Painless 20120 Harness Installation

geordie · Jun 9, 2008

Started to make my connections on Saturday with the drivers side parking/turning lights.
1. I guess I didn't know this but the parking/turning light bulbs have two filaments, the bright one for turning and the dim one for parking. When making your connections for the turning lights read the Painless instructions, their wiring diagram and get yourself a Mustang wiring diagram to figure out which wire to connect to each filament.
2. I'm using a good quality dielectric grease for all my connections to protect the terminals from corrosion.
3. In addition, where it's practical I'm using heat shrink around all the connections.
4. Also don't forget to make sure to either add or replace rubber grommets for all the places that the harness passes through sheet metal to avoid chaffing the harness. I got a selection of grommets from Summit and ordered larger ones for the headlight harness through the inner 'dog house' from McMaster Carr online.

Then I lost my bag of hardware for installing the headlight, wasted a hour and a half looking for it and called it quits at 12:30 pm when the temp outside got over 100F.

alexb_ · Jun 9, 2008

geordie said:
4. Also don't forget to make sure to either add or replace rubber grommets for all the places that the harness passes through sheet metal to avoid chaffing the harness. I got a selection of grommets from Summit and ordered larger ones for the headlight harness through the inner 'dog house' from McMaster Carr online.

Was that this set?

geordie · Jun 9, 2008

Nope.......this one SUM-890091

NewStangOwnr · Jul 6, 2008

I just started my 18 circuit install today. There are ALOT of extra wires (right now..) and the big bundle near the fuse box is all crossed so thats going to take a while to sort out, but I wrapped the engine compartment and am running the headlight harnesses in the fender.

geordie · Jul 7, 2008

I've lost the plot at the moment. We tied the record out here in Tucson a couple of weeks ago, 11 or 12 straight days of over 106 deg. F. temperatures. Too hot to work in the garage. I need an injection of motivation to get me started again..............

jcode68 · Jul 7, 2008

Seems to me that Painless isn't so pain free. Good quality stuff, but factoring in all the time, effort and materials to wrap and make the harness ready for install is pretty extensive. Surprised they don't offer a ready to install version like the factory style harness'. This would give the benefits of new fuse style and the circuits to handle restomod items without spending a month the prep the darn thing. You are doing a great job on yours btw. Not sure I would have the patience for it myself
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StangDreamin' · Jul 7, 2008

geordie said:
I've lost the plot at the moment. We tied the record out here in Tucson a couple of weeks ago, 11 or 12 straight days of over 106 deg. F. temperatures.

D@mn, that's rough. After 19 years "back home in Yuma"; I don't think I could handle working outside in Tucson summers any more!
Seriously, where do you guys keeps your sweaters when yo take them off about 7:30-*AM????

Too hot to work in the garage. I need an injection of motivation to get me started again..............

Oh!- Now I understand! You're working in a stuffy, confined garage. I was always working outside when I was living up around Cortaro/Silverbelle (before it became a "neighborhood" in the late 80's - early 90's). Didn't need any steenking wallssssss!

Seriously, though..... I'm watching this thread closely; as I'm looking at picking up a completely rust-free '67 FB shell for the next project! Nothing on it or in it, other than a coat of Rustoleum spray-bomb epoxy primer. Painless seems like an easy time-saving method of wiring the beast (along with an EFI harness sized for Clevelands!)

Edbert · Jul 8, 2008

jcode68 said:
Seems to me that Painless isn't so pain free. Good quality stuff, but factoring in all the time, effort and materials to wrap and make the harness ready for install is pretty extensive.

Exactly!

jcode68 said:
Surprised they don't offer a ready to install version like the factory style harness'.

They do offer "factory style" harnesses, roughly twice the cost of their universal kits.

But like you said you have to factor your time and energy into that equation. In my opinion it is worth every penny to have a pre-wired harness that uses all of the factory connectors IF IT MEETS YOUR NEEDS. In my case I added way too many things to the car to be able to use a factory-type harness at all.

I spent some time documenting my painless kit installation at THIS SITE, maybe you'll find useful info there.

NasaGT · Jul 9, 2008

Edbert said:
Exactly!
THIS SITE, maybe you'll find useful info there.

Nice writeup and pics, thanks or posting that!

geordie · Sep 15, 2008

I finally got around to restarting this wiring project a couple of weeks ago. The temperature here in Tucson has dropped somewhat with the monsoon allowing me to get back to work in the garage.
The three sections of my harness have been wrapped with Painless Powerbraid and installed in the car, that is placed in their approximate locations in the car. I've started the process of wiring up all the connections starting with the front drivers side and passenger headlights and indicators. So far, so good. Took me a while to figure out the technique to reinstall the headlight bucket. Hook the bucket spring to the body work panel, then put your fingers through the bucket as you bring it up to the body. Hold the spring with your fingers protruding through the bucket as you use your other hand to hook the spring onto the bucket.
More pics and progress soon, horns and voltage regulator next weekend.

Edbert · Sep 15, 2008

Just offering an unasked-for opinion here but...

Why would you go to all the trouble and expense of a custom aftermarket wiring harness and keep that *&$@# voltage-regulator?

Now is the time to convert to a 1-wire setup!

geordie · Sep 15, 2008

To Edbert, educate me please, I'm not electrically minded. I'm replacing the wiring because it was cooked in the AZ heat. My plan was to replace the wiring but connect it to the existing components. But please, educate me where I'm going wrong.

NewStangOwnr · Sep 15, 2008

Basically keeping the voltage regulator is a hassle when you can simplify and clean your wiring up by going to a 1 wire alternator.

Edbert · Sep 15, 2008

Yeah, I wouldn't use the term "wrong" here, but to explain...

You have a little black (blue actually on my car) box bolted to the inner fender that has several wires running to it, you also have an alternator with several wires going to it. These wires also connect to several other components in the engine and passenger compartment. They can all be done away with by using a modern alternator with an internal regulator.

While you're at it you can get rid of the solenoid that also has several wires connected to the alternator/regulator/coil/dash and have a much nicer, cleaner, and more modern result. All while making your job of hooking this stuff together even easier.

In my opinion there's zero reason not to do it other than the cost of a new alternator. Getting rid of that stupid solenoid requires a new starter, you can get a salvaged one from a fox-stang for cheap, the yards are full of them.

CraigMBA · Sep 15, 2008

One wire alternators are for race cars.

Street cars need a real alternator. I like the Ford 3G style alternators.

geordie · Sep 16, 2008

My decision is to finish the car using the existing alternator and starter. These parts were new about 6 years ago the car's been in pieces for the last four years. If I ever get the car finished and running I'll think again about a one wire alternator as an 'upgrade'.

lauras70mach1 · Sep 16, 2008

CraigMBA said:
One wire alternators are for race cars.

Street cars need a real alternator.

I'm confused, please explain.

CraigMBA · Sep 16, 2008

One wire GM style alternators do a bad job of charging at idle. They're okay for a race car that doesn't spend any time idling, gets charged in between rounds, and has "packaging" issues.

Street cars idle a lot. Modern street cars use a bunch of current at idle older ones didn't because of stuff like electric fans, ABS controlers, engine manangment systems. The 'new' style alternators (like the Ford 3g) are super stable at all rotor speeds and under vurtually all loads.

Getting rid of two wires out of a harness so I can have something that performs worse isn't a tradeoff I want.

If you google "one wire alternator charging problem" you'll find a ton of threads/posts/rants, but this one sums up most of it.

Catalog

Have fun.

Rusty67 · Sep 16, 2008

A lot of people call the 3G alternator a 1-wire even tho it isn't. The 3G is the alternator to upgrade to.

Edbert · Sep 16, 2008

Remember, we were talking about the external voltage regulator here.

BUT...
I'd bet that over 95% of the cars on the road today are internally regulated alternators. I've spoken with Mark (the author of the link you posted) several times and purchased many things from him, but not having an idiot-light is NOT a negative issue at all. Give me a gauge any day over a light. Plus, he even says the remote-voltage sensing only applies to the old wiring harnesses and we're talking about a new Painless harness here.

It's funny you suggest that a 1-wire alt offers less "performance". If charging your electrical system is the job at hand, my PowerMaster 140a 1-wire alternator will outperform the old 40-55a factory unit so much it is not even in the ballpark.

The discussion of ABS and "engine management" made me chuckle too. But if you plan on regularly driving your classic Stang in bumper-to-bumper gridlock or idle for hours in the parking lots and drive-thrus maybe you shouldn't use a "race-only" part...LMFAO.

Be it a 1-wire or three, I'd suggest getting an internally regulated alternator and a starter with integrated solenoid. Then we're not talking about dumping two wires here, but maybe a dozen.

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