New to forum Hi everybody.Ask a few ?s abot wiring

[The Red Rooster]

Hey fellow Ford brothers. I would like to introduce myself to the forum. My truck is a 69 f-100 i call it the Red Rooster.I really am thankful i found this site as it already helped out a bunch with some of the tech on here and indentifying what parts work on my truck.

I know newbies are taken with a grain of salt so please be patient with me as get to know more about our model trucks and i will contribute info when i can.

with that said can anyone please help with info on how to bypass the gauge cluster on my truck so i can get the alternator to charge my battery. I recently replaced the old harness with a later model i have come to find out as it does not match up with my old gauge cluster. The new harness is for a printed curcuit cluster . I am currently looking for one but need to drive my truck now and just need a way to bypass the cluster as i believe is the reason my alternator will not charge my system. any help would be greately appreciated.

[robroy]

Good evening The Red Rooster!

I am one of your Ford brothers (good choice of words there)! And I like your truck's name; it's funny and creative!

I don't have any words of wisdom on your alternator wiring concern, although my reasoning and imagination factors could be provoked if I knew whether your new harness came from a "gauge" truck or a "warning light" truck. Do you remember which type of instrument cluster the truck had that you pulled your harness from?

Also, where are you located? And do you have any photos of your truck to include here?

Have a fantastic weekend 'Red Rooster!
Robroy

[Dragon]

Your alternator will work without the gauge cluster. The only connection to the dash is the ammeter directly from the alternator. Most Ford trucks have that disconnected, burned up or just plain shot and not wired by now and charge just fine.

[fordman]

to use your old cluster and your newer harness or the other way around. you have to de pin the wirign connectors and put the wires and metal connectors in the other plug that matches your cluster. BUT. two things you have to worry about. 1 already stated. you have to make sure the wiring and cluster are both for either a gauge type cluster or both for a dummy light cluster. 2 the metal connectors on the ends of the wirs are not the same on the plugs from 67-69 and 70-72 truck wiring. for that connector. so you will have to find the correct metal prongs or connectors to convet the harness over to your other plug. you may also run into other wiring directions from year to year doing this also. we can help with the diagrams if you need that kind o fhelp. i would just get the correct cluster before i went tryign to change pins metal connectors. its a pain. i have done it once. i didn't linke doing it.

[The Red Rooster]

Hey thanks guys this issue has been driving me crazy. i have everything else pertaining to the harness swap working ie lights ignition wipers heater just cant get the alternator charging. I will duoble check everything. also forgot to tell ya that I hail from the great state of TEXAS and reside in Big Dallas. I will posts some picks oof the OL' ROOSTER as soon as get the time . Im going for a hot rod look mild lowering shave job and big little wheel combo.

I will posts progress pics to get yalls thoughts. Thanks for the info it is really appreciated.

[mr_josh]

Well here's the question: do you have an ammeter or just a warning light? I've always had the idea in my mind that trucks with only a charge warning light need to have the light wired in correctly and that they won't charge without it. Trucks with an ammeter have a resistance wire in the circuit that basically serves the same purpose as the light. That's how I understand it, at least. Cruise around the tech articles, I'm pretty sure there's more about it there.

[The Red Rooster]

Update: After freezing my A*% off yesterday in the bitter cold a friend and I seen to have figured outy my charging problem. turns out there was a break in the line from the batt post of the alternator to hot post of the solenoid. If you have a short in the line it will not charge? DUH! the plastic around the fusible link is kinda thick so it was hard to see but is always a good place to start looking there if you have the same problem.

Im runnin without gauge cluster plugg in for now with just the speedo hooked up so I guess the dabate of whether it needs to be plugged in for it to charge is still debatable . Im pretty sure its charging now according to volt meter readings .

[Dragon]

The dash has nothing to do with the charging circuit. The Alternator requires the battery to provide excitation circuit voltage and the regulator to regulate the circuit. I have taken many Fords and gutted the wiring in the dash for racing and left just the batt, Alternator and regulator hooked together with the bat feeding the run switch, start switch and the fuel pumps. Wiring is heavy, less is better. The dash is not required that is an Urban Myth.

As I said above no gauge cluster is required.

[fordman]

if you cut out the fuseable link it that circut you need to put a good one back in it. it is a fuse basiclly.