Wiring Harness Questions.

I have broken down and am gonna redo all of the wiring. I'm wondering if a kit is the way to go or do u know if a fuse block and plug ends are easy to come by and just do it from nothing???

 

some people here love the painless kits.

being from iowa i am what some people call "thrifty" (aka cheap). i rewired mine using the old harness and the diagram from the fsm as template from spooled wire. i did it over about 1 1/2 weeks in the evenings but i learned a lot. it's not too bad if you take it one circuit at a time.

 

I have used one of the painless kits before and they are ok, but there is another brand out there (can't remember what it is right now but I will check on it) that is cheaper and much easier to install. I have done more with just buying a cheap fuse block and some wire and running it myself though and sometimes this is easier.

 

Do a search, I know we just talked about it a few days ago. There are several companies out there who do semi plug in kits( there is no true perfectly correct kit) But the kits no matter what are not what most people call cheap.

 

http://www.ezwiring.com/

Good kits, great quality, half the price. You just don't get the step-by-step that are usually not all that helpful anyway.
If you have the time and patience, this is a good product.

Also check out http://www.madelectrical.com/index.shtml
Lots of good info on that site.....

 

ALL TRUE either way.

 

Not true. I got one of the Stock replacement kits and had it installed and running in about 2 hours. There was one wire I had to figure out. And I changed to a dual M/C which required a change in two of the connectors. I could not be happier.

The down side is I do not rememeber where I got it from. It was one of the catalogs that has a lot of M38 stuff - just can not remember the name

 

I don't know what model you're working on, but I have a kit for my '56 CJ5 that I got from Walck's, cost about $200, maybe a little less. It's supposed to be a restoration harness, has the cloth-covered wires in the correct colors and slash marks, all pre-cut, pre-connectorized, and in looms. There's several separate harnesses that all connect together.

I haven't installed it yet, but I'm impressed with the quality. The instructions are kinda lacking, and there was I think one wire that was the wrong color vs. the instructions. I have a label machine for labeling cables and fibers, so I made to/from labels for all the connectors to ID where this end goes and where the other end is too.

I think it will go in quite easily when I'm ready, but since it's a restoration kit there's no fuse block or breakers, not even an in-line fuse. I expect I'll have to do some tweaking and add some fuses, but I wanted the "correct" cloth wires. It only has the original circuits, I'll have to add wiring for a heater, wipers (if I go electric), if I eliminate the floor starter button and go with a regular keyed ignition switch I'll have to change some wiring, things like that.

 

I have recently bought a harness from EZ wiring, but havent had time to install it. It's just a 12 circuit universal harness intended for hotrods, but comes with detailed instructions for wiring for many different types of charging sytems, starting circuits, ignition etc, etc.
So far it looks good, and the price was right, about $115.

 

Haven't used it personally, but another option is the Pro-T kit from http://www.haywireinc.com

 

EZ is the other one that I was thinking about. That is the way I will be going on all the rest of my projects. Painless is good, but EZ is usually better, easier to install, and cheaper.

 

I just finished puting a harnes in my 1970 CJ6 F4 . It came from www.centechwire.com

Part # GV18J Fuse black and jeep wire connectors.
It is not a plug in kit, i did it in a week end.

Andrew

1970 CJ6 F134 T90 D18 Hard top

 

:iagree:

 

I used the painless about 7 years ago. Was easy to install. I don't have any experience with the EZ kit, but I have heard that it is a real good kit.

 

i got the 24 ckt one form ez wire...i had aslot of left over wires that are dead ended to to wires for pwr doors and windows and stuff like that, but the way i figured it is that i now have wires already prerun for any other accs i ened up installing. i like the fasct that all i have to do is pull a section of wire out and i just need to "plug and play" just my 2 cents

 

On this topic...

My wiring harness gave me a little adrenaline boost yesterday as it began to smoke and then burst into flame. Unknown cause (and don't think I will be able to figure it out as the entire main harness is burnt/melted from behind the dash to all areas of the engine compartment). So, I am in the market for a new wiring harness for my 66 CJ5 v6: 225). I found a universal in my 4wd.com catalog for around $300 (not the painless brand, which seems to be pricier). Any other options/suggestions from someone who has been where I am? The only wires that are not fried are the ones for the headlights.

Bummer is that I just finished getting the T86 tranny rebuilt and installed with a new clutch.

 

I just put a painless kit in my brothers 76, and it worked well. In the past I have always used harnesses out of a late 70s chevy p/u. These are getting hard to find as complete and are now 25 years old themselves. I always stick with gm harnesses, columns, and accessories because the colors of the wires have all stayed the same since 1973. Our local pull-a-part charges between $16 and $32 dollars for harnesses, and the one from painless was about $500.

 

My 2 cents...I really liked the Centech product. Good quality wire and good instructions.

 

HI Keith,

Centech is a cheaper alternative like gman said, also there are other types that circulate on ebay. There have been some great discussion on this very topic in the past; perhaps use the "search" function to look up prior threads to find your answer.

BTW, I bought the Painless Kit, photocopied the directions, and returned it for a full refund. Centech and EZ-wiring are among the cheaper alternatives. Good luck.