Electrically challenged in need of help...


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Old 07-08-11, 09:45 PM
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Lightbulb Electrically challenged in need of help...

Ok, so I'm going to start off saying I'm a total newbie when it comes to pretty much anything I'm going to talk about. Also, this may not be a house DIY thing but it's still electrical related. Hopefully maybe someone will have good advice here.

I wanted a track car so I bought an '86 corvette in pretty rough shape for cheap. All I use it for is tracking so I'm taking out more stuff than I'm repairing. I'm working on the HVAC now. All I care about is having heat really. So I want to be able to control 3 things on and off in the end: fan, defrost vacuum motor, and air mix door motor. I also should note that the climate control module in the dash was fried so I tossed it. I'm using the existing wiring and jumping wires in the electrical connectors to get power to the fan. I've found a way to get ~14V to the fan motor (i'll post a diagram) but the wires I'm using to jump the pin holes in the connectors get REALLY hot. The fan runs when I make the connections. I experimented with a breadboard and resistors but the resistors either smoldered with too little resistance or the fan cut off with too much resistance. Is there a better way to jump these connections? Does this just simply sound like a ground issue? Any advice would be much appreciated.

 
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Old 07-09-11, 04:09 AM
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Welcome to the forums! Sad day to track a vette At least it wasn't a '69 coupe. Anyway, don't poke wire in connector holes. You will need to cut the wire behind the connector and use either a crimp connector from the supply wire to your switch wire, or incorporate a screw board connector block with fuses. The "poke" you are using is not making a good connection and is causing undue resistance at that point, thus the heat.
 
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Old 07-09-11, 05:41 AM
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Thanks! I new it was something simple that I was doing wrong. The only reason I wasn't crimping is because I didn't want to end up with a bunch of confusing random crimps everywhere. If that's the only way to make a good connection then that's what I'll have to do I guess. Thanks again!
 
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Old 07-09-11, 09:46 AM
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Put identifying tape on the wires so you can tell where they come from/go to.
 
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Old 07-09-11, 07:39 PM
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FYI another reason the connections were burning up is because I was using a small gauge wire to power a high current device. The connector wires are designed to supply power to a relay ("solid state" block) and apparently can't carry the current efficiently to the motor itself. I'll be crimping the wires now and running them through a run-of-the-mill automotive relay to control the fan motor.

You learn something new every day...
 
 

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