wiring up the junction block on left inner fender 57 T-Bird

[farmerdick]

I am trying to rewire the bakailite black junction block on inner fender on drivers side of 57 T-Bird. There are 16 ports (8 on one side and 8 on the other).I numbered them but still got them messed up. I had to replace the drivers side parking light pig tail. I have the original harness and it does not match any any of the factory color codes. Factory shows a solid color with a different color stripe. My wires are solid colors. Any help would be extreamly helpful. Thank you.

[Throck Morton]

The wires are solid color. The second letter denotes the color of the 'Band' or insulating nipple that is just above the metal connector that fits into the bakelite block.
For instance when viewed from the front of the car, the fourth hole from the top, (or the very bottom hole) against the Inner Fender will be Black with a Yellow nipple.
The wire directly above it will be Green with a White nipple. These two wires go to left hand parking light. The bands or nipples will be covered in crud and will have to be cleaned to find their original colors.

[dmsfrr]

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Knowing the various wire colors is Not necessary for this procedure.
If they happen to match the wiring diagram you're using that's ok too.
This works the same for '55, '56 & '57 Birds and possibly other Ford models from this era.
You will need a good battery or suitable 12v DC power connected and correctly working light switches.

Photo 1. rear view of the junction block. Notice there are 3 shared connectors and 2 individual connectors. They are just a metal tube-like piece from rear to front inside the junction block.

Photo 2. top view of the top half of the junction block. The solid yellow arrows indicate lighting power wires from the dashboard area. Thin yellow arrows indicate connections for wires to the bulbs.

This photo also shows three ground wires attached to the left mounting screw. One from each headlight bulb and the third goes back to the dashboard area. The headlights won't work correctly, or at all, without a good ground connection. Same for the parking/turn signal fixtures.

Photo 3. top view of the lower half of the junction block as if the top half were removed. The solid and thin arrows indicate as in photo 2.

Notice all the bulbs have dual filaments, including the headlights. Example photo 4.

With a 12v test light confirm power and function of each wire from the dashboard. Label the function of those wires with some masking tape & pen. A 3 inch long piece of tape with its middle folded around the wire at 90° sticking out like a flag on flagpole makes a good writing surface.

With a 12v jumper wire from a positive battery terminal connect it one at a time to each of the wires to a bulb filament. Label the function of those wires as before. Don't let the loose end of your 12v jumper wire touch any metal part of the car.

Connect the matching power wires and bulb wires to each other thru the junction block following photos 1 thru 3. Double check your work as needed. Remove the masking tape flags.
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