Right now Im really glad my wagons an 83 !!!!! Are the later terminals easy to find ?
Fabricating New Harness from C100 Bulkhead Connector to Engine, A/C, Etc.
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Right now Im really glad my wagons an 83 !!!!! Are the later terminals easy to find ?
From what I see in my '86 parts car harness the standard & wides size terminals look like the Packard 56 & 59 series terminals but I haven't tore into the wires to be 100% on it. I would say check with your local GM parts counter but odds one of the parts jockey being able to look for them with out a VIN or p/n would be slim.
Based on measurements of the male terminals from my existing C100 bulkhead connector (AKA firewall connector that attaches to back of fuse box), the terminals in my C100 are metripack connectors. Mostly 630 series and 480 series of metripack.
One exception is the brown sensor/energizer wire for the alternator. I have NOT yet extracted the terminal and brown sensor/energizer wire from the C100. However, it appears that this wire/circuit uses a metripack 280 series terminal.
Link1 to Waytek 630 series male terminal for 12 gauge conductors:
www.waytekwire.com
Link2 to Waytek 630 series male terminal for 14-16 gauge conductors: https://www.waytekwire.com/item/31092/Aptiv-12065196-Metri-Pack-Male-Loose-Terminal-/
One exception is the brown sensor/energizer wire for the alternator. I have NOT yet extracted the terminal and brown sensor/energizer wire from the C100. However, it appears that this wire/circuit uses a metripack 280 series terminal.
Link1 to Waytek 630 series male terminal for 12 gauge conductors:
Aptiv 12064737 Metri-Pack 630 Series Male 12 GA Loose Terminals | Waytek
Aptiv 12064737 Metri-Pack 630 Series Male 12 GA Loose Terminals in stock and ready to ship. Order today!
www.waytekwire.com
Link2 to Waytek 630 series male terminal for 14-16 gauge conductors: https://www.waytekwire.com/item/31092/Aptiv-12065196-Metri-Pack-Male-Loose-Terminal-/
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Four 12 gauge conductors are used in my C100 bulkhead connector as follows:
a. red wire (circuit number 2 located in B5 location of the C100). This circuit provides power into the fuse box and the source of the power is the battery terminal on the starter.*
b. red wire (circuit number 2 located in G4 location of the C100). This circuit provides power into the fuse box and the source of the power is the battery terminal on the starter.*
c. purple wire (circuit number 6 located in E4 location of the C100). This circuit provides power out to starter solenoid.
d. pink wire (circuit number 3 located in D4 location of the C100). This circuit provides power out to coil.
*- Two separate conductors labeled circuit 2 provide power into fuse box.
See picture below for circuit numbers.
a. red wire (circuit number 2 located in B5 location of the C100). This circuit provides power into the fuse box and the source of the power is the battery terminal on the starter.*
b. red wire (circuit number 2 located in G4 location of the C100). This circuit provides power into the fuse box and the source of the power is the battery terminal on the starter.*
c. purple wire (circuit number 6 located in E4 location of the C100). This circuit provides power out to starter solenoid.
d. pink wire (circuit number 3 located in D4 location of the C100). This circuit provides power out to coil.
*- Two separate conductors labeled circuit 2 provide power into fuse box.
See picture below for circuit numbers.
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I contacted American Autowire (800-482-9473) in the hope that I could purchase the C100 bulkhead terminals from them for my 1985 El Camino. The American Autowire ("AA") representative explained that AA handles GM harnesses from 1947 to 1981. Additionally, the AA rep explained that AA only sells a limited number of terminals (apparently, Packard 56 and 59 terminals are available from AA). The AA rep also explained that AA receives a lot of requests for gbody engine harnesses. But, at this time, AA does NOT manufacture harnesses (nor supply terminals for gbodys post 1981/1983*).
*- AA rep said that AA does not handle GM for 1982 and later. But it appears that 1981 V8 engine harness should work up in V8 gbodies up to 1983 (this represents my current understanding but has not been tested). If someone knows for sure whether a V8 1981 engine harness will work in a 1983 V8 vehicle, this would be valuable information for everyone interested. The largest difference between 1983 and 1984 harnesses appears to be: i.) use of Packard 56 and 59 terminals in 1983 and before harnesses; and ii.) use of Metri-pack 630 and 480 terminals in 1984 and later harnesses.
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The 81 and 83 Malibus I own have the same bulkhead connectors. They both use 56 and 59 terminals.
I just finished wiring the new crate motor in my wagon. Theres a few pictures in my build thread but I'll post some more here. Some things that I redid were the fusible links on both cars and also the factory splice thats coming off the alternator harness. Like I said in a previous post I bought GXL wire from Wirebarn. You wont need long runs so dont waste your money on spools.
This is what the 83 wagon looked like when I started. I didnt have to do anything to the wipers and light harness. I already cleaned them up before the motor went in.
Theres a few wires poking through the firewall next to the bulkhead that are for the Autometer gauges and tach.
This is the factory splice before and after.
Bulkhead after running the new wires. Before and after. The blue wire is for the electric choke. Since I deleted a lot of the unused wires Im not sure where thats going. I have to wait until I have the battery in so I can check the connections at the bulkhead to see whats hot with ignition.
Fusible links. Before and after. I changed the one wire from a 10AWG back to a 12AWG after this picture was taken so the link wires are the same now. I used 3M shrink butt connectors on them with marine grade shrink tubing on top of that for a good seal.
To make it easier to follow I put everything on a piece of cardboard and went through what could be deleted and what had to be moved.
Some wires and plugs are totally gone, others rerouted from one side of the motor to the other due to the crate motor having the serpentine setup. I was able to use 5/8 split loom from the bulkhead connector since the amount of wires changed. Not everyone will like the way theyre routed but I was able to cover a few small holes in the firewall doing it this way and it kept things neat. The last picture shows 95% of it finished. The pink coil wire is now in the loom. I also bought a couple of new OEM plugs for the coil wire and tach wire for the HEI.
This is what it looked like in the process of doing it. I would run the wire to the end and tape it so they would stay in place. Im sure theres other ways of doing it but this is what worked for me. I had a few factory clamps that I grabbed from cars at the local junk yards but they didnt work with the smaller loom so I wound up using the ones shown. I couldnt find stainless so I took the rubber off and sprayed them silver. They dont look that bad. I plan on redoing the looms on the 81 as soon as Im finished with the wagon.
Yesterday I spent over an hour taking the AC harness out of a Cutlass at the yard because the two vacuum lines for the AC got snapped off right at the rubber grommet when I was redoing the AC to firewall seal. Kinda pissed me off since I redid a few of the electrical connectors in that harness. Just more work. LOL
One piece of advice, label everything when you take it apart like I did with the harness on the cardboard. It makes things easier to figure out. I had to change the AC high idle circuit from the right side to the left. The original lt green wire went to a multi wire plug. Now its a single wire going through the loom to a separate aftermarket solenoid. The other wires that were in that plug were deleted. Its a time consuming job.
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Another good source of wire are GM minivans in the salvage yard. There are large / long bundles of wire that run from front to back in the interior. I’ve cut out a bunch of the stuff for reworking LS harnesses. Cheap And I’ve never had an issue matching colors.
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Thanks for confirming that 1981 and 1983 Malibus use the same bulkhead connector (AKA C100 connector)!!!
Metri-pack terminals can be removed using the Delphi tools. Or, a leather awl works equally well. The tool is inserted from the firewall side of the C100 bulkhead connector. The tool then bends the retention pin pin back so that the terminal can be extracted. See pics below.
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