AAAAAHHHHHHH! F%#&ING WIRING!!!

[gingerbreadman]

Id have to agree with the do it yourselfers here.

Chances are the problems that come up will take less time to sort out and fix then to re wire the entire car but if i was in a situation where rewiring from scratch was in order id do it myself.

these old cars were the simplest wiring systems ever made. most of the circuits can stand alone. ie ignition, charging system, lights etc. Id start with a fuse block (original if you like) id check all my original switches (headlights, heater fan, turn signal etc.) replace and buy new plugs (both sides) as neccasary and go to town.

I have done wiring, i lit the underdash of my 85 f150 on fire due to mickey mouse wiring and i got it all back and running. I put a duraspark ignition into my 70 stang, i just put a 130 amp internally regulated alt into my 77 f250. done several little things like stereos, lights, trailers etc. its not that hard. learning to read wiring schematics is a big key to it.

It can be done and if you have a genuine interest in this stuff like i do and many on the board then your apptitude for it will be high.

heres some pics.



heres what caused it, i spliced in a new turn signal cam but left a loop of wire to rub on the wheel. shorted, fuse didnt blow and let the smoke out of alot of the wiring.

-gbm-

 

[mustangdave]

The advantage of the Must. specific Painless is that many plugs are preinstalled(67 anyway), from what I have read. I would mark each original wire when removing it to compare to the new harness. O.E.M. harnesses are outrageous and the wiring is not of the same quality as the new stuff. I priced mine years ago and it would cost about $1200 to do my 67. That makes Painless look pretty good and you get an extra circuit. If you go the universal route you will have to deal with all of the plugs adding a lot of time. The advantage of the universal is you can get it with a bunch of extra circuits if you want to add power windows,locks,seats, trunk release,monster stereo,etc.. later.

 

[Edbert]

LOL @ GBM...get the wiring with the better insulation, it helps keep the smoke INSIDE where it belongs!

 

[gingerbreadman]

LOL @ GBM...get the wiring with the better insulation, it helps keep the smoke INSIDE where it belongs!

Ya maybe not the best to pic to post up while trying to convince a guy to rewire his car

-gbm-

 

[pabear89]

Nice way to scare'm Cookieman,

Well the Cheapster ....Will have to have all new wiring because there is non.
It was a butchered mess taped togeather.

Now weighing time and parts to cost of a new harness,
I could build one for about the same cost.....But
it wouldn't be labeled every foot, and prob more colors.

On the other hand, building your own harness puzzle can be a plus.
It gives you the options to add, change and simplify it.

The 67 cj5 didn't come with a fuel celled electric pump, radio, tow package,
extra guages and lights to name a few.
Add in a few kill switches to keep the joy riders away and the price of a made up harness will climb.

So more research and planning ahead to find the right amount of circuts needed.

But even a factory plug and play type harness will take the better part of a weekend to change out, theres a lot of disassembly to do to get to the wires.
And how stock do you want to keep it?

....PB

 

[Wootdog]

go painless

 

[DissFigured]

Gee'z

Well, give me advise based on this.
I really don;t care if it takes me 6 weeks to do the thing. I will probably spend 2-3 hours on weekdays and entire saturdays doing it. The length of the project is not a big deal. It is the complexity and the chance of breaking the car more

I am basing all of this rewire crap on having a right turn signal not work which keeps me from passing inspection which keeps me from getting it registered. I looked at the wiring for the turn signal and saw a wiring disaster from the previous owner.

I can handle it taking time, but I am the kind of person that when I feel I am stuck and I have possibly screwed something up, I start throwing hammers.

I also have trouble spending tons of money on this car and when I say I in this sentence, I mean my wife

the most difficult thing I have done on this car is replace the front suspension, and when things didn;t go right, and the instructions didn't quite match, that is when I went crazy.

ON the other hand, now if I had to re do the suspension, I could do the whole thing in a day.

Is the wiring going to be like that?
I have noticed my ford shop manual has very little information on rewiring a car.

 

[67coupe351w]

Fun = building a harness from scratch with 1 color of wire.

or is it "not fun" ?

Go with a painless harness, don't over analize it, it's just an automotive wiring harness, its simple.

 

[DissFigured]

Maybe I am a bit nieve

http://www.ezwiring.com/minitwenty.htm

That one has all color wires and seems very inexpensive. Would I be setting myself up for a headache if I went that route?

 

[pabear89]

Thats the one that I am prob going to use.

As far as install goes if you have the time,
it can be an easy task. Just do one component run at a time.
I use simple wire tie to make large loops to use as wire holders,
passing each wire thru them during routing.

when its finished I can go back from the start and wrap and bundle the loom
to make it look nice.
Its not really that hard....But sometimes you just have to think ahead some.

PB

 

[Edbert]

Compare these two photos...

I can see that one contains many more parts, more wire, and add-ons. Make sure what is and what is not included, the extra stuff I've bought added up in a hurry.

 

[mustangman1974]

I have personally purchased the orginal replacement wiring for my 64 1/2. I have added so much I can see the benifit of using the painless, however having all the connection and wire length all ready sorted makes life easier. I used the new harnesses as guides when I added my new stuff. The I wrapped it in electrical tape and ran it where the orginal goes on the car. Made fixing prior owner issues easy. However I have run some additional "Major electrical lines" completely seperate for my stereo and amps. but that was just a 6 gauge wire to the trunk under the carpet. Go orginal and add to it. Might me a bit more, but I spent about 700 for my entire car including 7 relays, and 2 remote fuse boxes. I will say it was a learning process.

 

[xoxbxfx]

Maybe I am a bit nieve

http://www.ezwiring.com/minitwenty.htm

That one has all color wires and seems very inexpensive. Would I be setting myself up for a headache if I went that route?

my view would honestly spend the money on the painless harness. I have done the same thing with teh ez20 and I tell you what, it takes a while to understand how it all works, getting a test light and checking it all. I probably had 50-60 hours into swapping my 69 over to a ez harness. The quality isnt as good as a painless either. I figured cheap is better and I was wrong. Im about to install the same harness on a jeep (he was stuck on the price) but hes gonna find out how much its gonna cost in the end. If you need some help, let me know, I live in Southlake (near fort worth) but have rewired a couple cars.