'56 willys truck

Heating side is temporarily completed which means it will stay like this for at least a year when I can really test the defrosters and overall performance in the winter. This will allow me to see what may need improvement and then figure out how to redo the dash and console for a better look. Also I need to find some sort of register for the open ports that heat the cab, so that I can adjust them as needed for defrosting and cab heat. Those are 1 ½” Fernco plumbing 90s with some short pieces of 1 ½” pvc pipe in them. My existing heater hose is some 1 ¼” or 1 ½” vacuum cleaner hose from some old school vacuum cleaner. It’s stout. For now I stuck the heater end into a 1” piece of pvc pipe and used some 2” gorilla tape wrapped around the pvc pipe and heater hose to keep them from separating , although the heater hose fit into the pvc pipe really tight I figured I better wrap it for insurance. Then I stuck that into the Fernco fitting. The Fernco 90s fit perfectly onto the heater outlets.

Next up is the A/C side of things.
 

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I have 2 leaks— may have fixed them but I’ll know when I get home or the next time I can start it and check.

Then I tried to plug a connector together and one of the pins popped out. 3 wires, 2 of which were long and one short wire. Why? Oh to save 4” of wire!! And too boot it was a spliced wire which of course was spliced with tape and of course came un-spliced with me attempting to use a needle nose plier wrestling with that damn connector. So now I have a pin I can’t get to stay in the connector that I can barely get too and it’s now become unspliced from a wire where who knows where it is at!! Oh my Sunday is off to a good start!! If only I had checked that splice and the connector before I installed the box!! And if I would’ve taken pics of the back!! Lesson learned again. I was able to find the wire and just barely get access to it from the 1 ½” space between the top of the box to the dash and from behind the box. I took a butt connector attached it to a wire(so I’d have longer wire to help with the wire that the pin was attached to that wouldn’t stay in the connector) then contorted myself to reach across the top of the box with some long needle nose pliers to hold the wire while holding the butt connector with my wire crimpers while reaching around the back of the box to try and connect the wires and crimp it before going into full back, arm and leg cramps!! After about 10 attempts I was successful. I was then able to hold the unruly pin wire with some needle nose pliers and keep it in place while I pushed the connectors together. Then I slipped some silicone on the back of the unruly connector to keep all those wires in place. I was able to test the fan and it worked. So I won but good lord what a battle because I didn’t want to pull the box out. I’m not sure I saved time or not, but I hate installing things after I’ve got them installed.

Now the next move is where to mount the condenser and compressor and I decided the condenser is going in the back and so I built a mount and heavy spot welded it in and right now I’ve pretty much decided the compressor will reside there too.
 

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Everything is installed, pics will come in the near future. Wire and hose securing has yet to be done. I want to make sure everything is up and running good before I do that. I've put the vacuum pump to the system for like 22 hours and put some freon in also and then turned the A/C on and the compressor doesn't come on. Aargh, why? Well I don't know yet. It has power, the blower motor works, the light that says the A/C is on works, but the compressor and the condenser fan do not come on! Power & ground wires are routed from the battery to the compressor and I have power there. The power and ground for the blower motor are connected at the same terminal as the battery wires on the compressor and run to the blower along with the compressor start wire which has its own terminal on the compressor. The condenser fan motor has two terminals on the compressor . Wiring is pretty simple. Why doesn't it work? Maybe there's a Pressure switch internally saying I don't have enough freon yet? Well it won't take any more freon, thus I'd like to get the compressor up and running to see if it will. Bottom line I need to take some jumper wires and start playing to see if I can jump start the thing and if I'm successful I should be able to find the problem. Hopefully I don't have a bad compressor out of the box!!
 
Success on getting everything to turn on and run. I cut out the connector that had given me an issue before and re-did some wiring off the rheostat switch and bingo compressor on and condensor fan on. Next up is to finish charging it with freon, tidy up wiring and hoses and I'll be good to go. It did blow colder than it did last week, but it needs more freon. I'll take some pics when I get time.
 
So, I had to modify the modification I did at the firewall to make my intake work to get one of the factory hoses to connect, since it came out of the back straight while the other hose had a 90* fitting on it. I'm not sure why one would be 90* and one straight, but so be it. I was able to use the factory hoses, so I didn't need to have them modified, although the high pressure hose from the compressor to the condenser could be a lot shorter, but looping it around the condenser fan worked. The hose routing came out the back of the air box and against the fire wall then turning to the rear along the lower bar of the roll cage, which bent up at the seat, then a S bend to get it through the back of the cab/front of the bed and into the bed to the compressor and condenser. I made up a 2"x4"x1/4" wall cab pass-thru to help protect the hose and wire harnesss and then wrapped it all with pipe insulation. I took pics, but need better ones after looking at them. I did make a video of the routing, but it's too long for here. I'll have to post it on youtube or maybe facebook.
 
Some pics, again I need to take some better ones
 

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Well I have something electrically going on and my gut says it's the alternator either failing or it's not big enough. All of a sudden the 80 Amp circuit breaker that fires up with the ignition turned on trips. Now at first I thought it was the Amazon circuit breaker I had, because 2 of the other's in the wiring system have failed ever since I put the AC in. So I ordered a new BlueSeas 80 amp to replace the Amazon one. The Amazon one would pop after about 2 minutes and I could swear I heard the alternator engage and then POP goes the breaker(still need to really confirm this, but I believe I heard it do this twice). The BlueSeas one lasted 10 minutes before it popped, so although it may have not been the Amazon Circuit breakers fault totally that's a big difference in time, so maybe it was getting weaker. The AC system wires directly to the batteries, with it's own fuse. It's totally separate from all the wiring. I believe the alternater is a 220 amp I have to see if I can confirm that. I can't reset the breaker right away, but after 2 minutes or so I can. I need to do some more diagnosing, but damn why did this raise it's ugly head now?! Probably should disconnect power for the AC system and see if it pops or not and then go from there. If it doesn't pop then I think the alternator is too small and I'll need to get a Mechman or Premier Power Welder setup, yes I could buy just the Premier Power Welder Alternator, but it seems stupid to not get the welding setup also at the same time, plus I've always wanted one on the truck from the beginning.
 
Tested again with no AC or auxiliary lights ON and it tripped again at 9 minutes after starting it. I'm going to run a bigger wire to the alternator to see what happens then. Will update when I get that done.
 
Why not just run a fusible link wire off the alternator? GM did this, I up sized mine when the she almost melted down when winching. And pretty sure that's only the 105 amp alt not the 130.

Seems these circuit breakers aren't up to the task.
 
I may do the fusible link and almost did originally, but I opted for the breaker, so that I wouldn't have to replace that fusable link if something happened. It made sense to me when I did the wiring. Now it's making sense because I'd need 5-6 or more of those fusable links while I diagnose the issue. The circuit breaker worked for 3-4 years, so until I figure out what's going on I'll do this and that to eliminate this and that and then I can make the necessary adjustments once I find the culprit.

I bought an aftermarket alternator with higher amp rating, but I'm not sure where/who I bought it from, but 220 amp size is stuck in my one brain cell. I do know it wasn't priced like the Mechman or Premier Power Welder alternators. It's probably some Chinese knockoff and I probably didn't check it out enough to think about it. Saw rating and price and bought, but again I'm not sure it's the issue yet, although my lean is towards it. Of course, I may have a wiring issue, but it's been working with no issues and whether the AC install has pushed it beyond its limits or it's on its last legs or something else is what needs attention. Just frustrating to have to deal with that issue at this point with not a lot of hours on it, but it is what it is. It's weird to me that it's fine until the 9 minute mark of the engine running at idle. I did drive it the other day around the block and it tripped on me, so that's what started me down this road.
 
I noticed that Alternator wire had the signs of getting warm/hot. It hasn't burned, but the wire loom around it at the Alternator and at the circuit breaker are a bit melted, not totally, but they've seen some heat. So, I'm going to run a bigger wire from the alternator to the starter or to the junction block, I can't remember how I ran it before and see what happens. Hopefully I can do that after work.
 
I believe I got it and I still have an issue. First off when I first started the build I was using a 1992 chevy 5.7 motor and a Painless wiring kit for an older chevy pickup. I wired the ignition circuit(10ga wire) with the alternator charge wire that was 10ga also(don't ask me why, because I have no clue, but it must've made sense at the time) and I tied into the faulty circuit breaker and then from the circuit breaker to a junction block tied to the battery. Again no clue why, I did that, although it may have been due to my kill switch setup, anyway that brain cell to recall why is long gone!! Now since that 5.7 had an issue I swapped in the LS and 220 amp alternator and used the same wires for the alternator. So all this time the alternator has been charging through the 10 ga wire and it should've been bigger. It worked until it didn and that 10ga wire was getting hot, thus the wire loom melting & the breaker tripping. The end came off of it at the alternator once I removed it. YIKES!! So, now I've run a 2/0 wire from the alternator to the battery junction block and run a 2/0 ground wire from the alternator. I capped off the old 10 ga alternator wire, as it might come in useful later to power something. It ran for 12 minutes before shut it off and this is where I still have an issue. Now the stereo goes in and out and there's a surging issue, so I do think the alternator is too small or it's on its damaged or failing, so I shall order a new one tomorrow, maybe from Mechman, although I would love to do the Premier Power Welder, but at $1800-$2000 I can't do that now, so maybe I just get the alternator from Premier(still $1000), so in the future I can add the welder? I got some thinking to do.
 
csutton7 said:
I believe I got it and I still have an issue. First off when I first started the build I was using a 1992 chevy 5.7 motor and a Painless wiring kit for an older chevy pickup. I wired the ignition circuit(10ga wire) with the alternator charge wire that was 10ga also(don't ask me why, because I have no clue, but it must've made sense at the time) and I tied into the faulty circuit breaker and then from the circuit breaker to a junction block tied to the battery. Again no clue why, I did that, although it may have been due to my kill switch setup, anyway that brain cell to recall why is long gone!! Now since that 5.7 had an issue I swapped in the LS and 220 amp alternator and used the same wires for the alternator. So all this time the alternator has been charging through the 10 ga wire and it should've been bigger. It worked until it didn and that 10ga wire was getting hot, thus the wire loom melting & the breaker tripping. The end came off of it at the alternator once I removed it. YIKES!! So, now I've run a 2/0 wire from the alternator to the battery junction block and run a 2/0 ground wire from the alternator. I capped off the old 10 ga alternator wire, as it might come in useful later to power something. It ran for 12 minutes before shut it off and this is where I still have an issue. Now the stereo goes in and out and there's a surging issue, so I do think the alternator is too small or it's on its damaged or failing, so I shall order a new one tomorrow, maybe from Mechman, although I would love to do the Premier Power Welder, but at $1800-$2000 I can't do that now, so maybe I just get the alternator from Premier(still $1000), so in the future I can add the welder? I got some thinking to do.
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Why not just do a 105 or 130 amp stock alt for now for $100 and get your **** right before dropping $1k... My LM7 had the 105 amp stock and even I was burning up the stock fusible link when winching. Can't remember if it was 8 or 10 ga. But went up to 4ga Atleast.

Edit: so not stock, I'm running PURE ENERGY 8292603N 145 amp alternator.
 
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Good point and thanks and something to think about. I may still order a higher amp alternator, as Mechman has/had some B stock alternators right now that are less than the new ones. I may still throw on the old LS alternator for testing first, as I think I still have it on a shelf.
 
Some vids showing surge, was worse. Volt meter shows 14-14.5 volts and the Holley gauge shows high 11’s to mid 12’s
 

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So the Holley gauge is off vs the dash gauge, proven by the volt meter. So now I will trust the dash gauge.
 
No surging today. I don't know why, but it didn't do it one time. The stereo phased out, but not nearly as bad as before. Again no clue why, but I don't trust this alternator to last, so I bought a 400amp Mechman(on sale). Still plenty of money, but I want overkill peace of mind and I know I've overtaxed this alternator for the 2-3yrs it's been on, so I'm prepared now to swap it out at my whim.

So, now I need to get a test drive or 5 in to see how the AC works and if the alternator acts up.
 
Water H--they state it's for daily driver's, but not to see 5,000 rpms for extended periods, so it should be no problem.
 
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