71 Pantera Replacing amp meter with voltmeter, would like remove lengths of heavy red and black wire from behind the dash, not just join them together, from what I can find the red goes to battery, but where does the black wire end/start? Found the large wiring diagrams but cannot enlarge image and still read
First time poster, Thanks for all the help in advance
Mike
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WELCOME!!
...I believe the Black wire goes to the 'Field' of the Alternator. That's how the Battery gets Charged Up. You can't eliminate them! (I) Bolted the Wire ENDS together (1/4" SS) and covered the connection with 2 Layers if INDUSTRIAL (Thick) Shrink Tubing, because that connection is due to get HOT!
MJ
I believe the battery hot cable runs to the hot side of the starter solenoid in the engine bay. There is a large hot red wire connected there that runs back into the passenger compartment and connects to one side of the ammeter. The other side of the ammeter then runs back to the Alternator as MJ already said. I would simply bolt them together and wrap them well.
The wiring diagrams are out there on The Pantera Place I believe.
Here is the wiring harness on a workbench. The black arrow points to the thick wires joined to eliminate the AMP meter. In this case they were joined to test the harness. Going to the right in the photo leads to the engine compartment where the black wire connects to the alternator. I can't recall where the red wire terminates to charge the battery.
In my humble opinion, it is best just to join the wires under the dash. I spent a good amount of time restoring this harness. It had a lot modifications that I had to undo. It would be extra work for someone down the road to restore the AMP meter if the wires were cut.
