GM electrical terminal question

[BigBlockOlds]

I'm looking for the connectors that crimp onto the end of a wire and are inserted into the fuse box bulkhead connector on my '87.

I'm not sure what style they would be called. I've seen reference to Packard 56 and Packard 59 connectors but I believe they might be too big. There appears to be three different size terminals in my bulkhead connector. I measured them quickly with a tape measure and it appears the larges is a 1/4" wide, next smallest would be 1/8" wide and the smallest appears to only be a 1/16" wide. Of course the one I would need is the small 1/16" wide one.

What I'm trying to do is hooking up my tach wire. I have another hole in the firewall I could use but this would be a cleaner route. Since my car originally didn't come with a tach all I have is a wire that runs from the tach side of the HEI to the firewall bulkhead connector but its a dead end at that point as there isn't a wire/connector on the other side. There's a space for it though.

Thanks for the help,

[6'9"Witha69]

PED (Packard Electrical Division) 56 is the 1/4" one IIRC. Look here:
http://madelectrical.com/catalog/flat-blade.shtml

Mark may be able to point you in the right direction for the other sizes as well.

Or look in a McMaster Carr Catalog or online.

[BigBlockOlds]

Thanks for the help. I think the Packard 56 is too wide. Here's a picture of the bulkhead connector with the female terminals. The one I am looking for is the small terminal in the upper left corner of the connector in the picture:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/09/phpHbdecIPM-1.jpg

Not sure if anyone can recognize what type of connectors these are or not.

Thanks again,

[novaderrik]

hit a junkyard and steal the connectors you need, and make sure the leave enough wire to attach the new wire to.
actually, i think there should be a tach lead already in there- the ecm needed to get a tach signal from somewhere. of course, they might have routed it in the ecm harness instead of thru the bulkhead connector. trace the wire from "tach" terminal on the distributor cap and see where it goes.

[BigBlockOlds]

Well, I have a 442 parts car that would have it but really didn't want to crawl under its dash and mess with it.

As far as the ECM, I believe it gets its TACH signal from the 4-pin weather pak connector on the side of the distributor. But since I've pulled the ECM and all of its wiring, I can't necessarily use that. Right now I'm using a Pertronix HEI with vacuum advance but will be going back to the electronic distributor for the EFI system which will use that signal.

If push comes to shove, I might just try to pull the one out of the 442.

Thanks,

[Jim Nilsen]

Dormann might have what you are looking for, I have been trying like you to make the wiring clean and stock looking and they have come thru for me.

My local Carquest has helped me a lot with this too and they have a few catalogs you can look thru that might get you what you need.

Good luck

[Badley]

You might try http://www.pcsconnectors.com/connectors.aspx
I have bought lots of connectors from them. They have many OEM connectors.

[BigBlockOlds]

Well, I went up to the GMC dealership here in town and one of the service guys gave me a terminal to try. Said if it wasn't right to bring an old one in for them to compare.

Well, I spent the morning pulling the fender and a bunch of other crap off my 442 parts car so I could get to its bulkhead connector. Managed to pull its tach wire loose from the connector and confirmed the one they gave me wasn't the correct one but figured I'd just take 'novaderrik's' advice and just splice this one in.

However, I am curious as to what type of connector it is for future referrence. I don't think its a Packard 56, 58 or 59 anymore. Looks more like a Metri-pak 280 series terminal.

This is the one I pulled:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/09/rsz_img_1620-1.jpg

And this is a picture of a Metri-pak 280 from the Clipsandfasteners.com website:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/09/A186581-1.jpg

However the one I have I think is for 18-22ga wire and not 14-16ga. So I don't know if they still call the 18-22ga terminal a 280 series or if its something different.

Thanks,

[CarlC]

Del City carries all that stuff.

[BigBlockOlds]

Found a little more information out about the connector. It does appear to be a Metri-pak 280 series connector. Which means that, for the G-body anyway, they used the 280, 480 and 630 series terminals in the bulkhead connector.

Also found out that the series number refers to the width in mm. So a 280 series is 2.80mm, 480 series is 4.80mm and 630 is 6.3mm. The corresponds with the measurements I took of the terminals in the car.

Thanks for the help and all the links guys!

[Badley]

Glad you were able to identify it