Burned my fusible link

[734406pk]

Yes you could use an 8 ga but its rated for 50 amps. I would error on safety at 6 ga. Not much of a difference in  cost plus less voltage drop (VD). Just my opinion. We love our MOPARS after all!

[dodj]

I personally would not go to a #6 unless I had accessories always running that put my constant load over 30-40 amps. What 73440 says is true, #6 is better than #8, but but is overkill IMO. Terminating becomes a problem with large wire too.

[Cudaragtop]

Nothing wrong with a #6 if the size isn't a concern.
This is the kind of wire I was talking about. It far exceeds the NEC rating. It's all about surface area of the conductors.
This #8 is made of 133 strands of #29 wire. High ampacity, high temperature jacket and super flexible.
http://www.cobrawire.com/x-flex/x-flex150.php  Cobra Wire x-flex #8 AWG is rated for 106 Amps @ 150*C
x-flex 150 #10 is rated for 80 Amps and the #6 is 155 Amps 

[734406pk]

Nothing wrong with a #6 if the size isn't a concern.
This is the kind of wire I was talking about. It far exceeds the NEC rating. It's all about surface area of the conductors.
This #8 is made of 133 strands of #29 wire. High ampacity, high temperature jacket and super flexible.
http://www.cobrawire.com/x-flex/x-flex150.php  Cobra Wire x-flex #8 AWG is rated for 106 Amps @ 150*C
x-flex 150 #10 is rated for 80 Amps and the #6 is 155 Amps 

That's some awesome wire! Tinned copper and flexible epdm high temp insulation- perfect for this application. Far better than what the factory was using back in the day.

[tommyg29]

Maybe another product for Rob Yule. A quality plug and play bypass wire with fuse made to order. He would probably sell quite a few, including B-bodies, and maybe a bodies had this issue too?

Just pulled my radio to get to the ammeter. Much easier! Had two reds on one post and black wire the other. I pulled them off, bolted them together and taped it up. Looks like a big black blob. Not pretty, but... lights and everything still blinking.

Then I reconnected the black wire to alternator post for a minute to see what happens. Much better. At first it blinked a bit, but after I revved the engine a little it slowed and stopped after a few moments, and everything seems to work again.
I noticed at idle the headlights still seem to dim a little, but that may be normal.
I guess with this layout the accessory feed still runs through the bulkhead, but at least not the ammeter. My gauges were rebuilt 12 years ago and the rear posts looked in good condition.
Think Ill drive it tonight and see how everything runs.
Electrical issues are so frustrating to me. The car is so nice it drives me nuts when little things like this happen.
I have the car for sale. I wonder if its common for the higher end rotisserie restos to still have niggling issues like this. I would hate to sell the car to someone who then takes off on a cross country trip and it breaks down. 
At least electrical issues are the only problem I foresee it having.

[734406pk]

Maybe another product for Rob Yule. A quality plug and ply bypass wire with fuse made to order. He would probably sell quite a few, including B-bodies, and maybe a bodies had this issue too?

Good idea for any mopar that had an ammeter.

[tommyg29]

I figured out its mostly the radio. I can turn everything else on and no blinking, except I have noticed some at idle. Barely noticeable. But even with nothing else on, I turn on the radio and lots of blinking.

[734406pk]

I believe there is an issue with the OEM ammeter in your car. As you can see in the wiring diagram, the entire electrical load is on the alternator side. So now the battery feed through the fuse link must feed the load through the ammeter. I know it is a real pain, but I suggest bypassing the ammeter and then see if the blinking goes away. A volt Meter test would be better, but I don't  if you have one available.

[crackedback]

I could definitely build something that would be stealthy and effective.   I'd probably use a fusible link to stay consistent with the OEM style wiring. 

I did this on my car using a black wire as a Positive line and placed red shrink tube to cover ends to designate it as a + wire.  You can see on the upper solenoid behind that high low jump wire.



If there is interest in a product like this, I'd build them to customer desired lengths.  Probably have a soldered end at the alternator and crimp terminal with solder at starter relay with 8-10" of fusible link.  A, B and E body cars could all benefit.

If you disconnect the black OEM line, I'd suggest creating a jumper to your starter relay feed that side under dash  using a fusible link inline as the factory did feeding it from the alternator.   That's another Item I could probably build using the std packard 56 terminal and fusible link.  Pop old feed wire out of bulkhead connector, snap in the new.  Done!

[tommyg29]

I believe there is an issue with the OEM ammeter in your car. As you can see in the wiring diagram, the entire electrical load is on the alternator side. So now the battery feed through the fuse link must feed the load through the ammeter. I know it is a real pain, but I suggest bypassing the ammeter and then see if the blinking goes away. A volt Meter test would be better, but I don't  if you have one available.

I did disconnect the ammeter but still blinking.
Could some connection to the radio be causing even the headlights to blink? Not blinking exactly, but quick dimming about twice per second.

[brads70]

I did disconnect the ammeter but still blinking.
Could some connection to the radio be causing even the headlights to blink? Not blinking exactly, but quick dimming about twice per second.

Could it be possible your alternator is damaged? 

[734406pk]

Are you using the factory style transistorized voltage regulator mounted on the firewall? Also check the fuse link connection at the bulkhead connector. Make sure that the terminal is fully seated.

[mopar jack]

I would put a volt meter on the alternator output when running and check the D.C. voltage and then check for high A.C. voltage. You may have blown a diode and that will cause the output to cycle rapidly.

[HP_Cuda]

Make sure your Voltage regulator is snugly fastened to the firewall because that is how it's grounded.

If not, you'll see all sorts of crazy action including over charging conditions which I found out.

 

[734406pk]

I'm thinking there is a voltage drop here caused by a resistance. High suspect is the fuse link to bulkhead connector, since it was replaced. It very hard to tell if the Packard connector is fully inserted into the bulkhead connector causing the resistance. These connectors were marginal at best when new but they can be modified to work well with some TLC.