Just To Calm My Nerves.

As stated in an earlier thread about re wire on the '67. I just want approval of completely gutting on existing harness. Do I need to label what's coming out? Going to do a Painless. If I understand correctly the new harness will tell me what goes exactly to what switch, relay, etc.

I am very knowledgeable of electrical components. Just never gutted a vehicle.
Please just tell me it will be ok.

Thanks,
Matt

 

I rewired my jeep from scratch in less than a day. Nothing to it.

 

I would take the time to mark as many wires as you can identify
and lay it out on floor
Front
Inside
Rear
yep take your time

 

No need to keep any of the old harness. The new will be labeled and have instructions. You will not have a problem.

 

There I go giving bad advice again….. really I think you’ll not ever look at the old one with a new ready to install harness.

 

nope
a few years ago . when I put power steering in jeep
I used a steering column out of a chevy luv . just because it fit the dash and had internal turn signal
to this day no one has figured out what it came out of
started to wire it up . no brake light wire on turn signal switch

 

I don't see a reason to tag if buying a harness. Yes do tag if you are making the harness yourself. it will help but really it isn't as critical as taking as is pictures now and with any wrapping pulled off.
And don't cut anything at the plug you may need to reuse a plug or two.

 

It will be ok.

 

Chevy Luv?

 

Gut it!!!!
I did mine back in 2005 with an EZ wire harness in a day and I had never done any wiring like it. The hardest thing was the spartan turn signal switch. If you haven't already bought a Painless harness check out the EZ-wire, it's just as good at roughly a 1/3rd the price. Labeled every 6" for where each wire goes, quality wire and all..

 

Definitely pull everything out and then start from scratch. There’s not a whole lot to these old jeeps, and it’s quite possible that you have wires that were installed over the years and are currently going to nowhere. Trying to label everything is going to be a PITA.

fyi, when I got my Jeep, the engine would crank but none of the lights were working. I pulled all this stuff out and it still ran. you can see blue tape on some wires where I tried labeling things. Eventually I just said “screw it,” pulled everything out and started with a clean slate. I got everything working properly after a few easy evenings of work in the garage.

 

Many thanks guys! Plugs and such will definitely be saved. I feel better now!

 

My CJ2A wiring is like a bird's nest. Many things don't work, and if I leave the battery connected it will be dead in a short time. I bought a harness from Walcks and am really impressed with it. I will be installing it soon.

My CJ5 wasn't so bad, but had a lot of spliced in stuff the previous owner had installed and had experienced a fire under the dash which burnt all of the wires coming off the light switch, burned the cardboard defroster duct and scorched the paint on the cowl and inside the windshield.

I started by unbolting the dash so I could see everything, removed all the added on equipment and wiring, then replaced all the burnt wires by splices that were soldered and insulated with adhesive shrink wrap, the installed a new light switch.

The wiring in these old Jeeps is actually simple enough that now that I understand it I wish I hadn't spent the money for the harness to go into the CJ2A, but that will make it easier.

 

The harness you use will dictate the wiring diagram you end up with. I'd suggest you plan it on paper, then remove the old wiring. Your old wiring may be useful in determining what length of wire you need to go from your panel to the terminations.

Your indicators and brake lights depend on the turn signal switch, and I would figure that out in advance of starting.

After you plan the harness and figure out what connects where, you may find that it's easier just to repair the original harness. Not complicated if you look at it one circuit at a time.

JMO - I'd leave out all the connectors I could. Cars got more and more connectors as time went on, but they are there mostly to make assembly easy at the factory. Modular. You don't need them for a custom harness. If I kept connectors at the tail lights and such, I would use Weather Packs instead of the original types. Mechanical connectors are a liability generally.

 

I bought mine from Walck's and did it in a day. The only thing I suggest is taking pictures of the routing and where they attach. It helps clean things up after installing new harness. Otherwise its not that difficult. Remember a good ground to body and frame and engine is your best friend. Prevents problems later.

 

Take your time routing each group of wires from the Painless harness to the area they need to go.
Front group lights, engine, rear wiring etc. Create bundles so to speak.
The wires will be way too long; don't cut any till you're sure you have the wire routing the way you want it.
Before you power up, check and triple check everything.
Zip ties and electrical tape can hold and form your wire bundles until you install the protective loom etc.

 

Thanks everyone, that makes me feel much better.

- Matt Johnson's Jeep buddy (son)

 

Cable ties (zip ties) at Parts Express are really cheap, less then 1c each. You can afford to bundle everything and then leave them or snip them off once you have it all laid out.

Home

They also have split loom, though it's still expensive compared to pre-pandemic. Check Amazon for split loom too.

 

Cable ties (zip ties) at Parts Express are really cheap, less then 1c each. You can afford to bundle everything and then leave them or snip them off once you have it all laid out.

Home

They also have split loom, though it's still expensive compared to pre-pandemic. Check Amazon for split loom too.