Odd Wire.

[kmac530]

I am sorting thru the wiring on my truck {2R10} and according to my shop manual, there is only one tail light with 2 wires going to the rear of the truck. Mine has an added tail light on the right side and an obvious later splice with vinyl wire instead of cloth crossing over near the rear to the added tailight {unfortunatly its a ford light }.

But then there is a wire going down the right side {passenger side} frame rail, all by itself. It is old braided fabric wire like some OE. It is just taped off at the end. I have no idea what it is for and it is not in the manuals wiring diagram.

The wire has an inner fabric braided cover that is black then an outer braided cover that is hard to tell what color since it is crumbly and faded but it looks beige ish now. The wire goes up to the fire wall and splits. One end goes to the right front running light, and the other end goes to the back of the dash but dead ends there. The left running light goes straight to the light switch but not the right one.

Did Stude run an auxiliary spare wire on the opposite side? Or do you guys {gals} think it was a period correct owner added wire for some unknown reason? Some other ideas?

[mbstude]

Does the truck have added-on turn signals?

[JRoberts]

Was a right side tail light an option and the wire you speak of is just part of the wiring harness in case the optional tail light is put on the truck?

[kmac530]

No turnsignals stock, add on, or otherwise. It does have the big running lights on top of the front fenders. No mention of TS in the manual either and only 1 tail light stock.
Very curious. It is not an issue at all since I will be re-wireing it completely, pick up my kit wednesday I hope, but I just thought it might be nice to ID it before I rip it out.

Thanks for the ideas. I am guessing it was set up as a tail light long ago and connected to the front running lite for power, but changed later to a tail/brake setup connected to the left TL/BL later on and abandoned the old running lite wire. Just thought I would ask if others had seen it before. Cool that it is OE style fabric covered wire, so definately a very old mod.

[jclary]

First of all, you need to think seriously about getting rid of all the old cloth-covered wire. In the case of original wire...originality be damned! It is simply not safe. There is a modern reproduction cloth-covered wire that has good safe plastic insulation under the cloth. However, it is ridiculously expensive, and good quality insulated wire should work. Six volt systems carry more current than twelve volt systems and therefore require heavier gauge wire. If you buy or build a wiring harness for six volts...it will work great for a twelve volt conversion as well.

Do yourself a favor and upgrade the wiring on the truck. It could save the truck, the house it is parked next to and the people sleeping inside. If you buy the manual for your truck, it will have a wiring schematic that shows the gauge and color codes.

[jclary]

By the time I finished typing my reply, you had posted about getting a new wiring harness. Good for you!

[kmac530]

I am sorry Jc, I thought I put that in the original post. I am changing my wiring to one of those universal wiring kits like a Painless. I was just sorting them out and tracing out wires to know what I will be needing on the new kit when I found this odd wire.
I am going 12v and new wire. The Kit I found is a ProComp 20 circuit kit for only $150.00 with wire connectors, fuse blocks, full length labeled wires, and most needed terminals etc.
I do have a manual now and it does not show colors of wires in mine. But the universal kit has good directions and labeling.

[jclary]

I have built several wiring harnesses. I lay the old one out on a piece of plywood and build the new one on top of the old one. It takes time and patience, but so far it has worked well. On these old vehicles, it is rare to find a wiring harness that has not been patched, modified, or items added.

On old trucks, especially work trucks, I have found wires that once supplied current for added caution lights, two-way radios, PA systems, spot lights, etc.

My crusade against the old brittle cloth wiring intensified when a friend lost a shop along with a garage full of expensive classic cars after one of them caught on fire from a short-circuit.

[kmac530]

This is the kit I am using:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290620258522?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

I have talked to a guy I know who builds custom cars and his main business is auto electrics, he uses the Painless Kits but says he doesnt see anything wrong with this kit. He uses Painless brand kits only because someone paying big money for a custom car and custom wiring wants to hear a name they know, like Painless. But he said "wire is wire" so the Pro Comp kits are fine and for 1/3 the price of Painless....you know what a caso like me is gonna buy. lol