VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Electrical - 6 volt New harness installation - '34 Master

I figure now is just as good a time as any to string the harness throughout the car. I've read somewhere (perhaps here) about doing continuity checks on all the circuits before installing the harness. Is that really necessary?

hi Pat,
when I installed my new harness early this year, I just ran all the wires to their relative positions and eventually connected everything up.
To my amazement, virtually everything worked first time. I think that it is a case of just get in there and do it, then investigate any problems if they occur..
Good luck with the job, keep a swear box handy though
Peter

If it's not a long time consuming project it's probably not a bad idea. I'm thinking that the reason is to be sure it's made correctly and chances are the mfg will not accept a return once it's been installed. If it's from one of the well know suppliers I highly doubt you will find it defective. With my luck I would be the one in a thousand that it happens to. Knowing how much some harnesses can cost it just might save some expensive aggravation.

Pat
Doing a continuity check really does 2 things, firstly checks that all wires are in fact completely connected, secondly when checking you also make sure they go where they are supposed to go.
Tony

Did the check, at least on the wires that I could find that had 2 ends. Everything OK.

Pat
There may be some connectors that have continuity to 3 or 4 ends (park/tail lights for example).
Tony

Harness is installed, the only thing I didn't find a wire for is the licence plate light.

Perhaps it is powered by a jumper inside the taillight from the park light circuit.

'34 wiring diagram. Isn't it illuminated by a window in the housing allowing the tail light bulb to shine on it?

My taillight bucket has two sockets in it. One is upabove and it looks like it's for the licence plate.

The top socket is for the tail light. The bottom socket is for the brake light. As Tiny said, the license plate is also lighted by the top bulb.

OK. The other tailight only has one socket. I was planning to use two filament bulbs in the bottom socket and a plain bulb for the license plate.

I wonder if when the time comes to hook this up, someone hight be willing to help me.

Pat,
Both lamps should have two sockets for two single filament bulbs.
On the drivers side the tail lamp bulb is also the license light bulb. On the passenger side it is positioned a little lower to fit completely inside the bucket.
You can do your two filament deal, but your harness will need some modification.

Mike

I have one (driver's side)with two sockets and one (pass) with one. The wiring harness I purchased from FS is made up for two taillamps with turn signals. I thought the brake/tail/ turn signals would go together with two connector pigtails and two filament bulbs and the one by the hole (license plate light) would be alone with a single connector pigtail and of course a single filament bulb. Does that make any sense?

This is the one with two sockets. Does it look like it is correct? I found another socket like the one at the bottom. If the pic correct I'll install it in the other bucket.

Pat,
I sent you an email with a picture of my tail light housing. Hope it will help answer your question.

Einar

I installed the second socket in the tailight buckets and the pretty little plates. There are two wires for the tailights in my harness, one is labelled (4) which according to the instruction sheet is the tailights. The other are labelled LR and RR which tould mean Right/Left rear or Lights left/Right. My harness has provision for turn signals. Which of the two is the tailight and which is the stoplight? Or should I call FS?

The wires labeled for a given side are the brake/turn signal lights. The taillight does not require a side designation as it is either on or off, does not have to flash only one side at a time (or both when brake pedal is pushed).

Thanks Chipper, so the turn signals will run with the brake light, which is the bottom socket, correct? So I assume the flasher unit works on the brake light circuit.

Pat,
You assume right. The turn signal and brake light are the same bulb or filament in a multi-filament bulb.

The dome light wire wasn`t part of the kit. I ran one I had. I looked at the diagram and it shows it going to the light switch, except I can`t figure where on the light switch.

In most cases the dome light wire runs from a 6 volt source (most often on the back of headlight switch or other fused line) to the dome light switch and then to the dome light. A separate ground line from the light housing to body or frame which is connected to the negative battery post.

Thanks Chipper. Will any where on the headlight switch work?

It is hooked to one that is "hot" all of the time so that the dome light can be turned on when the headlights are off.