What does this connector off the red blower power wire go to?

by relic7680 Mon Dec 13, 2021 3:10 pm

Hey fellas,

Sorting out the HVAC engine compartment side harness and have one more dead end that I need to figure out. There is a red 10 gauge wire that breaks out of the engine harness and clips to the firewall just below the wire gutter, where it has a connector and goes over to the blower relay. This connector body has a small black wire branching out of it that has a female boot on the end.....what does this connect to? See pic and let me know, if you have one of these cars that is unmolested. Thanks in advance.

What does this connector off the red blower power wire go to? Img_6413

by Mcarlo77 Tue Dec 14, 2021 12:09 am

I believe that is for an underhood light.

by relic7680 Tue Dec 14, 2021 2:14 am

You know, the wiring diagram in my '76 service manual seems to suggest that, but I can't find any good pics of the installation. If the car isn't optioned with the light....I assume it just hangs disconnected?

by Mcarlo77 Tue Dec 14, 2021 12:13 pm

Honestly, I've never seen a car have that pigtail without the hood light...and, I've poured thru many dozens of them over the years. Surprisingly, underhood lights aren't very common on these cars. If my factory stock Monte wasn't put away for the winter and the hood covered with deck furniture (on top of a heavy bed comforter for protection), I would have been glad to take some pics for you.

by zucchi Tue Dec 14, 2021 5:16 pm

I have two questions for you;
1) Is the circuit that it came from fused?
2) Is the circuit controlled by the key? In other words does it energize when the key is 'on' then deenergize when 'off'?

My '74 Monte Carlo has a factory installed hood light — see photos…

What does this connector off the red blower power wire go to? Img_2010

What does this connector off the red blower power wire go to? Img_2011

It connects to an inline fuse then direct to the junction block on the firewall. There is no extra connector.

by Mcarlo77 Tue Dec 14, 2021 7:16 pm

Hmmm...I've never seen a hood light with an inline fuse like that on our cars. Those splices on either end of the fuse do not appear to be factory. You're certain the car came from the factory with the hood light?

My '77 Monte's hood light operates without the key in the ignition. There has been discussion on the Olds forum that the Cutlass required the key to be ON. Not sure if that pertained to the '73-'77, though.

by zucchi Tue Dec 14, 2021 7:23 pm

Mcarlo77 wrote:You're certain the car came from the factory with the hood light?

It's on the build sheet as is the trunk light.

by Mcarlo77 Tue Dec 14, 2021 8:59 pm

Well...goes to show anything was possible with GM production.

I see you still have the seat belt interlock relay in place. Is it still functional...or, has it been bypassed? What a debacle that idea was back in the day!

by zucchi Tue Dec 14, 2021 10:59 pm

Mcarlo77 wrote:I see you still have the seat belt interlock relay in place. Is it still functional...or, has it been bypassed? What a debacle that idea was back in the day!

It still works. In fact, I put effort into keeping it working. Some years back, I was pulled over by a cop claiming I wasn't wearing my seat belt; damn liar. And they wonder why they're not respected. Anyway, I told him that would be impossible then proceeded to demonstrate GMs starter interlock system to illustrate why it would be impossible. He was at once amazed and disappointed. I think he was also relieved that I didn't call him out on his lie and report him.

It's also more effective than a cut-off switch, kinda like a "smart" cut-off switch. There's nothing wrong with the system other than it was about twenty years ahead of its time.

by relic7680 Wed Dec 15, 2021 1:33 am

The pigtail/socket in question is branching off a connector clipped to the firewall below the wire gutter. That circuit is a 10 gauge red wire that is factory spliced into the same color/gauge wire running to the alternator and starter (manual calls it the engine harness). Blower fan high speed power is taken off the aforementioned connector through the blower relay. My car has no evidence of an inline fuse ever being installed here, though I have seen several cars with it and the service manual shows a 30A. I do not believe my car ever had an under hood light, but yet the harness seems to have the provision for it.

by zucchi Fri Apr 08, 2022 3:38 pm

zucchi wrote:
Mcarlo77 wrote:I see you still have the seat belt interlock relay in place. Is it still functional...or, has it been bypassed? What a debacle that idea was back in the day!

It still works. In fact, I put effort into keeping it working. Some years back, I was pulled over by a cop claiming I wasn't wearing my seat belt; damn liar. And they wonder why they're not respected. Anyway, I told him that would be impossible then proceeded to demonstrate GMs starter interlock system to illustrate why it would be impossible. He was at once amazed and disappointed. I think he was also relieved that I didn't call him out on his lie and report him.

It's also more effective than a cut-off switch, kinda like a "smart" cut-off switch. There's nothing wrong with the system other than it was about twenty years ahead of its time.

Just found this video about the "new" GM seatbelt system that appears to be targeted toward sales associates and customers.

The first nine-minutes is the seatbelt video, the second half is about Chevrolet vans vs. Ford.

by zucchi Mon Apr 11, 2022 9:34 am

zucchi wrote:
Mcarlo77 wrote:You're certain the car came from the factory with the hood light?

It's on the build sheet as is the trunk light.

A copy of the factory build sheet was attached to the inside of the upper door panel on the passenger side…

What does this connector off the red blower power wire go to? Img_2012

It's been about 25 years since I last looked at it. Back in the 1980s when I first discovered it was there, I chose to leave it in place because trying to remove it so as to save it in my filing cabinet-o-stuff would likely have destroyed it. Now with digital photo technology the way it is, I can preserve the build sheet digitally and more easily share it with my peers.

As you can see in this photo,

What does this connector off the red blower power wire go to? Builds10

my car was ordered with the Auxiliary Lighting accessory group which includes the map light, ashtray, glove box, under hood, and trunk lights.

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GM 1974 Seatbelt Safety educational video

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