newbie with PO wiring

[JMiller]

Hello all yee Scout gurus...this should be an easy one for you guys.

So I am in the process of trying to get the fuel guage working....dropped the tank(needed new o-ring anyways), everything looked good. So headed to the dash...pulled the fuel guage cluster and found major issues...fuel side of circuit board was good...but the other was not...

Farthest left terminal behind ameter guage has two big blue wires connected between the nuts. It all looks good.

Next terminal right(closer to the fuel side of the circuit board) has one big blue wire connected between the nuts. This bolt looking terminal is all black and green and looks to have gotten really hot.

Dont really know where to start...

The wiring harness exiting the firewall into the eng compartment left of the gb has two of the big blue wires in it. One is cut and capped. The other is coming from the starter straight to the back of the ammeter guage and is the one that looks bad and melted. The original blue wire that ran from the alternator to the ammeter guage is what I think is the cut wire...so now it runs direct to + terminal on bat. Have not traced down the third big blue wire.

The wire that was burnt is the constant hot coming from the starter...so when I touched it back to the terminal it was originally connected to I checked the terminal with 2 big blue wires and they became hot (electricity flowing) as well as a few of the prongs for the fuel guage connected to the board.

All I am trying to do is get the fuel guage working but none of this wiring sounds normal or correct to me. I do believe in trying to romove the switchboard for cleaning of the contact points with the nuts, I broke the bolt terminal that just had the one blue wire connected to it.

Is there a way to bypass the ammeter guage but still have a functional fuel gauge? I dont mind installing a voltmeter but it appears the fuel guage gets its "hot" from a wire going to the ammeter guage???

I am at the clueless point and dont want to just swap in another guage cluster and have it burn up to if the problem is not fixed first.

I appreciate any help and knocks on the head for incorrect terminology...will try to post pics tomorrow if anyone feels they will help...

Thanks,

jarrett

77' Scout II, 304, at

 

[JMiller]

Also since I have the tank dropped...does anyone see a problem with cleaning it up and spraying some truck bed coating on it? Or is there some kinda special paint for gas tanks???

Thanks,

jarrett

 

[Michael Mayben]

Like we discussed on the phone Sunday jarrett, what ya got is the typical Scout II bulkhead connector/bogusbullshit wiring disease, compounded by a dose of po virus.

Once you start trying to "correct" the deficiencies, there is no stopping or going back!

My advice, make a temporary repair/upgrade to the problematic stuff right now to get it back to original and functional. All inside-the-cab loads are fed through the ammeter connection as the "feed" to the fuse panel.

Once that is done, ya can home in on each wire run/circuit deficiency and repair properly.

The other option is rip every wire out of the entire vehicle and start from scratch wiring in a much more "correct" and simple fashion using an aftermarket harness.

The problem here is not that an "ammeter"-type distribution system was used by IH...the problem is the shitball quality of the bulkhead connector...which leads to multiple wiring harness issues/failures over time. This bullshit about eliminating an ammeter (or not incorporating) a much higher quality aftermarket ammeter is simply a bandaid and does not correct the overall electrical system deficiencies.

In later years of the sii platform, IH began to incorporate fusible links into the wiring scheme in the "main feed" to protect against meltdown, but the earlier designs don't have that protection. And once that bulkhead connector begins to deteriorate, then rapidly progressing meltdown starts in the adjacent wire/runs and terminations.

My suggestion right now since ya got all the other "drivability" issues going on...let's get the rig running now correctly...don't try and bite off too much since the electrical system impacts everything.

The stuff I emailed ya last night will test out the fuel gauge system if the instrument itself and cvr and all it's associated connections are serviceable. But you must have a proper "feed" to the cvr, and those feeds are predicated by the bulkhead connector junction and the ammeter being functional (along with clean circuit board connection points.

 

[JMiller]

Thanks Mike

guess my adhd kicked in when I had 30 seconds of free time and I just went crazy pulling junk...

I figured since I am waiting on parts to arrive for the carb anyways I could have the fuel system fixed up (tore all to hell) before they arrive.

The bulkhead connector is fine and tests ok...the big blue wires are coming out of the firewall in a bundle of about 15 other wires randomly going places.

And the ammeter/fuel guage cluster is prob toast...it was pretty brittle due to heat it was receiving from improper wiring or a loose connection at the guage...I have a donor 76' Scout II I just retired from hunting and it is about an hour away. Gonna see what I can get off it on the way to lake brownwood for the big reopening after the tornado party...

Thanks,

jarrett