In the first pic, the heavy, red, capped wire along with the pink, green and blue wires were found cut and stuffed up behind my glove box. They originate in what appears to be a factory harness that runs behind the glove box and the heater resistor wires also come from the same harness. Anyone have any idea what they went to?!? The second and third pics are under and just to the right of the steering column. In pic two, the steering column coupler is visible to the left. In this pic, what is the red and green wired plug just below the coupler for? The plug itself is half cut off in the pic but it's a two-contact plug. And, what is the larger bulb socket to the right for? The third pic shows the black and gray wires going to the bulb socket. I realize these are extremely vague questions but I'm trying to track down a short that has made the Courtesy Light/Cigarette Lighter circuit unusable. There's a short in it somewhere and I'm trying to track it down rather than simply bypassing/replacing it... The car is not a restoration, it is and will remain a frequent (good weather) driver. That being said, am I being stupid trying to find the short? Should I simply bypass it? I have checked, checked, and rechecked the wiring diagrams that I have and haven't had ANY luck figuring out what they're for. Finally, the radio in the first pic doesn't respond at all when power is put to it. Is it worth trying to fix it or will that be extremely expensive? Again, this isn't a restoration car. Thanks all... Brewster... Addendum: Horn relay, heater control lights and back-up lights...
Did your car have an upper level vent fan? Not thinking of any other reason it would go above glove box? Do all the wires go back to thick main harness?
Let's see, you have some wires you don't know what they are for, a plug that has been hacked, a short in the wiring somewhere, and who knows what other problems have not shown up yet. First thing is to get a wiring diagram from http://diecastmusclecars.com/dcmbuickdiagram.htm. It is full color and big! It has helped me a lot to fix wiring problems. Then I would get a fuse block repair kit from Lectric Limited. This will get you a good start and solve some problems from a rusty, worn out fuse block. Then I would patrol the board here to find a good used dash harness from some some of the guys on here. I hate getting under the dash and messing with wiring and so I fixed all my problems in one trip. Good Luck. Lou
Thanks, Dave and Lou, I figured out what they were for, the horn relay, heater control lights and back-up lights. The link you listed doesn't have a '69 wiring diagram but I do have a black-and-white version. I wrote a lengthy post, http://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/1970-instrument-cluster-lights.115349/#post-2682876, that outlines how I figured it out. Also, I'm getting more used to reading the assembly manual. Thanks again!
Yes, horn relay. Now is the relay still mounted behind the dash? Hopefully with the pigtail still attached. The orange wire with the weird connector on it is your glove box light. It was easy to figure out with the wiring diagram in the service manual
Yup, she's a hodge-podge of parts and a "survivor'... And she's mine! Had A LOT of problems with her initially but have worked out many of them now. Getting more and more comfortable and confident in her. That's a '70 and up console. I was wondering why I couldn't find the correct shifter repair parts when I was looking under '69! I replaced the horn relay with a bosch-type relay. I don't need the buzzed. I found the stock relay after taking the dash apart. The pigtail wasn't there.
