Wiredawg
TDR MEMBER
Ron,
Between my three sons and I we have owned several Power Wagons and Ramchargers from this era over the years. Sadly, no droolable Little Red Wagons made it to the stables - was heavily into off road, 4x4 goodies since the crusin' scene was under heavy scrutiny by the social do-gooders causing silly laws like not passing a point twice in 20 minutes in town without heavy revenue enhancements to the local coffers...BUT, pictures on the garage walls...OH YEAH!
My experience with the wiring and fuse box in this series of trucks (Power Wagons and Ramchargers of 73-79) is that the fuses heat up pretty bad, especially in the top row. There is a lot of "heat corrosion" in the wires, spade connectors, as well as the fuse clips. The wires may or may not readily show the effects of heat on the insulation. The main heat points in the wiring that I have found are:
Main power wire in the firewall connector. You will notice a melted wire cavity and toasty spade connectors. High resistance = high heat. Gets worse over time.
Fuse block loose fuse clips that don't hold the fuse tight due to excess heat. Gets worse with time. Fuse block back side will show more evidence of high heat than the front side. Wires crunchy inside insulation which may look like an old, dried out spätzle noodle.
A lot of the wiring heat issues are caused by extensive use of the heater/AC HIGH fan speed and an old fan motor pulling a lot of current. The current flowing through the fan switch is prone to fry the fan switch, its plug, as well as the heater fan resistor block, and roast the fuse block. Check wiring one to two inches back at all connectors.
Any circuit that was added for aftermarket equipment that used high current will toast the associated truck circuit's connections if a relay wasn't used, so a detailed inspection is recommended.
Headlight switch connector, and switch, especially the high beam wiring.
Electric choke connector on the carb.
Good luck in your endeavor with that beautiful beast.
Thanks for the info. I'm thinking about taking the high current circuits out of the fuse box and the firewall connector and have run them through the Painless Panel. Headlights, horn, AC compressor, and fan. Going to make a wiring schematic with new circuits.
AND, I thought Mopar Power Wagons were just plain bad to the bone.
The colors and paint schemes really broke the mold.
Thanks again for the wiring tips.
Cheers, Ron