Rookie questions "The Last Chapter" ....well sort of

[j. brian mulloy]

Hi Guys,
I saved this for last. I seem to have encountered a daunting (to me, at least) major electrical problem. Some (make that 'a whole bunch') of the circuitry from the CDS console is so fried; melted insulation and corroded bare wiring; one has to strip away the wire bundling (looks suspiciously like electrician's tape) to find some insulation to relate to the colour codes on the wiring schematics. Some of the pins on the connectors (14 pin style) show evidence of circuit overheating. Also, sections of the wiring bundle from the alternator through the firewall/air shroud to the interior electricals are in the same dreadful condition. Interestingly enough, the fuses on the console look to be OK as do the fuses in the luggage compartment. The relays on the CDS console and the CDS unit show a fair bit of surface corrosion. Visual inspection alone shows some of this stuff has to be replaced. I am hoping the CDS unit itself is still functional as I imagine they ain't cheap. I have heard that one should consider a 'marine grade' of replacement wiring c/w hardware and a newer type of wire bundling (heat-shrink ??). How about a fuse panel upgrade? It looks like, electrically speaking, I have a basket case on my hands which means I may be looking at a major system re-build. Most of the really bad wiring seems to be in the engine bay alone. I doubt if engine heat was the problem because everything else seems to be normal. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Incidentally, the car is a 1970 T, a pretty little garage queen on jackstands - for the moment - and besides it is winter here.

Thanx in advance
Brian

[dickster]

i'm no expert but to keep your thread going, i would swap the damage part of the loom (back to the std connectors)??