Anyone Know What this Connector is Called?

[gage zamrzla]

OK. The wobble was why it got hot. If you want to disect it further and post photos, maybe it will help others.
When you install make sure the studs are insulated from any metal dash parts. Some use fiber washers, others go through the circuit board. I don't know your cars dash just mentioning it.

The bulkhead connector - yes. If you can reinstall the terminal so it doesn't move, then maybe its fine. If it can move then the vibrations could cause the screw and crimps to lose grip. A lot of us are dismissive of the wire supports, removing them when they get in the way of repairs and maintenance. Only years later we find out the hard way that the guys who built the car had a reason for putting them there. I for one am a lot more humble these days.

The bench test was a way to reveal resistance if you were reusing the old one.
The concept can be used broadly so its worth reviewing anyway.
Remember that current is electrons moving.
Voltage is level of energy.
When flowing electrons encounter resistance, power gets used and the energy level drops.

On a slightly different subject-
I don't know how the cables are laid out on a '63.
It may be worth looking into using a later style positive cable that has a second wire going directly to the starter relay.
The only thing it might do is provide a more direct connection in a cooler environment. On a slant six this is pretty open and maybe doesn't make a difference.
The other thing to consider is installing a fusible link. The purpose of the link is like a fuse. Its a smaller gage wire with special insulation. The idea is that it can handle occassional, short periods of excessive current ( 40 amps) but if the battery is accidently grounded, it will melt immediately.
It probably would not have helped prevent the overheating failures you saw.
I can't picture this 'webbed' wire you inherited and removed but have to think whatever caused that damage also may have damaged the ammeter stud connection.


The easiest type of link to add will be one with a ring terminal large enough to go on the relay stud.
In the Chrysler Tech booklet we can see a double link used in '65 for the Fury that also protects the horn relay.
Electrical Accessories & Service (Session 207) from the Master Technician's Service Conference

I don't know if anyone repops that or the Valiant/dart version, but if you really like the idea you can buy a 16 gage link and make your own.
Here's two versions with a ring terminal
View attachment 1715691004

May be a silly question but for the wire supports you're referring to the sort of hooks that hold the wire harness in the idea path under the dash correct?

The second cable going directly to the starter relay, I believe mine has that, when I originally replaced this positive wire months back before this overheating happened there was a much smaller black wire crimped onto the positive wire behind the ammeter. If I remember correctly it was connected to the starter relay and I did put it back together in the same fashion following a wire harness diagram for a 1963 Dart off of Allpar.com and was going to obviously do that again. I'll see if I can pull up the diagram when I get home from work and post it here as it may be helpful for y'all to see what I'm working with.

Another thing comes to mind and I'll highlight it in the diagram later but the point where 5 wires converge got damaged and had to be twisted and electrical tape and heat shrinked back together. Could this be a major concern going forward? My neighbor was the one to do this and I had no clue at the time that that might be something worth replacing the whole dash harness over.


The "webbed" wire is indeed the same wire I"m working with now that fried so knowing what info now I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's the same problem showing its face again. By webbed I mean it clearly had overheated and the red casing over the wire split open and looked like a spiderweb showing exposed wires from when I purchased the car.

 

[gage zamrzla]

Yes, two of my A's have those, and my C-body. I term them "bulkhead buss-bars", used to feed-thru the high ALT and BAT wires. They were used only in 1963 and 1965. I like them so much that I bought the cabin harness for a 1965 Fury off ebay ($30) to install the bulkhead in my 1964 Valiant, to match my 1965 Dart and 1965 Newport. I had to cut the firewall hole 1/8" taller to fit. Other years ran those high currents thru the more regular Packard terminals (spade) in the bulkhead, which causes continual problems with overheating from corrosion and melting. Some years have bigger Packard terminals, but still doesn't work well since a slide fit, instead of bolted like yours. A 1965 bulkhead would give you more terminals for future wires, but might be slightly taller. Around 1966, the bulkhead got 3 connectors when they moved the wiper motor to the engine bay.

I don't know why you can't re-use yours. They are tin-coated copper so you can easily beat flat with a hammer. Yours look a bit flimsier than my 1965, where the cabin wire slides into a cylindrical housing and was welded or soldered. Clean it well, crimp, then solder. Solder protects from corrosion. On the engine side, you can use any new wire you want under the bolt. Your wire looks fine, so just add a little solder to the crimp. The factory wire was 12 awg, but I used thicker 8 awg (or 6 forget).

You also need to find why you had either excessive current or heat from corrosion. Did you install a higher output alternator? Check that the ammeter wires on the dash cluster are properly insulated from ground. Since only the BAT+ terminal on the ammeter was burnt, and that bulkhead buss-bar, it sounds like that wire became grounded at the ammeter. Perhaps the ammeter needle assembly fell apart internally. One common corrosion source is a "welded" connection where a bunch of black ALT wires are fused and wrapped with friction tape. That often becomes green with corrosion under the tape. I kept those wires fused together, cleaned the outside as best I could, and added solder. But, that would make heat on the black ALT wire, which you don't see, but still check it to avoid future problems while "in there".

In my cars, I ran an alternator bypass wire in the engine bay to keep excessive current from routing thru the cabin. I used parallel-reversed diodes so that normal flow is thru the ammeter, until the diodes start conducting more in forward-bias (>0.5 A) to shunt current direct to BATT+. That keeps my ammeter working, without pegging it with a higher output alternator. Search for my post on "modernized wiring" if interested.

Hey, I'm at work responding on my phone on my lunch and am out of time and will respond to this tonight but wanted to mention now that I have replaced the alternator but to the best of my knowledge it's not supposed to be be a higher output than factory but then again that was around a year ago and that wasn't something I knew of or understood at the time. I will double check but I'd have to say I'm relying on the recommendation of the best independent, local parts shop for the alternator I got.

 

[Mattax]

May be a silly question but for the wire supports you're referring to the sort of hooks that hold the wire harness in the idea path under the dash correct?

yes any sort of support. Wiring should have some support and often also 'stress relief loops'. Stress relief is just a little slack in the wire right at the connection. You'll see onthe valve cover and probably on the alternator iteself there are supports for the wire.

The second cable going directly to the starter relay, I believe mine has that,

OK. I just didn't know what '63 had.

when I originally replaced this positive wire months back before this overheating happened there was a much smaller black wire crimped onto the positive wire behind the ammeter. If I remember correctly it was connected to the starter relay and I did put it back together in the same fashion following a wire harness diagram for a 1963 Dart off of Allpar.com and was going to obviously do that again. I'll see if I can pull up the diagram when I get home from work and post it here as it may be helpful for y'all to see what I'm working with.

smaller black wire crimped to the R terminal.
Not sure. Horn, clock, and later on I think I've seen convertible and hazzard wires connected on the battery side of an ammeter.

Show us what you got from Allpar.
The best wiring diagrams are the ones in the Dodge and Plymouth Service manual.

Positive wire implies the other wire is negative. The other wire is also positive. Its just the connection to the main splice. That whole line is positive.
Nothing in that circuit is a grounding wire. In fact touch any of those wires to ground and the battery will try to fully discharge - picture an arc welding situation. That's why later on they decided to put a fusible in the connection from battery.

Another thing comes to mind and I'll highlight it in the diagram later but the point where 5 wires converge got damaged and had to be twisted and electrical tape and heat shrinked back together. Could this be a major concern going forward?

oh YES!!!
You don't have to do all the fancy and clever things Bill Grissom described but you absolutely need to make sure that splice is clean and all the wires very well connected like he said. That's the main splice where the alternator output and the battery output join the main circuit feeds. (see the diagram posted earlier). Cut the heat shrink off. Clean it. And if anything is loose or permanently damaged, at minimum solder the splices. I'd actually recommend using a crimp splice and soldering. Like shown here Inline wiring splice clips........from the Dodge RAM service manual

 

[Mattax]

replaced the alternator but to the best of my knowledge it's not supposed to be be a higher output than factory but then again that was around a year ago and that wasn't something I knew of or understood at the time.

Even if it is a bit higher capacity, that's OK.
The actual power output from an alternator or battery depends on the demand from the lights, motors and whatever else.

There's a few situation which can create excessive demand where a higher capacity alternator can lead to damage more quickly.
The most common one is charging a dead or low battery at fast idle or by driving. If the ammeter is showing 30 or 40 amps - that will become a problem soon. If its pegging the ammeter, the wiring will get damaged.