and noodling about how to fix my goofs I got it done. When I started I did the starter rewire first and I did something wrong and couldn't get it to start when I had finished that piece of the project. I kept going: replacing the alternator with a more powerful 3 wire internally regulated unit and lots of other wiring, relays etc.All the while knowing that I still had to go back and figure out what I had done wrong wiring the starter. There was a great 'moment of truth' when I got in the truck and put the key in the ignition and crossed my fingers that I had not crossed any wires. At this point it had been weeks since the truck had run and life had been a little rocky so I really wanted it to work for more than just the obvious reasons. So I turned the key and the motor turned over (a good sign) three times and Vroooom! I was sooooo excited!. This sort of performance improvement doesn't necessarily translate into torque or horsepower but I have noticed the following: Before when the truck was running at idle the headlights were dim and yellow and brightened up noticeably when engine rpm increased as did the gauge lights on the dash. After the headlights are bright and white and do not get brighter with an increase in engine rpm. The gauges are bright and do not get brighter when the engine is revved up. The intent driving this project was to provide a solid electical system platform upon which to build with air conditioning or electric fans etc. It is clear that at first glance I have achieved this, checking output with a multimeter is the next step but the change is very noticeable.
I had a typical Homer Simpson 'Doh!' moment the last day when I was just securing the wiring with electrical tape and zip ties. The system worked and as advertised it had improved things in various ways. But I realised that I had wired in a redundant circuit charging the battery which was superflous so I was in the process of pulling the redundant wire out across the front of the radiator when I remembered that I had not disconnected the ground on the battery which meant that this positve wire I was removing could ground on any part of truck, I thought it moments before it was too late and I heard a loud 'POP' and heard a hissing liquid sound only to see a small stream of coolant jetting out of the front of the radiator. OOPS. In the end it was a good thing because I drained the radiator and treated it with radiator flush to clean out some of the calcification. I repaired the hole with a soldering gun and solder and it has held up for a few days of summer driving so ... cross your fingers.
Well it took me roughly 5 weeks working on Thursdays after I dropped Gracie at day care. June in New Mexico is hot and dry and this year it is so dry that all the local forests have been closed due to risk of fire. So working on the truck on a gravel parking lot in the full NM sun was challenging. I would work four hours and drink 3 liters of water just to keep from passing out. Over a year ago I wrote an entry titled 'Boogered Up Electrics' and took a picture of the kit laid out on the floor. In short there are a lot of little pieces that need to be put together in by crimping, soldering and shrinking tubing over the joint. I won't go on ad nauseum but even for someone that has lots of automotive experience (I don't) this might take an entire weekend if you didn't make any mistakes and had a nice shop. But in the end after a few 'redo's' and noodling about how to fix my goofs I got it done. When I started I did the starter rewire first and I did something wrong and couldn't get it to start when I had finished that piece of the project. I kept going: replacing the alternator with a more powerful 3 wire internally regulated unit and lots of other wiring, relays etc.All the while knowing that I still had to go back and figure out what I had done wrong wiring the starter. There was a great 'moment of truth' when I got in the truck and put the key in the ignition and crossed my fingers that I had not crossed any wires. At this point it had been weeks since the truck had run and life had been a little rocky so I really wanted it to work for more than just the obvious reasons. So I turned the key and the motor turned over (a good sign) three times and Vroooom! I was sooooo excited!. This sort of performance improvement doesn't necessarily translate into torque or horsepower but I have noticed the following: Before when the truck was running at idle the headlights were dim and yellow and brightened up noticeably when engine rpm increased as did the gauge lights on the dash. After the headlights are bright and white and do not get brighter with an increase in engine rpm. The gauges are bright and do not get brighter when the engine is revved up. The intent driving this project was to provide a solid electical system platform upon which to build with air conditioning or electric fans etc. It is clear that at first glance I have achieved this, checking output with a multimeter is the next step but the change is very noticeable.
I had a typical Homer Simpson 'Doh!' moment the last day when I was just securing the wiring with electrical tape and zip ties. The system worked and as advertised it had improved things in various ways. But I realised that I had wired in a redundant circuit charging the battery which was superflous so I was in the process of pulling the redundant wire out across the front of the radiator when I remembered that I had not disconnected the ground on the battery which meant that this positve wire I was removing could ground on any part of truck, I thought it moments before it was too late and I heard a loud 'POP' and heard a hissing liquid sound only to see a small stream of coolant jetting out of the front of the radiator. OOPS. In the end it was a good thing because I drained the radiator and treated it with radiator flush to clean out some of the calcification. I repaired the hole with a soldering gun and solder and it has held up for a few days of summer driving so ... cross your fingers.
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