Bulkhead connector

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DrCharles

DrCharles

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I bought my car as a rolling shell, completely stripped including every inch of wire. So I'm wiring it from scratch. This makes a good bulkhead connector and it just fits across the existing hole with a little grinding to clear one of the mounting nuts.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005O0V5JQ/?tag=fabo03-20

I made a 16 ga. steel plate to cover the existing hole and was about to rivet it in place when I remembered what that other (1") hole was for... the gas pedal cable! So I made another hole in my plate, then secured it to the firewall with a bead of RTV around the edges.

P05-01-15_14.141_zps3qxwk0te.jpg


P05-01-15_15.11_zpsps3pr5ud.jpg


P05-01-15_15.111_zpsrtvaleuf.jpg
 
I'm using a universal type harness, and simply ran the wires through a grommet. Here's a tidbit, tho. There is no need to screw with rivets or screws to hold your new plate in. Simply make a plate the same size as the old connector, and slip the latches back on. It snaps right back in with a gasket, just like the connector.
 
Thanks, that'd be useful if I had latches, connectors or anything... there was nothing but a hole in the firewall where the old bulkhead connector used to be.

I did consider not using a connector at all, but this way it's easy to add more circuits if I ever need to. The "Painless" and other universal harnesses I felt were too expensive.
 
$27 isn't a bad price for such a multi-pin connector pair. Max gage is 14 awg, which is too small for the thick ALT & BAT leads, if you keep your dash ammeter active. But, you can run those separately, as in the factory's "fleet bypass".
 
Nice looking connector with some weather sealing too. The ad also says that the pins can be had in 10-12 ga and 20-24 ga sizes. But I am not much to trust split round pins with larger current so the separate larger wires do seem best.
 
BillGrissom said:
$27 isn't a bad price for such a multi-pin connector pair. Max gage is 14 awg, which is too small for the thick ALT & BAT leads, if you keep your dash ammeter active. But, you can run those separately, as in the factory's "fleet bypass".
Click to expand...

I thought it was reasonable too... first noticed this type of bulkhead connector on my '87 International big-truck.

My Dart is a (very slow) work in progress... there is now a CS-130 alternator ($20 at a swapmeet, tested and works great), and the battery is in the trunk along with the starter and main power solenoids (and a cutoff switch). The large cables for the starter and alternator run through separate grommets, not the bulkhead connector.

I remade the dash cluster, and decided to dispense with the ammeter and use a voltmeter instead (another flea-market special, possibly from a small airplane). Here's what I had room for. The tach is going on the column or the dash.

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I also got the matching ammeter 300-0-300 amps (without the shunt)... don't think I need that kind of range in a car :D
 
A voltmeter is a good idea, even if one keeps the dash ammeter. I use a cigarette lighter type in all my cars on long trips ($15 Amazon). They don't put anything to monitor charging in my newer Chryslers and I was surprised on a road trip when the alternator was slipping (cracked p.s. pulley) in my 2002 van. The trans indicator showed all gears, chimes were going off, the windshield wipers started actuating. New cars don't like low voltage. You should see ~14.3 V while driving and ~12.6 V when off.
 
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