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Questions replacing Main wire harness in 74 midget

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73MidgetLigon said:
the red one above the brights indicator? that one comes on and stays on always has ever since i replaced the fuel pump
Click to expand...

It is supposed to go out when the car is running - that's the one that tells you it is charging. Are you sure the Alternator is working?
 
Easy way for those not sure about full-fielding is to A) remove the alternator (after disconnecting battery), B) transport to your local auto parts store for testing, whereupon C) you either replace it OR figure out what wires to and from alternator are bad (including any plugs into said alternator).

Dave
 
Update She is now charging on her own :lol: no thanks to my mechanic. I dropped in the new alternator and jump started it, the red light came on and then went out man was that a good feeling. lol

:blush: Well now that was all fine and dandy, until i tried to turn it off.. click? click? @#$%? still running. seems that i forgot to tighten down the oil pressure nut on the back of the gauge, and was leaking oil all of the inside of the car. in turn getting oil all over the ignition switch. I am pretty sure that's why it wouldn't turn off i am going to clean it up and see what i get. P.S. there isn't any carpet in the car yet so the mess wasn't to bad to clean up.

Thank you all for your help
 
Glad it's charging, and, oh my goodness, it sure is lucky non of us has ever done anything like forgetting to tighten an oil pressure nut :blush: Yes, it can be messy, don't ask how I know

keep us posted!
 
so its not the ignition switch.... I'm kind of at a loss now, when i plug in the new alternator the ignition comes on and cannot be turned off so i thought it might be the wiring again. so i tried plugging in the old alternator and it does not make the ignition stay on is the new alternator bad?
 
Sounds like the alternator output is connected to the wrong point. It should be connected to the battery or, more likely, some convenient point that is connected to the battery. If you connect it past the ignition switch, turning the switch off will not stop the car because the alternator continues to power the ignition circuit.
 
Well the alternator is not the cause of the problem. I am starting to pull my hair out, i cant figure out what the cause of this is. The best i can tell the large brown wire that comes from the alternator to the starter solenoid is the circuit that is causing the issue if i unplug this everything seems to work except the charging of the battery of-cores. im at a loss any ideas would be great
 
Wire from alternator to starter solenoid? Really?

Is this really correct? Is there a wire there? Does not make sense to me but then I'm a Bugeye guy.

What you guys say is this correct?
 
Yes, hot lead from alternator to the battery side of solenoid.
Electrically has to be there.

If you have one, should go through the ammeter first.
 
Ahh, so electicaly it is from the alt to the battery. That makes sense. Excuse me for jumping in here but thanks for the information.
 
Does your alternator have a 3-wire plug on the back?
Two are battery "+", connect to the battery cable on the solenoid.
The other is "IND", goes to the idio....errr...indicator light, then goes to what I think is pin 3 of the ignition switch (if a 4-terminal switch).
Pin 1 of ignition goes to starter relay, pin 2 goes to the gang terminal of battery "+".
 
Yeah its a three wire plug.. So basically i need to take out the wire harness again and try to find the short in my ignition circuit? i was hoping that i had plugged something in wrong when putting the harness back in but iv dbbl checked everything and it looks right
 
I would be willing to bet the ignition switch is wired wrong.
 
Ah.
I'd missed that.

So, the alternator is not shutting down, i.e.: the field excitation is no going away.

Maybe a short in the wiring, maybe the indicator light is not connected to switched ignition, maybe a defective alternator.

Unplug the alternator and see if it stops.
 
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