alternator wire in RF harness

[chopthebass]

I have been following the manual to the tee, and now I have come to wiring I have hit a problem. It says fit the alternator wires through the hole in the drivers foot wall. Found the hole (semi-circular), but there's no way the plugs will push through. The surrounding aluminum is rivetted and siliconed. Is there an easy solution other than drill the rivets so I can create a gap?

[christenfreedman]

I would start to drill out the rivets...You may also need to enlarge the hole to get the other through there as well...

[edwardb]

Sounds like you're talking about the hole at the top of the inside driver's footbox wall, near the center, right against the 2 inch square tube. Near your right knee as sitting in the driver's seat. The right one? I've found those to be too small even for just the wires, and needed to be enlarged a bit. As I recall, it only has to be slightly larger then the wires and then the connector(s) in question will just fit through if turned sideways as you push them through. The kit provides some plastic edging to be used on that hole. I've found that a piece of split rubber tubing works a little better and nearly fills the opening. A little black silicone or whatever can finish sealing if needed.

[rmiller64]

As Edward said I also enlarged the hole after all sheet metal had been installed. A carbide Burr Bit like the one below on a die grinder or high speed drill will make quick work of reshaping the hole for the size needed. I ran some extra wires through that hole so made mine a bit larger and bought edging material to protect the wire loom.

46719

[Jeff Kleiner]

Personally I don't care for their suggestion to take those big wads of wires out at the hole by the driver's knee. The only thing I run there is the leg of the harness that goes to the rear. I like to run the starter and alternator wires behind the dash then out through the PS firewall extension and forward along the 3/4" tubes. If you secure them on the backside of the tubing like so they are unseen when looking into the engine bay.

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj43/jkleiner/100_2093.jpg

To me this keeps the engine compartment neater and less cluttered. Note that you will need to extend the alternator wires slightly (if you use anything other than a 2G alternator you'll be modifying them anyway).

Jeff

[chopthebass]

Thanks Jeff. I prefer that idea. In fact I was just wondering where to route the rear harness. The build video glances very quickly at it and wasn't much help. So are rubber grommets included? Doesn't appear to be any in RF kit. Not sure what a 2G alternator is.

[Jeff Kleiner]

...So are rubber grommets included? Doesn't appear to be any in RF kit. Not sure what a 2G alternator is.

Grommets, additional split loom and clamps are all hardware store items. A 2G alternator was the Ford OEM unit from the early 1980s up through the mid '90s and is what the RonFrancis harness is set up to "plug & play". Using something different such as a later 3G, one wire, etc. requires reconfiguration of the harness.

Jeff

[chopthebass]

Jeff, my alternator has the same 3 pin socket to match the RF harness, so thats good. What are the two thick red wires? Sorry I am crap at electrics.

[smithbks]

If I recall correctly those two wires are the same...meaning it is one wire run back to the harness and about 12 inches back from the plug they mate the other red wire to it. If you peel back the loom a little you will see it.