Colin’s 69 Coronet
with 6.4L Hemi and 4L80E Transmission
Day 1 and 2 – 4.5 Hrs.
Did a quick look the first day to see what I am getting into. Found some areas that need attention after a quick look.
Day two was more productive to dig into the car more. The customer had installed some of the Painless Wiring Kit #10127. I noted some items that were not wired correctly and will need to be redone. Found an area of wiring that had bare wires and broken wires that were hid under the wire conduit. Appears the front lighting is not wired correctly. These were areas noted in the front area of the vehicle. I also went over the motor as it was missing the Throttle Body to start and I found it was also missing the MAP Sensor. I had a Throttle Body for it and installed it. I will have to order the MAP sensor and due to the difference in Connector style (also wire too short) i will order that as well. Customer mentioned there was an issue with the Rad and needed the cores repaired. I removed the Rad so it can be sent out for repair while I work on the rest of the vehicle.
Now to the interior. Customer had bundled all of the wiring that was inside from the Painless kit. Cut a lot of tie-wraps and started laying out the wired to see were it goes. Found the headlight Dimmer wiring was routed wrong and had to open the harness to confirm. Once separated I could route the wiring properly. While checking around, I noticed the Brake pedal was very high. This was a quick look and will have to dig into it further. Getting back to the Dimmer wiring, I will also need to order a Dimmer switch. There is a Dimmer switch on the dash but that is for Dash lights. This will be wired in once the dash is in place.
Decided I needed to go through everything in the boxes for Painless and Terminator X. The dash has a Dakota Digital setup (Very Nice) but found the Bus Interface Module for the Holley to Digital Dakota was missing (Another order). There was Horn Relays and sensors that will not be required due to the Holley system eliminating them or the Painless system has them built in.
Now I decided to pull the dash that was laying in the back of the vehicle. This made wiring under the dash very easy. I set it on the back of the vehicle on a moving blanket. I checked it over for all the switches. this will take some work. A Huge Note I should state at this time. B Body Dodges require the windshield to be removed to reinstall the dash.
Day 3 – 5 hrs.
Went in and plan was to separate and mark all the wires as to where they go and what is needed and what is not needed. Since the Dash has been upgraded to Dakota Digital and the Engine information will come from the Holley System, a lot of the sensor wires are not needed. Found some wires installed wrong but they will be corrected.
Customer dropped by and I went over everything that I have found. We went through my list to see what needs to be ordered. I found the Holley Terminator X MAX has a harness to control the 4L80E Transmission. Discussion was to let ONE Controller to control both engine and Transmission. Therefore the TCI EZ-TCU would not be needed. For the Dash and BIM (Bus Interface Module) Box for the Holley system would need to be ordered as well. A Few other small items but all in all not much.
Once I showed the Client some of the wiring, he was in shock. I asked if I could go through the wiring to make sure everything was correct. Also it allowed me to clean it up and make it presentable. He Agreed to fully check the complete vehicle. He wants it done properly. He took the rad to get it repaired and he was off shaking his head at what was done so far. However very happy I was looking after it. One big note was the Windshield needed to be removed in order to reinstall the Dash. Not happy this needed to be done but understood it would be required.
Once the owner left, I looked at the time and felt I could tear into the Front end wiring as it was something I could at least tear apart and take a good look. WOW was I happy I dug into this. For starters as I looked the wiring over I noticed the wire going to the horn looked weird. I noticed there was nothing connected to the horn contact BUT it was run to the Horn mounting bracket. Yup DEAD short when you pushed the horn button. Connected it properly and all should be good now. Then I torn the headlight wiring out. Yup all wrong. Next came the Turn signal/Park wiring. A little Side note – the Painless system is a general kit so it will have as an example 2 right turn signal wires just in case there were two bulbs. Since there was only one bulb, one wire should have been cut back and not used. I notice there was a long taped wired that said “Park lights” that was not going any where. Well when I disconnected the connector to the right Park/Signal Light assembly, I could not believe what I saw. You both Right Turn signal wires were connected to the two wires going into the Park/Turn signal assembly. This would have given you a Bright Turn signal flash and a dim Turn Signal flash. Totally Wrong. I tested the turn/Park assembly and found one had a bad ground and the other had a burnt out bulb. Repaired both Light assemblies and install two new LED Bulbs. Separated wires and repaired the bare wires previously found. Marked wires and routed the Park Light wire properly. Decided to quit here and finish the rest another day.
- Horn Wire Grounded out
- park and turn have the same wires
Day 4 – 4 hrs.
Most of the front end wiring is done. Wired as it is supposed to. Taped the wires like factory did it. Cleaned everything up really nice. Did some planning for what needs to be done and ordered a few parts (Alt wire, Battery Wire, Mega 175 Amp fuse and holder). I wanted to look at the fuel pump wiring but also needed to open the truck. It would not open with the key so I had to crawl through the backseat area into the trunk. The key operated the lock properly but it would not release the latch. I ended up having to remove the latch completely to get the trunk open. Checked and appears latch is no good.
Looked at the Fuel pump wiring and typically found the cheap connectors and two pulled apart easily. Routed the Holley Fuel pump wire in the harness and connected it to the fuel pump feed wire. Grounds were secured with proper connectors as was the Fuel sending unit wire. Decided to shut it down for today as anything else would have required a couple of hours which I plan to do the next day.
- Before
- After
Day 5 – 2 Hrs.
Short day today as the Owner dropped by along with other distractions. Finished the Front end wiring and reassembled the grill. Customer saw what was done and very pleased. Explained all the other issues and he was shocked. He was told everything worked. Not sure how but I just tell it like I see it. Mounted the Starter solenoid and ran the starter circuit (Key to starter solenoid) ran another wire for the Neutral Safety switch to ground the Starter Solenoid. Tried to connect the Turn signal switch wiring but cannot find the female connector that would have come in the Painless wiring harness. Will have to track one down.
Day 6 – 4 hrs.
I thought today I would tackle the reason the Brake pedal is so high. Ended up removing the Booster to check the rod length. Found there was a 1 inch bushing installed and would not allow the rod to be shortened. Removed the bushing cut down the bolt part of the rod by an inch. Threaded in and tried the length in the vehicle. WOW like magic the pedal is were it should be. Put it all back together and it is great. Then I tried to position the Throttle pedal but the pedal taken form a Car really does not fit. Went out to my Truck and compared pedals and the truck pedal is surprisingly shorter. I will get one of them next time I am at the wreckers. Then I wired in the Turn Signal switch connector. This was quick and easy as I was in the area of the brake pedal. The car has an upgraded steering column so it has the hazard switch built into the column. Decided to route the 4 way flashers to the column instead of the dash Flasher switch. This can be changed if needed.
Next I decided to run the Starter wire. I had seen before the main bolt on the starter where the battery cable attaches was bent. Reached up to see it I could thread the nut further on the bolt. Doing so I found the bolt had a lot of play. Yes Not Good. Removed the starter to investigate and found it will need the solenoid replaced. Almost at a point I should not start new areas as I found issues with each one. However it will be done correctly when I am done.
The new Holley 4L80E wire harness came in so i decided that should be an easy install. Well it definitely was and I was able to feed it through the firewall opening and dropped it towards the trans. Plugged in the three connectors, tie wrapped the wires along with the O2 sensor wire and all good. I then added the missing MAP sensor and that was quick and easy.
I am always checking over every area of the vehicle to see If I notice anything that needs some attention. Something on the Fuel fitting doing into the fuel rail did not look right. Took off the hose that was clamped to the fuel rail and discovered my suspicions were correct. The clamp holing the line onto the fitting are made to ole about 10 psi pressure. Jumping up to 58 psi would have blown this setup right off. Ordered a correct fitting and I will install it properly with the correct fitting and proper high pressure clamps. On to another day.
Day 7 – 2 hrs.
I had a lot of running around so ended up being a short day. Thought what could I accomplish in this time. AH !! Throttle Pedal. I had a Car throttle pedal and no matter how I tried placing it, it was way too long. Compared it to a Truck Pedal and it was a lot shorter. Started placing it and moving around to see the best position to work with the Brake pedal and make it work. Found I needed to bring it out about 2 inches at the top and about an 1 3/8 inches at the bottom. Found a piece of tin, cut the approximate size I needed and planned how I could bend it up. There was a lot of grinding, bending and twisting to get it to a shape that would work. Once I had the bracket in a shape to accomplish the proper position of the throttle pedal, I found I had to trim the pedal itself down so it would give the proper clearance to allow full travel and leave room for the carpet once it is installed. End result it actually looks like it was made for the car and at the appropriate height to work with the brake pedal. I painted the bracket and used Riv-Nuts to mount the pedal securely to the bracket.
Day 8 – 4 Hrs.
I got a little things done today. Started off fixing the Fuel line and connector. Much safer now. Then I decided to wire in the Safety Neutral Switch and Reverse Light switch. Added an extra wire for the console light bulb as well. After this I decided to figure out the battery configuration. Customer has an AGM Battery with side mount posts. I tried to figure out a way to use them so it would configure properly and I was not happy with any solution I came up with. Looked closely at the battery and there was a cap over the top. I looked underneath and I could see what looked like top posts. Gave the top a tug and a pry and Bingo !! Top Post. Cleaned off the silicone and like magic I have a top post battery. Ran the Positive connections and mounted the 70 AMP Mega fuse for the interior feed. Ran the positive wires from the Holley system directly to the battery clamps as required by Holley. Set the positive clamp off to the side as I could not run the Starter cable as I am waiting for a Starter that is on order. Now the Negative Clamp. Ran the Holley ground and made up a Negative Battery cable with the 4 Gauge wire I got for this project. Also added a good body ground to the frame. Now I ran the 6 Gauge Main Alternator field wire from the Alternator to the 175 Amp fuse holder that was mounted beside the battery tray. From this fuse I ran a 6 Gauge up to the Positive battery clamp. You can see in the pictures the size of the wire supplied by Painless for the Alternator compared to the actual wire size required for a 160 Amp Alternator.
Still trying to figure out the best solution to regulate the Alternator output. Holley does not have built in Alternator regulation. You have to take there Pulse Width Modulated negative wire, then install a Solid state relay to switch it to a PWM positive. I tried this on my truck and after a while the voltage began to climb. I am going to check out the Quick Start Voltage Regulator system like I used on my Truck.
Day 9 and 10 – 4 hrs
Couple of short days as I had other items to attend to. Wired in the Wiper system and connectors. Added the rad Fan Relay and taped up the harnesses. Also found the Dimmer switch was coming apart. Removed it and disassembled it to clean up the contacts. Started wiring in the VHX Box from Dakota Digital and added the BIM (Bus Interface Module) for the Holley controller. Starting to take shape.
Now looking at things some more, i will need to remove the steering column and windshield to install the dash. All part of the fun !!
Day 11 and 12 – 5 hrs.
Had time time off from the car due to other commitments. Started the day off and pulled off the Alternator due to Holley’s system to control a Pulse Width Modulated Alternator is a real pain for Mopars. It requires adding a Solid state relay and go through a lot of hoops just to get it to work. I found a way better system when I discovered this while doing my truck. I found a company in the US called Quick Start Automotive Electric that makes an adapter that you replace in the alternator and it turns it back to a regular Alternator. They also sell a Voltage Regulator that is adjustable and has a heat sink on it. Works Awesome !! Just waiting for the part and I will add pictures while I do it. While the Alternator was out of the way. it allowed me to reroute some of the Holley wires so they were more hidden. Oil pressure, cam sensor and Throttle body wires.
Now to do the Power windows. Customer had the motors in the doors on the regulators and the switches. That is all. I found the connectors (GM switches) then I had to hunt down the pin out for the switches. Surprisingly I found just what I needed. I found 4 different colors of 12 gauge wire and wired it according to the diagram. To test I hooked up the power and ground to a battery to test. Like Magic it worked as designed !! Ya hoo!! Still lots of finishing to get it done.
The next day I knew I had to remove the steering column to install the dash. Looked harder then it actually was. Column out which gave me easier access to the area with out having the steering column in the way. Due to the issue with the brake pedal that I fixed previously, it required me to do a lot of adjusting to the brake switch. Bracket had to be moved and then I could line it up and adjust it to work as it was designed. Then I got into more of the fine tuning of the wires to the Dakota Digital VHX Box and tried to figure out how I could supply power to the Power Windows. Painless does have an auxiliary power relay BUT every way I looked at it, I would have needed to put a switch to turn on the windows. I could have added a relay to control the ground and though since I was doing that I might as well wire a relay in properly and not use the one from Painless.
Day 13 – 1.5 hrs.
Lots of things going on this day. busy in the morning but when I arrived at the shop, I noticed the customer had dropped off the Starter and trunk Latch. Jacked up the car and put it on stands to gain access to the Starter area. Installed the Starter and spacer which was relatively easy even with the headers. Once the starter was mounted, I ran the battery cable from the battery and installed the starter relay to starter wire. I had previously made up the Starter wire so that these two wires were taped and insulated around the header area to prevent the sires from getting burnt. Once this was done, I was able to drop the car back on the ground. I then cut the positive battery cable that was attached to the starter to length. Stripped the end and installed it along with the power wire from the Alternator together in the positive battery clamp. Sorry for the poor pictures but I had let the car down then thought of pictures.
Day 14 – 4 hrs.
I got the parts from Quick Start Regulators and swapped the part into the Alternator. Reassembled the Alternator and mounted it back on the Engine. I noticed when I removed the Serpentine Belt it was very tight and I had to literally pry it off. The tensioner was at it max and the belt would not slide on with out force. I looked and I would recommend to get a longer belt. As is it will cause premature failure of the Idler Bearings, Water Pump and Alternator. Mounted the Voltage Regulator and wired up the Alternator and ran a wire to a Switched Ignition output. We will have to wait to test it !!
Now to the Dash. Reinstalled the dash into the car and set it on the pivot bolts. Started hooking up the Ignition Switch, Headlight switch, dimmer switch (these were pre-wired before – hope it is right), Connected the power to the Fan Switch, routed the Dome light circuit to Glove box light, Map light and also connected the ground for Dome light to Dimmer switch. Stopped for today as I am now into wiring clean up and securing under dash so I decided to make this a one day project.
Working on trying to find someone to remove the Windshield so I can secure the dash. I am hoping to have everything done so when they come to remove the glass, I can mount the dash quickly and they can reinstall the windshield 10 minutes later.
Day 15 – 4 hrs.
Started the day off with an easy task and installed the new Trunk latch and striker. Little issue installing the trunk cylinder but all good and trunk opens and closes like a dream.
Now the tasks of getting the dash wiring cleaned up and organized so the dash will slide into place when the windshield is removed. I have someone coming Thursday to do this. They can remove windshield, I can slide the dash into place and install the 5 screws holding it in place. Then they can reinstall the glass. I tried to organize and group the wiring together. Also noticed the Heater control cables needed to installed before the dash is put in place. Way easier to do it now. Tested OK. Ty-wrapped and grouped wiring. Moved the dash into place to check to make sure nothing gets pinched during assembly. All tests OK so far.
Next I will have to figure out how I can mount the VHX box and BIM box from Dakota Digital. One other item I noticed was where the Holley Terminator X MAX BUS wire connection was. Even adding the Dakota Digital BUS Splitter, it would be impossible to access it to do updates. I checked online and found one that will do the job. Part ordered and will be here well before Thursday. More fun and Games.
Day 16 – 4 hrs.
Started the day to install a new Serpentine belt as the one installed was WAY too tight. I got one that was approximately 2″ longer. Put it one and it fits correctly with the tensioner in the middle of the travel as it should be. There is some humor in this as this car has a GM trans and the belt that fit is from a Cadillac. LOL!!
Well today it was time to hook up the battery and start testing circuits. First was to test the lights. YAHOO !! all worked – Park lights, Low and High Beam. Now to turn on the Key. Turned in ON and found out my Wipers worked. Thought I might as well continue testing that circuit. The wiper motor did not have a resistor on the motor so I was not sure about the low circuit. Now that I had power I could test it properly and connected it correctly. Found the Wiper switch to be very sensitive to the High and Low position. I laid the steering column in the car so I could connect the turn signal switch. Found the four way flasher was on. I had wired up the on on the dash to be the main one as it would be more stock. 4 Ways turned off. However when pressing the brake, brake lights would come on as well as the Front park lights. WEIRD. After a little testing, I found the 4 way switch on the Aftermarket Steering column was turned on. Once I shut that one off, all tested OK.
Next up, Starter and Reverse lights as these are both mounted on the shifter. Took a little playing around to adjust the two switches to function properly. However I got them working as designed. Heater circuit will be tested later. Tested the power Windows and of course they work properly !!
I stopped testing other circuits as I needed to figure out where to mount the VHX and BIM boxes for the Dakota Digital Dash. The only spot was to make a plate that would allow the VHX module to lean back into the dash behind the Gauge assembly. I made a plate that was 7″ X 7″ and formed it to allow it to be screwed to the bottom of the dash and slip into the correct position. Will need some more tweaking but the basic positioning is fine.
Client dropped by and we went over things to make sure on initial startup that all goes well. Oil Levels, Fuel and Trans Fluid. While he was there, I asked if he could help install the Rad as it was very hard to remove (He warned me about that before). After a short struggle the rad was in place. When the client left I finished mounting the Rad and connected the upper rad hose and tightened the lower hose clamp. Done for the day. Sorry not many pictures.
Day 17 – 4 hrs.
Today was the day to see if the engine would crank and fire. Hit the Ignition switch and things lit up but I needed to go into the Holley Terminator X MAX controller and program the engine and trans and all other perimeters. Now try to turn the engine over to see if it will fire. During Crank the Holley system lost all power. This means wiring is not hooked up correctly. Trace through the wiring that was pre-done and found the problem. The older Dodge switches have power on the accessory circuit to the coil, etc. but when you go to crank, they have a crank circuit that feed the accessory circuit. Well guess what was not there. The original connector has one broken tab and two of the main wires were pulled back. Did some searching in my goodies and low and behold I found a brand new connectors with the proper wires installed. Spliced on the new connector (This also allowed me to shorten the wiring) and connected the Crank Circuit to the Accessory circuit. Problem solved for losing power to the Holley control system. Went to crank the engine again and noticed NO RPM signal. Left this for now as I was getting close to wrapping up for the day.
Had a little time and I never heard the horn. Grounded the horn circuit and I could hear the relay clicking but no noise. Firstly I checked the fuse due to the way the horn was wired before (DEAD SHORT) and it was good. Hooked up a test light and connected to the horn circuit, grounded the circuit and the test light lit. I know the circuit is good now. Looked at the horn and noticed the horn of the horn was facing up. That is odd as any water would right into the horn and destroy it. Twisted the horn in the proper position and found this horn requires a power and a ground to work. Run the ground circuit and test the horn. Success. Also cleaned up the wired to the VHX box.
Off home to do some research for the No RPM issue in the Holley system.
Day 18 – 6 Hrs.
Through research I found there can be several issues that can give you a no start condition. First and quickest to check was the Ground wire for the coils and injectors. There are supposed to be 2 (one for each head). Checked and found only one and it was loose. Tightened it up, tried to start NO Go. I could not find the other one and since I had a complete Holley Terminator X MAX system (For a Dakota project), I compared the harnesses. Both only had one ground wire and new instructions indicate that all may not be present. Next while looking through instructions, I noticed that Holley requires a Specific Crank sensor. Checked the one installed and of course it is the wrong one. Sourced out the proper one and went to pick it up. Got back, installed the new Crank Sensor and crossed my fingers. Cranked the engine and now I had RPM signal and it sounded like it was firing on one or two cylinders. Well at least we are making progress. Through my research, it said that the injectors could be plugged up if the engine has sat for a long time (Probably due to the Ethanol in the fuel). Loosened the fuel rail and held up the injectors so I could see if they spray. Cranked the engine with key on and watched the injector spray. Well one had great flow, 3 others had poor flow and the rest nothing. Found an old harness and made a connector that I could connect to the injector and the wire ends to the battery (one to positive and one to negative). This would hold the injector open and I could force fluid through the injector. 2 had fairly good flow right away, 5 had restricted flow initially and then cleared up and one was totally blocked. Good thing I had a matching set of injectors that I could raid one to replace the plugged one. Reinstalled the injectors and bolted the rail down. Cross my fingers again and hit the key. Cranked for about 5 seconds and the engine fired up. Ya HOO !!! I needed to have the engine running before tomorrow as I have a glass company coming to remove the windshield so I can properly install the dash. Plan is to have them come, remove the glass, give me 10 minutes to install the 5 dash bolts and then they can reinstall the glass.
I had to upgrade the Holley Terminator and handheld software to the newest version and once done, it seems to start and run better. While I was behind the Dash, I read the instructions to configure the BIM box to read the Terminator and went through the dash and configures it as well. One thing I noticed other than some exhaust leaks, the oil pressure seemed low (30 PSI cold). Set for another day. Very happy things are up and running.
- OLD vs Proper
