The Camaro Club (UK)

Thanks for checking in on the progress Mark.

Good idea on testing the loom that way. I found a few interesting things after posting the last time.

The first i found was that the lighting circuit started to behave soemtimes when i was fiddling under the dash, so i literally started grabbing stuff and shaking it very methodical! and interestingly, the purple wire from the steering column turned out to have been cut! it looks like it had been stolen at some point as it's in the classic place where you would hot wire from. it had been reattached with some electrical tape, but the ends had barely any wire showing (hope that makes sense?!) so the contact between the 2 was flakey, surprised it made it home on the first drive! so i fixed that, strong connection now so that fixed the behaviour and goodness, it's works consistently now. Still had issues though, as poking the fuse box meant the courtesy lighting circuit would come on and off etc, so it does seem that the connections are just unreliable as you mention, due to brittle wires etc and the corrosion on the back.

I've invested about a month (started the wiring on 27th december (weekends and evenings) ) so a few days ago i decided to go to NPD for an American Autowire fuse harness for about $650 plus a couple of other harnesses (courtesy lighting etc) . Just waiting on it to come through, still has the glass fuses but it does keep it OEM which is kinda a good thing. So that's where we are at, just playing the waiting game, fingers crossed they arrive by the weekend as that means the dash, carpets, headliner and seatbelts can all finally go in that weekend. Stupidly optimistic? yes. My colleauges have stopped asking me when it's gona be done, as there's only so many times i can tell them 6 weeks, every 6 weeks

Cheers, will let you know it goes on the w/end!

Ray

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LOL

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'68 Camaro

lol @ "grabbing stuff and shaking it" and "poking the fuse box"

hehe, all my friends and colleauges have stopped asking me when my car will be finished......I've even stopped asking myself

Glad you are making progress, and that you've decided to get a new loom, it will be much better in the long run

Cheers,
Mark

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'68 Camaro

It after days of testing with voltmeters etc, this method showed instant results within seconds

so i got the new wiring loom through, fusebox and all, cost a pretty penny (and it came with glass fuses ) but it was a perfect swap! came from american autowire so its exact gm replica, highly recomend doing this to anyone doing a resto!! Everything worked... apart from the rear lights! yikes, what goes on? after a small breakdown i did a bit of wire shaking, i highly recomend this method and found that the loom that plugs into the fusebox and goes to the back, had been spliced (the tail light specifically) and the splice plastic thing had actually cut the through the wire as well as the insualtion. a quick strip and crimp and it's fixed. so now everyhing works (even the light in the bootlid!!) apart from the windscreen wipers still doing what they want... i.e not turning off when in the off position,. any clues on this?

We're nearly there

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How to post pics: When writing a message, scroll down and use the "attach file" option. Where possible, a photo sharing service can be used such as Flickr, Imgur etc. The image location (usually ending in .jpg) can be copy and pasted between the ][ brackets that appear when you click the 'Img' button (you can find this button at the top of the message box).

How to post youtube vids: Click on the 'youtubeHD' button at the top of the message box and in the middle of the ][ brackets that just appeared, copy and paste everything from the youtube web address that appears after the = sign i.e if this is the url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2cNqaPSHv0 just copy "K2cNqaPSHv0").

Excellent news that you got it all working... The new loom and fusebox seems the way to go (I'd better start saving)

The wiper motors are quite complex things on these cars. I stripped mine down when it stopped working about 2 years ago, as I wasn't sure if it was the motor, wiring or the switch that was broken. The motor had a few different connections depending on what type you have, and what year, and there seem to be many, with washer, delay, and with concealed options all different part numbers.

I got what I though was the correct replacement for my car, concealed with delay, but still couldn't get the concealed bit or delay to work, so it's currently wired direct to a separate switch for just 1 speed, and I found the concealed section is operated by some internal cams, which I've have to wedge open so it will work at all..

Might worth checking the wiper wiring, the internal cams in the motor or switch again...

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“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

Well that's fantastic news! Glad it was a perfect swap, gives me confidence when I get to do my loom

This wire shaking, do you do it to music?

Could the not turning off be the switch?

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'68 Camaro

Ye the wipers have a lot of cables going to them, what doesn't help is that a couple of the connections can be flipped over and still plug in, so not 100% if they are the right way round. even then, trying it both ways gets the same result. weird! I really don't want to take the motor apart, hoping it is the switch, unfortunately GM don't make them anymore and classic industries and NPD don't stock them yet and ebay has nought either. Are windscreen wipers a requirement of the MOT?

I have not shaken wires to music, a missed opportunity!

definitely worth saving up for the loom, i wasted an entire month fiddling with the original wiring, so in perspective, the cost of a new loom is cancelled out by a) a lot of time wasting and b) sanity

Stu - how come you are looking at changing the wiring? is yours on the road?

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How to post pics: When writing a message, scroll down and use the "attach file" option. Where possible, a photo sharing service can be used such as Flickr, Imgur etc. The image location (usually ending in .jpg) can be copy and pasted between the ][ brackets that appear when you click the 'Img' button (you can find this button at the top of the message box).

How to post youtube vids: Click on the 'youtubeHD' button at the top of the message box and in the middle of the ][ brackets that just appeared, copy and paste everything from the youtube web address that appears after the = sign i.e if this is the url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2cNqaPSHv0 just copy "K2cNqaPSHv0").

I would not want to look inside that motor housing either! I'm surprised the switch is not available from CI or NPD, but I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before they become avaialable. hehe, you could always disconnect them, and then tie bits of rope for manual wipers it will get you thru an MoT

Are the motors for 1st and 2nd Gen the same? not really looked at 2nd Gen stuff....

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'68 Camaro

I couldn't find new switches for the wiper from Classic or NPD either, so I just wired a rocker switch under the dash from the +12v power I could find near the wiper motor and wired directly back to the motor. It doesn't conceal, do different speeds or delay but at least it works for MOT and the odd time I'm caught out in the rain..

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“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

looks like we've got some wiring experts on here now.....

cheers...nige

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Too much power...not enough hands!!