installed tach, now no power

[Backally]

Posted a couple days ago about hooking up a tachometer. 70 Duster, rallye dash with the built in tach that was 1000 rpm off. When I was in there I removed a red wire that ran from the bottom pin on the rallye tach to the fuse box, plugged in at the spot where the red arrow is below as I don't want power going to the tach if I'm not going to use it. I have a service manual but it does not show wiring for the rallye tach. I now have no power to the car. My instinct is undo what I did last, which would be to replace the red wire, it's about 14gauge which I though was pretty beefy for a tach, but who knows who wired that in. I do have a red wire with a white stripe going to the spade listed battery feed. Before I start looking at all the other wiring, can someone tell me if that red wire could be my issue?

 

[67Dart273]

Do you remember "drawing a spark" while you were doing all this? You might have fried the (one of the?) fuse links under the hood.

I assume when you say "no power" you mean no headlights, no dome, no "nothing."

You have a '74 service manual?

EDIT How did I read this as a 74?

 

[Backally]

Battery was out of the car when I was working on it. No headlights, dome lights, no nothing when I put battery in car to test it. Charged battery, and tried another that I am sure is good. I got the manual for 70 Plymouth.

 

[70dustah]

there is no ralleye dash wiring diagram in the 70 manual( I figured that out with mine), download the 71 for the wiring diagram. Listen to 67dart273, as he is the resident electrical guru. He will help you figure it out.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Sounds like you disconnected somethin.

 

[67Dart273]

FIRST THING

Check the battery clamps

Wiggle the "crap" out of the bulkhead connector with slight switch on, look for lights or a "flicker"

Check the fuse link


===========================================
You can take a look at the Mad electrical ammeter bypass article

http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/amp-gauges.shtml

Whether you plan to do this or not, their simplified diagram gives you a great overview:

All power goes (actually electrons flow from the neg but I'm talking "concept")

Battery.......starter relay junction............fuse link......through the bulkhead connector

Look at your fuse panel diagram you posted........

The top left "3 fuses" that top buss there comes FROM the key "accessory."

So probe the small buss that fees the two fuses in the middle Those should be hot all the time

Likewise, you can probe the feed to the ignition switch connector, should be hot all the time.

There is only so many possibilities.........

BAD BATTERY CLAMPS

Blown fuse link

Bad connections in bulkhead connector

(READ THE MAD article)

Bad connections at ammeter or bad ammeter

Bad connections at the welded splice. Leave this for last. It is rare but has happened

So check you have it there going into the bulkhead connector on the engine bay side. Just follow the fuse link from the starter relay, RED wire and probe that cavity

From there goes to ammeter ...........through ammeter ........and changes to BLACK

Now a few inches from the ammeter the BLACK wire has the big main welded SPLICE

From there it branches off to

headlight switch

fuse panel hot buss

main feed TO ignition switch

Your trouble is like in this area of main power

 

[Backally]

Damn , I was hoping it was that red wire but didn't see what that would do and wasn't really expecting it. Looks like time to start following wires. If it's the fuse link something made it go, so will be looking for a pinched wire either under the steering column or somewhere in where I was working.
Thanks!

 

[70dustah]

Since you had the cluster out, I would start with the fuseable links, then onto amp gauge connectors on cluster. I HIGHLY recommend MAD wiring upgrade after you find the problem.