What's going on here?!

T

TRP

Senior Member
Hello Fellow Barn Members,

I've had the Tudor for a few weeks now and I'm just starting to take stock of what I purchased. The first thing I like to do is make sure the engine/trans/brakes are all in top working order.

I turned my attention to the engine compartment. Most Model A bays are super tidy. I can not say the same for mine.

What do you guys suppose is going on here?!
325383


It looks like the is a make shift fuse block, a bunch of wires to a ceramic thing, something that looks like a light socket... and a ton of wires for the turn signals.

There appears to be a starter relay on the firewall. That is wired to a button on the column. The copper strip in the starter 'foot button' has been 'inverted' so that it's 'always touching' the copper button. There is another relay down on the frame rail.

This is a legitimate mess. All I do know is that the car has been converted to 12v. Other than that, I have no idea where to start with unraveling this spaghetti.

Any of you long timers ever seen such a state? Any thoughts?

Thank you,
Ted
 

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TRP said:
I turned my attention to the engine compartment. Most Model A bays are super tidy. I can not say the same for mine.

What do you guys suppose is going on here?!
325383


It looks like the is a make shift fuse block, a bunch of wires to a ceramic thing, something that looks like a light socket... and a ton of wires for the turn signals.

There appears to be a starter relay on the firewall. That is wired to a button on the column. The copper strip in the starter 'foot button' has been 'inverted' so that it's 'always touching' the copper button. There is another relay down on the frame rail.

This is a legitimate mess. All I do know is that the car has been converted to 12v. Other than that, I have no idea where to start with unraveling this spaghetti.

Any of you long timers ever seen such a state? Any thoughts?

Thank you,
Ted
Click to expand...

Wow, yea. You have a lot of different things going on... I see a ballast resistor for the coil (for the 6v coil on 12v) And a starter solenoid. A voltage drop resistor (12v to 6v?). A turn signal flasher. A couple of fuse holders. Not to mention the cover for your junction box is missing.

Not sure where all the wires are routed to. Best to get a wiring diagram (I'm sure someone will post one) and clean up "the spaghetti". Work on one "system" at a time.

I have 12v (see picture) and there is no reason for it to not look close to stock. If nothing else, clean it up before you have a problem (fire).
 

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Whew, mine has been converted to 12v and looks nothing like the rats nest you have. I strongly believe in K.I.S.S. and that is way beyond what really needed to be done.
 
The guy must have owned stock in an electrical wire company. Can you imagine trying to track down a short among THOSE wires? Jeez, what a rat's nest of wires!!! Rube Goldberg would be proud! I'd love to get a plate of spaghetti at Olive Garden with that many strands of pasta.
Marshall
 
Hi Ted,

Simple!

The former owner was a computer technician who had a large piece of property with his house near the front entrance road; however, his Model A garage was located about 250 yards behind his house.

From his Living Room, he started his Model A and drove it 250 yards all the way up to the front entrance of his house ..... all by Remote Control ..... bright fellow I'd say ..... he just probably forgot to give you the Electronic Control Box with instructions.
 
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Hahaha... Are you suggesting its the first RC Model A? I like it! :)

In other news... I went to the CA DMV to register it today. I had fears of having to run all over gods creation to get it registered. I walked in. Smiled a lot. Said a lot of Yes Ma'am, no ma'am, and Thank You.

I had all my paperwork. My Nevada plates in ziploc and a good attitude. 20 minutes later I had a new CA plates and a CA registration.

No muss. No fuss.

Attitude is everything!
 
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Hi Ted,

So glad you received your Model A plates and registration without a hassle; however, this does not surprise me after looking at all of your extra wires under your hood.

Please don't tell anybody but in your above photo, that 3rd black wire following down your steering column is a new Top Secret Electronic Brain Sensor Wire which sends electronic signals from your Model A chassis stamped number to the brains of Government DMV Officials looking over your registration paper work.

Your former computer technician Model A owner rigged up your Model A with this device to calm the brains of even the most grouchy, non-cooperating Model A Government Title DMV Officials.

At the end of this black wire, a tiny terminal sends wireless electronic DMV calming signals with the secret code name of "Valium-O-Gram" ...... I'll go buy one of these next time I apply for a Model A title.

You really do have the right attitude ..... try to enjoy every moment spent with your Model A ...... if some old grouchy Model A fart gives you problems .... just zap him with your secret "Valium-O-Gram" .
 
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The round device with the C-shaped thing with the screw in it appears to be a wire wound rheostat used in the old days to vary the speed of an accessory heater motor. They usually clamped under the bottom of the dash edge. Many of the cars of the 30's were delivered without radio or heater. An accessory water heater from Pep Boys would commonly be installed and the speed of the fan motor controlled with the rheostat.

Tom Endy
 
Hmmmmm ........ Everybody is so over-excited just to see few extra little wires under a Model A hood.

Wait until it is discovered how he wired his house.
 
Hello - and congratulations on your recent acquisition. There are several parts suppliers who offer new wiring harnesses with turn signal wiring available. It would be my recommendation to start there, but as a concurrent thought, you might consider whether you want to run a six or twelve volt system. I personally prefer to run a 12-volt system with an alternator in order to more comfortably run the halogen headlights at night. I've used both 6 and 12 volt systems with alternators, but for me, the 12-volt systems seem not as prone to dim when idling at stop signs, traffic lights, and the sort., but either system will do fine on these old gentlemen. As for your choice of ignition, I prefer to keep my cars looking as close to original (12-volt and alternator notwithstanding) as possible, and to that end, it should be a fairly simple matter to convert back to the original foot pedal starter switch should you be so inclined. Whatever choices you make, I agree with the consensus of folks here that the system that you are currently employing is one that should be changed over as soon as time and resources permit. Good luck with your new toy.
 
I've seen worse. At least it's neat and cable tied. Most importantly, does everything work?? Did you ask the previous owner to "walk" you thru the wiring and any other "mods"??
Paul in CT
 
How are your electrical skills ?

If you are comfortable with understanding the wiring , then feel free to redo the circuits your way. If not, then leave the wires in place and have somebody replace the wires how knows what they are doing.

Marc
 
I'm trying to understand whats part of the 12v conversion and what isn't. If i replace the coil, can I ditch that ceramic ballast? I guess what I'm really looking for is a 12v conversion that's done 'right'.

I need to head to HF or HomeDepot to pick up a voltage meter and just start testing wires and voltages. I want to ditch the starter button that someone put on the column. I rebuilt the foot pedal starter button but i apparently still need the button on the column to energize the solenoid. There should be a way around that, right?

And so I begin to try to unravel the thoughts of a madman. ;)
 
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TRP said:
I'm trying to understand whats part of the 12v conversion and what isn't. If i replace the coil, can I ditch that ceramic ballast? I guess what I'm really looking for is a 12v conversion that's done 'right'.

I need to head to HF or HomeDepot to pick up a voltage meter and just start testing wires and voltages. I want to ditch the starter button that someone put on the column. I rebuilt the foot pedal starter button but i apparently still need the button on the column to energize the solenoid. There should be a way around that, right?

And so I begin to try to unravel the thoughts of a madman. ;)
Click to expand...

Here is the simplest way to get what you want done.

Find/purchase a copy of the stock wiring diagram and remove everything from the car that is NOT on that diagram.

Now, hook all the wires on the diagram as pictured. If the system is anywhere close to stock with the ignition switch, the car will run. You can purchase a 12v coil that does not use a ballast resistor as well as 12v light bulbs, 1156, 1157, etc. Change all the light bulbs and coil and it should run.

The battery should be at Pos chassis as this will keep the stock interruption of the point power if you intend to use a stock type pop-out switch. I don't recommend using a stock pop-out switch. IF you are not using a stock type switch, it will not matter which way you place the battery terminals, but for the use of other equipment, ie; CB, Stereo, GPS etc, you should make it Neg chassis.

This is the basic way to change over to 12v. IF you are using a generator, after you have the orientation of the battery, you MUST polarize the generator, this is done by quickly shorting across the cutout. IF you are running an alternator, nothing should need to be done. DO NOT try to polarize an alternator!! An alternator NEEDs to see 12v Neg chassis.
 
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