Electrical diagram 55 5E pickup

[dlhiggins1]

Hi....anyone have an electrical diagram and/or schematic for a 55 5E pickup....or know where I might get one...thanks

[jclary]

Hello, and welcome to the forum. Do you have a shop manual? Are you a member of the Studebaker Club? Manuals are available and well worth the price. I have a little 55 E5 that I have owned for 35 years and unless yours has had a lot of stuff cobbled on to it over the years, you won't find a much simpler electrical system. Tell us a little more about your truck and why you need a schematic.

John Clary
Greer, SC

Life... is what happens as you are making plans.
SDC member since 1975

[dlhiggins1]

Thanks for responding....mine's a stock 55....good looking reliable "runner" not a show car....I have had the truck a couple years and have a few "stray" wires that need attention....would be happy to purchase a service manual if I can find one....I purchased a parts manual, but wiring diagrams are not in the manual...any help would be appreciated. I would attach a photo, if I knew how....obviously, I a new to the forum.

[jclary]

It is very late here and I am going to bed. Perhaps we can take this up again tomorrow. I have the shop manuals and I think they have the wiring diagrams. If you still have the stock wires like I did...we are both lucky we didn't burn our trucks up. I removed mine placed it on a plywood sheet and built another one on top of it. While I was at it I added extra wires for turn signals, fog lights, and an extra tail light since my truck came with only one. By the way, let us know where you are from. You might be surprised to find yourself surrounded by a bunch of Studebaker nuts!

John Clary
Greer, SC

Life... is what happens as you are making plans.
SDC member since 1975

[dlhiggins1]

Sounds good John.....I'm out in the high desert of central southern California not too far from Big Bear....bought the truck from the original owner a few years ago...truck was in the desert from day one....good news is no rust, etc...bad news is all of the dry heat didn't do the wiring any favor...also the 6 volt system with a chassis ground doesn't all to the situation especially given the truck's age....good point about the fire hazard....probably need to make a new harness like you did rather than trying to patch up the damage....any idea where a shop manual might be found these days?....if not, maybe diagram copies....will attach photo if you will be kind enough to tell me how to accomplish same....take care and thanks

David Higgins

[BobGlasscock]

I know this for cars and would assume the same is true for trucks, manuals are available from Studebaker vendors and also on Ebay. Usually about $40. Studebaker vendors can be found at a link on this web's home page. Posting pics is really not hard at all although some people complain about the process. Find a website that hosts pics, like Photobucket, and put your pics on that site. Then you can copy the image address of the pic and insert that link in your post on this site. When your post posts, this site will get the pic from the host site and it appears in your post. There are instructions for this on the forum list page, I think. It's all here somewhere.......

'50 Champion, 1 family owner

[Bud]

I would recommend replacing the wire loom if possible as the original wiring probably has deteriorated to the point of not being repairable. There are several Stude parts vendors that have replacement looms available. I'm in Hawthorne not far from LAX if you need help with your wiring. Bud

[dlhiggins1]

Bud....thanks for the response....any of these vendors have harnesses that are model specific or are they just general in nature?...any names come to mind?...regards

[jclary]

Right in the tiny state you live in (tee he) is Studebakers West, 335 A Convention Way, Redwood City, Ca 94063. Phone 650-366-8787.
I purchased a wiring harness for my '48 coupe and it went in perfect. However, being the CASO (cheap @ss Studebaker owner) that I am, I built the ones for my Land Cruiser and my '55 truck. What I did (and it takes a lot of patience) was label the wires (literally) with little labels from an office supply. I wrote on the little labels exactly in non-technical terms where each wire attached. For example, I used "P" for passenger side and "D" for driver side instead of "right" or "left" and words like "P-side front terminal block-outside terminal", "Middle terminal", or "Inside Terminal"(meaning the terminal next to the radiator." I used modern wire of the correct size. If I did not have the correct color, I used a correct color strip of heat shrink tubing at the terminal end. Another thing I did was to use an appropriate size length of heat shrink tubing for wire loom to run the wires through instead of wrapping with electrical tape. I laid the old harness on a piece of plywood and used it as a guide to make the new one. After I had everything in place, I used a heat gun to shrink the new "Loom Tubing" and everything fit back into the truck as neat as the "Store Bought" one!
Just for future reference, I did label the terminal ends with those professional wire marker letters like..."LTS" (left turn signal), or "RHL" (right head light), etc. I removed the little funky string labels as I re-attached the wires. Below is a picture of my old harness lying on my very cracked concrete driveway. (I almost forgot I had this picture)

[img][/img]
Trust me, the new harness looks a lot neater in the truck![]

John Clary
Greer, SC

Life... is what happens as you are making plans.
SDC member since 1975

[dlhiggins1]

John....thanks again for the info....any chance you would photocopy the diagrams/schematics from your manual and either fax or mail the copies to me?...Haven't been able to locate a shop manual....any thouhts on a specific source(s)?....regards

[starlightchamp]

https://www.studebakerparts.com/studebakerparts/store/s/agora.cgi?page=wirediagrams.html

Try the above. It has 54 and 56 truck wiring diagrams. Not your year but Studebaker didn't change a lot year to year so they may be helpful and FREE !

[dlhiggins1]

Seems as though the 55 was a hybrid between 54 and 56 when 12v was introduced.....folks at Sasco said they had never seen a shop manual for the 55....thanks

[jclary]

dlhiggins1
Champion Member



5 Posts
Posted - 07/13/2009 : 11:48:56 AM
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John....thanks again for the info....any chance you would photocopy the diagrams/schematics from your manual and either fax or mail the copies to me?...Haven't been able to locate a shop manual....any thouhts on a specific source(s)?....regards

quote:Originally posted by starlightchamp

https://www.studebakerparts.com/studebakerparts/store/s/agora.cgi?page=wirediagrams.html

Try the above. It has 54 and 56 truck wiring diagrams. Not your year but Studebaker didn't change a lot year to year so they may be helpful and FREE !

The link posted by starlightchamp is perfect. That should allow you to size it up and print out a copy you can take out to the truck with you. I noticed that the schematic calls what I have been calling "terminal blocks"..."Junction Block", but either way you get the idea. The legend gives you the wire color and wire size. It is very important to get the wire sizes correct. 6 volt systems require heavier wire than 12 volt systems and it is important that you pay attention to that. For the main battery wire, go to a place where they work on farm tractors (usually not the local "Tractor Supply" company where they sell more lawn mowers, rabbit food, and boots than tractor stuff)...but a place where they actually sell and repair farm tractors. They are likely to have heavy battery cables and the woven wire ground cable like the one in your truck. If you decide to buy a ready made harness, you are ahead of the game. As for manuals, it is my understanding that 1955 was a very traumatic year for Studebaker and I don't think a specific shop manual for the 1955 truck was printed. The Shop manual that I have covers 2E through 8E series and was really printed to cover the '56 up years. All the wiring schematics show 12 volt systems. However, I have "Truck Parts Catalog" that covers 1949-1956 trucks and has "Revised Jan., 1961" printed on the front cover. The schematic covered in the link above should be the same as yours. I hope this helps and let us know if we can help more. Also, keep in mind that this is the week of the big National Meet that is being held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The "Movers and Shakers" of the Studebaker world are in attendance there and may not be available to check the forum as usual, so be patient this week as you attempt to gather information or order parts from the vendors.

John Clary
Greer, SC

Life... is what happens as you are making plans.
SDC member since 1975

[Bud]

I've installed wire looms from Studebakers West with no problems. Their looms fit correctly and are of good quality. I'm sure that that there are other vendors that sell good quality looms also. A friend of mine and I restored two 55 pickups and I know that there is a shop manual available for those trucks. I've built wire looms from scratch, but it is easier and alot faster to use a loom that is ready to install. Bud

[dlhiggins1]

Thanks Bud....anyone know where one of the "elusive"55 pickup shop manuals can be found? Also, my truck has a factory in-dash radio with the speaker mounted below the dash....cover is missing for the speaker....question is (1) was this a factory speaker and (2) what does the cover look like and where can I find one?....thanks all.