Parking / Emergency Brake Electrical Connection - Question

[Cav73]

Hi, my first question on the forum. I am about to reconnect my parking brake switch and wire for the first time in probably 20 years. The photo shows the switch at the center and what I believe is the correct black wire and male connector, looking at parking brake assembly with switch from under the dash. A previous thread is helpful in identifying the correct wire, but does the male connector just insert into the hollow tube at the top of the switch? Or is there something I might be missing? I don't want to break anything while trying to jam the connector in.

Thanks!

 

[Ricks72Chlgr440]

Hi, my first question on the forum. I am about to reconnect my parking brake switch and wire for the first time in probably 20 years. The photo shows the switch at the center and what I believe is the correct black wire and male connector, looking at parking brake assembly with switch from under the dash. A previous thread is helpful in identifying the correct wire, but does the male connector just insert into the hollow tube at the top of the switch? Or is there something I might be missing? I don't want to break anything while trying to jam the connector in.

Thanks!

View attachment 141266

Yes, just plug that male wire into the connector. When the brake handle is pulled the socket makes contact & is grounded thus completing the circuit. It should activate the parking brake light on your dash.

 

[Cav73]

Great, thank you! Couldn't get to it today but should be able to tomorrow. Getting ready to reinstall the standard gauge cluster and switches after repairs and some refinishing.

 

[BriceRoad]

Thanks. This helps me out too!

 

[Cav73]

OK, the parking brake light connection went fine. Thank you! I hooked up the brake light switch at the same time and today installed the original standard gauge cluster that came with my first Challenger, a 72. I thoroughly cleaned the cluster housing, touched up a couple of gauge rivets that had corroded, and polished the clear gauge lens with plastic polish. I have one of those kits for polishing plastic headlights and the polish that came with it worked really well. The lens was really nasty so I hit it with 2000 and 2500 grit sanding pads first. I cleaned all switches and gauge connections as part of this task.

The plastic bezel housing is near complete. I had to fix a crack with JB Weld epoxy for plastic, touched up with black wrinkle paint. Tomorrow I will paint the gauge surrounds with a liquid chrome pen.

I have a complete rallye gauge cluster from a parts car I bought (and sold after taking key parts) but I anticipate it will take a year to restore it, so this panel will do for now. Steering column going back in next week.

Not sure if anyone lives in the Mid-Atlantic but the Carlisle PA mopar meet is next weekend, and I have a significant list of interior parts I still need - speedo cable just for starters.

Cheers!

 

[Ricks72Chlgr440]

OK, the parking brake light connection went fine. Thank you! I hooked up the brake light switch at the same time and today installed the original standard gauge cluster that came with my first Challenger, a 72. I thoroughly cleaned the cluster housing, touched up a couple of gauge rivets that had corroded, and polished the clear gauge lens with plastic polish. I have one of those kits for polishing plastic headlights and the polish that came with it worked really well. The lens was really nasty so I hit it with 2000 and 2500 grit sanding pads first. I cleaned all switches and gauge connections as part of this task.

The plastic bezel housing is near complete. I had to fix a crack with JB Weld epoxy for plastic, touched up with black wrinkle paint. Tomorrow I will paint the gauge surrounds with a liquid chrome pen.

I have a complete rallye gauge cluster from a parts car I bought (and sold after taking key parts) but I anticipate it will take a year to restore it, so this panel will do for now. Steering column going back in next week.

Not sure if anyone lives in the Mid-Atlantic but the Carlisle PA mopar meet is next weekend, and I have a significant list of interior parts I still need - speedo cable just for starters.

Cheers!

View attachment 141411

Well done! Looks great!

 

[Cav73]

Wow, installing the plastic bezel and light bar ended up taking around 3.5 hours today; very fiddly to get the screws lined up with the metal tabs they screw into. Also, the plastic is now 50 years old and brittle. I had to repair a couple of cracks with plastic epoxy putty and repair a small plastic tab that broke off the bottom of the heater control unit when I was inserting a screw. I was not even cranking it down hard!

I will post follow-on photos in a new thread under restoration progress.

 

[MoparCarGuy]

You will need to get a different heater control panel if you plan to use the Rallye Instrument Cluster. That pesky semi-circular cutout ruins the look.
Very common to see a Rallye cluster upgrade with the old heater control panel or A/C-Heater control panel.
The heater control panels are available brand new.
OER ME1450 1970-74 Barracuda, Cuda, Challenger; Heater Control Panel; w/o AC
Part Number: 691-ME1450

 

[Cav73]

MoparCarGuy, thanks for the info and link to new part. I was aware of the need to obtain the correct heater control but figured I would have to find a used one.

I got the rallye cluster and all the dash parts from one of the two 72 Challenger parts cars I had. My 73 had no interior, fenders, or many other parts. Once my 73 was back from the restoration shop, I sold my two parts cars along with all the extra stuff I did not need. Quite a while later, it occurred to me that the rally dash heater control went with the parts cars. After kicking myself about a boneheaded move, I went through my photo record of the parts and that reminded me the parts car with the rallye dash was an AC car. So the heater/AC control was wrong anyway. I am hoping I can add AC to my 73 later, but it did not have it originally and I will have to look at a Vintage Air system. Low priority for now; there is still a ton of work to do to get the car squared away before I get to that. Beyond reassembling the interior, I have to figure out why the brakes aren't working. I have new lines, a new master cylinder, and new power booster, new pads for the front disks and the drums are rebuilt too - and we put in an adjustable proportioning valve. But to get any bite at all, the pedal has to go almost to the floor. The rear brake cylinders may need adjustment; hopefully it is something obvious like that.

 

[Ricks72Chlgr440]

Beyond reassembling the interior, I have to figure out why the brakes aren't working. I have new lines, a new master cylinder, and new power booster, new pads for the front disks and the drums are rebuilt too - and we put in an adjustable proportioning valve. But to get any bite at all, the pedal has to go almost to the floor. The rear brake cylinders may need adjustment; hopefully it is something obvious like that.

I had a brand new master cylinder do that. Never assume new parts are good parts! If the rear shoes are adjusted properly (both sides just start rubbing the drum when turned) and the MC was thoroughly bled, then there is not much else in your hydraulic system that could cause that other than air in the system.... or a bad MC. I've not had a car with power brakes for a long time now. Did the car come with PB's or was that added on? If add on, are you using the correct apply rod? Also, some rods are adjustable.

 

[Cav73]

Thanks for that input, I will have to check out the shoe adjustment and the rod. This car still had its original suspension, including front disk brakes, when I bought it. But from what I can tell looking at the photos I took then, the MC and booster were gone (if it even had a booster) - along with the 340 engine, the steering gearbox, and everything else in the engine compartment. Unfortunately the option code tag was also long gone, and any build sheet. I have the VIN and that's it. So, whether it had power brakes is a mystery. The booster and MC came from Classic Industries. I will have to go through the brakes logically and see what is going on. One thing to note, however, is that the brake pedal assembly came from one of my 72 parts cars. That car had manual brakes. Possibly the rod is therefore wrong. I'll have to see if it is adjustable.