kramttocs

Thanks Gary. That makes sense and takes all the mystery out of it. Did some research and learned some new stuff. No need for a diagram now

Yeah, a pair on each side. Here is one side after I took off the pigtail that went to the actual headlight. Still working on a rough diagram. It's the 85 - 86 jumper with the barrel that I am curious about.

Weather was nice today and had some time off so got a lot of things taken care of (and even some on the truck). Got the electrical platform installed and hooked up battery power to the truck for the first time in a year. So far so good - everything that is hooked up works with no sparks or loss of magic smoke. Can't say that's a lot (fan, interior lights, dash lights, wiper) but it did feel good to see 'life'. This was awhile ago but I found out quickly that using magnalugs takes up a lot of space, thickness wise. Since I had a few things grounding at the engine block I had to find an alternative to the factory bolt. Turns out ARP makes a stepped bolt that is exactly what is needed. Allen's Fasteners had to special order it for me from ARP and I was planning to put the part number on here but looks like their site is down so I can't look up the order at the moment. But it allowed me to add the various grounds (source, frame, starter and alternator) plus the transmission cooler line bracket with plenty of space left. Additionally I got the pmgr starter hooked up so only a couple things left before I can start it up. I also need to secure the cables going to the starter as they are just zip tied together for now. I took a quick look and made a diagram of the headlight setup as it came on the truck so need to figure out exactly what is going on there. I'll add the diagram and a photo of an unknown piece later this evening to get all your thoughts. There are 4 relays (2 each side) and a bridge between some pins and the adjacent relay that I haven't quite identified the purpose of yet.

*Thought I posted first thing this morning but looks like I never hit the button* Haven't updated this thread much lately as life, work, and weather have prevented much progress from being done but wiring and getting the 460 ready to fire up are the primary goals. I have previously mentioned using the diesel passenger fender platform to hold my add on fuse boxes but that turned out to not be ideal. So in comes this aluminum plate I cut, drilled, and tapped to hold my two 'boxes'. It mounts to the fender using some stainless steel stand-offs to allow wiring to pass underneath. I used 1/4 to accommodate tapping it. At 1/4 it's definitely got some heft to it so it's a trade-off between 1/4 tapped or 1/8 bolted. Hoping to get that installed this evening. Here is my modified (simplified?) alternator harness. The fuse will have a weather proof cap over it and that circuit is only for the voltmeter now. The little yellow is ground (also for voltmeter) and the thick yellow goes to the fuse block for cab power. I don't recall if I've mentioned it before but I am going to a 150amp 1 wire which is why the harness is no longer having direct alternator contact. I have kept the unmodified 2g harness so in a pinch I can easily swap back if that is a necessity.

'Professionally modified with a dremel' It is a good visual for people interested in doing the same.

Right, that's the NC that you don't need. I'd take a small screwdriver and remove the wire and terminal from the socket.

To be exact, these are the ones I have: https://www.ebay.com/itm/253167690800

You bet! Just did a quick test with a continuity tester and a trickle charger that has settings for 6v 2amp, 12v 2amp, and 12v 6amp. At all three settings the relay clicked and tester light lit up. My relays aren't the same seller brand as listed but it's likely the specs are close if not the same.

Do you have a link to the single relays? And can you confirm that the 7v from the Alternator will pull in and hold the relay closed OK? Hey Cory, Since the listings fluctuate, rather than a link I'd do a search for 'fused relay' on eBay. There is a single for 7.xx USD right now. 6 packs seem to be the best per unit price by far though. I've seen posts both ways regarding the 7v question. Some say 8v is needed but others say it works fine with 5v. I've never tried so can't comment on it and will defer to Gary. Before this thread, which I am thankful for as the 460 option is cleaner for me, i was going to install another oil pressure switch, use the LG\R wire to trigger a relay that would go to the new oil pressure switch and then on to the choke. That's just another option and does use 12v to trigger the relay but with the added overhead of the switch.

Nice job Gary! And if one cares about it and really wants to, for the choke and stator wires (the battery and ground may be close enough) they can remove the terminals from the sockets and crimp on your own so you don't have any splices/inline connectors. These would need verified: Tyco 42238-2 Tyco 180384-2

As long as the 'different' way is widely accepted as 'better/safer than factory' I think that criteria will work just fine. Falls into personal preference but I like keeping the actual how-to's or detailed information pages in the relevant sections (like 3g under alternators) and using links from the Upgrade List. That way you catch the people reading the upgrade list to see what they should do next to their trucks as well as the people troubleshooting a 2g and will happen upon the 3g page from there. That's also assuming I am understanding correctly. I also see the point about TSB's not necessarily belonging in the list but I feel that if it's a widespread problem (like the firewall flex) then it's a worthy upgrade. The door reinforcement, probably wouldn't make my list since it's not really applicable to these years (not saying I am not considering it myself just because ). I would be inclined to clear the current list and start with 5 or so concrete ones that there are already supporting pages for and then grow from there. Maybe have a thread where people can hash out which ones should make it.

I like the page and I like the location. I think the blurb is needed for each to give the reader some context. Referring to the extinguisher item, a couple thoughts - First, I carry one in all my trucks and am all for it but I wouldn't consider it an upgrade. If it makes the list then one could argue for any emergency device (flares, jumper cables, flash lights, seatbelt cutter, windshield breaker, etc) to be added to the list. Singling out the extinguisher isn't my goal here but rather that how an item is determined to make the list should probably be decided sooner rather than later to save some work. Second, regarding the link to the thread and your question - regardless of the topic, yes I think any link on this page should go to a page and not a thread. This is where unfortunately more work falls on you to cull the forum content and update the page as necessary but I think it will be much more user friendly (easy for me to say when you are doing the work ). If there is going to be more than 10-15 items then I thinking grouping them will make sense. Especially on clear cut things like splitting out gas/diesel specific upgrades.

Did I capture them correctly? Miss some? I was actually thinking of a page in documentation personally and each page linked to would also be in documentation (not the forum). More of the idea that if these upgrades are truly worth it then they should have a compiled page dedicated to them (under their relevant sections) vs having a visitor read through a thread that may have confusing/contradicting posts in it before it reaches the final consensus. I do realize this would put a lot more work on you though.

I like the idea of an upgrades page that has a very short description and then links to the actual content. As was mentioned, an 'upgrade' could mean different things to different people so what about testing the idea as just a simple Top 10 that deal with commonly-accepted safety or functional upgrades that would apply to the trucks as they rolled off the line? So avoid the upgrades that are dependent upon other changes (like lifts) at first. As common as Top 10 lists are online it would be interesting to see what kind of traffic one would draw.

True, crazy how just a little distance can have such an impact. My parents live just under an hours drive west of us (closer to KS line) and granted there is a lake directly between us, they get far more precipitation and stormy weather than us.

Yeah -30 I agree, that would be nice to have the fuse there instead.

Haha just a little dusting/frost last night that the sun hasn't taken care of yet. Being 9 degrees has probably contributed to that a little though

I had actually bought a set of these before I switched to the Bussman fuse/relay block so opened them up to take a look this morning. Quality is surprisingly solid. The way the sockets snap together is really nice also. Red: 14awg White: 16awg Black: 16awg Blue: 14awg To avoid joins I would probably remove their wires and make my own but they do give plenty to hook onto.

I was going to say the screw holes are in different places between them. Dave ---- Non-headliner in my 80 1 ton.

Agreed.

Looks great! Since it's typically the first question I ask myself when adding a load to a factory circuit, what about a similar 'peace of mind' confirmation comment on the 460 option as you have on the relay option? Something like: Since the R/Y from the factory is only being used to pull in the fuel pump relay, adding the additional [at most] 10 amp load is well within the capabilities of the circuit.

Hmm, I found some singles on ebay but they are 10/per.

Looks good. FWIW Holley recommends a 10 amp fuse in their instructions. Not sure what other specs are needed though. Before I switched to a relay box I was looking to go this route to clean up some wiring: https://amzn.to/2HkKF9l

Yeah - more pointed with a larger cubby opening. http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/NOS-Brushed-Dash-Bezel-for-Large-Truck-td38571.html

That sounds about right. I wonder what this was out of then... some of the HD trucks? Yeah, the height makes a lot of sense. I was thinking the big trucks had a pointed opening but haven't ever paid much attention to them so not positive.