Electrical Wiring Modifications

So, the new steering column is installed and we are on our way.  The old column had an integral key ignition switch, but the new one does not.  This is okay for two reasons: 1) Mounting the switch on the dash is going to look cooler, and 2) the dash mounted switch fits better into the long term plan for the all-electric conversion down the road.

First, the new high torque modern starter motor is capable of switching the full current load when starting unlike old OEM starters, so you can wire them up differently without a starter relay.  This enables me to re-purpose the original starter relay as a master power relay for the whole vehicle.  To do this, I basically moved all of the load side wire connections to the opposite side of the relay from the battery lead.  Configured this way, the truck will be completely dead until the "master switch" is activated on the dash, then power will be available to everything on the vehicle.  The new master switch itself is rated for ~5 amps, which would burn up under the load experienced by the relay.

 To find the correct wire lead under the dash that originally served as the starter switch signal, I made a short hot wire that I could clip to the battery.

 The starter relay activated with a distinctive "thud" when I hit the right pin with the 12V hot wire.

 The new master power switch wiring is pretty straightforward.

 

Here it is!  The new power switch has a modern styling and lights up with a blue LED when activated.  Thinking ahead, this switch will be coupled with a push button starter switch and a RFID key fob just like a modern vehicle.  No old fashioned key on this hot rod...  Just get in the truck, push the start button, and away you go!