CRG Discussion Forum
Camaro Research Group Discussion => Restoration => Topic started by: RAS68 on June 05, 2018, 12:07:19 AM
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My question is about a purple wire with yellow tracer/stripe hanging down under my dash. I have 1968 SS coupe with auto. After working under my dash I noticed a purple wire with a yellow stripe hanging down unconnected. It has a male blade clip and is on the left side of the steering wheel column. I have checked the AIM and this forum thoroughly but I can't find a reference to this wire. It is just long enough to go to one of the accessory points on the fuse block but I don't want to just connect it to power without knowing what it does. I hope one of the experts on this forum can chime in and tell me what this wire is for. Thanks in advance.
Allen
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Might help if you list your factory options.might be for one of them.
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Good idea - factory A/C, rear defogger, power windows, courtesy lights under dash. I can find no reference to a purple or dark brown wire with a yellow stripe in the 1968 AIM but this wire looks completely stock. All these options are working so it is a mystery wire. This Camaro has been restored or refreshed once before, but again it looks stock and from what I can see it goes into the stock harness.
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The approximate size/gauge of the wire would also be helpful to ID the potential usage...
Is your car a factory column shift auto, or floor shift? Was it converted from one to the other by chance? Console gauges or indicator lights?
I don't recall any yellow tracers wires being used and none of my spare harnesses seem to have yellow in them. Could it possibly be a white tracer that is faded/yellowed? White tracers are used a fair amount in the dash area. Here are some examples:
Purple with white typically runs from the ignition switch to the neutral safety switch (heavy wire - 10 gauge).
Brown with white can be used for a generator warning lamp (light gauge wire).
Dark Blue with white might be used for the oil pressure lamp (light gauge wire).
I believe dark blu/w and brn/w were also used in some power window harnesses (heavier gauge wires).....
Of course a picture of your wire and the connector would be most helpful...
Best of luck in your search!
Charlie
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Good idea - factory A/C, rear defogger, power windows, courtesy lights under dash. I can find no reference to a purple or dark brown wire with a yellow stripe in the 1968 AIM but this wire looks completely stock. All these options are working so it is a mystery wire. This Camaro has been restored or refreshed once before, but again it looks stock and from what I can see it goes into the stock harness.
Was a new wiring harness used when restored or are you confident its the original harness? Where is the wire roughly located?
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Thanks guys I really appreciate the reply's. It might be a white tracer that is very faded or discolored with age. The end clip is not stock but has a newer clip spliced on. Maybe it is for a warning light but I don't see where it connects to another wire. It appears to have been connected to the fuse block to one of the auxiliary connectors(?). The car has auto floor shift with console and gauges now but who knows what it was born with. The floor trans tunnel hole for the shifter cable and the shifter bolts look completely stock to me so I don't think it was a column shift conversion.I will double check the wire gauge. The harness appears original with a few amateur splices here and there from previous owners. The wire is hanging down from under the dash on the left side of the steering column.
Allen
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It MIGHT be and I do mean MIGHT be the neutral safety switch. I can not find my color coded diagram right now, but can you post a pic of the wire?
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Neutral safety is just purple IIRC. Look at the AIM in the wiring section to see if there is any purple/yellow. PPL is just purple.
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I didn't see anything in my 68 AIM that had PPL/Y. There's a DBL/W that goes to the pod but my console conversion wiring shows a PPL/W for the neutral safety switch on a console car.
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Right. It is not that way in the AIM, but I have an odd way of remembering stuff. I remember a purple wire with a yellow (maybe white?) that goes to the neutral safety switch. Why I remember that, not sure.
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IF it is a 10 or 12 gauge PPL wire it is the Neutral safety for Auto or Clutch safety switch if manual.
If not mistaken they have female spade terminals.
These do not run through the fuse box INSTEAD it uses a fusible link which is one wire gauge smaller on the other end (starter end) - it carries the full amps to the Starter solenoid,
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I went back and looked at his first post. He has an automatic transmission.
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My thoughts went to Neutral Safety Switch as well.
Easy to check, go to the switch and work your way back.
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neutral safety switch