Rewiring

Hey guys- I know this has been discussed many times before but, I've got my mind set on rewiring my Jeep with the EZ harness. To be honest, I'm overwhelmed. Been out to the jeep looking at the spaghetti factory and I don't know if I can do it. :? The PO told me the steering column is out of a 74 Pinto (I think). I was looking at the bottom column connector and there's 3 wires that are spade connected. There is also a bundle that goes up into the column towards the steering wheel that I have no idea. On top of that I have the usual rats nest under the dash. My steering column has the wiper and mist control on the turn signal stick. Should I just rip everything out and start wiring fresh with the new harness? I'm going to be taking a weeks vacation and I don't think I will have enough time. Anyone here live close to Loomis? On top of all this I also have to install a new clutch, chain linkage and stick in my Tranny and Tcase.

Sorry for the rant but my god when does it end for a newb.

 

That's what I would do. Get yourself a good wiring diagram (available online), and an inexpensive DVM. Check out the Pinto column first, before you rip out the old wiring. Figure out the steering column functions, and label the wires with functions that you want to keep (like ignition, turn indicator, horn, etc), then cut off the rest to short length, but not so short you can't recover, in case you goofed. Tear out the rest, and start wiring from the dash out.

No idea where Loomis is - is that in Southern, Central or N. CA?

 

I like to start fresh but i have a friend on the other side of the coin he runs one wire at a time then cuts the old one out of the harness. whatever your comfortable with. These are good diagrams.
http://www.earlycj5.com/tech/electrical/index.shtml

 

Loomis is about 30 miles north of Sac.

 

I used the EZ Wire harness this spring and found it easy to use. Just take your time and use one of the wiring diagrams that can be found on this site and have fun.

 

30 miles N. of Sac. - Drove up there to pick up our CJ6, but afraid it's a bit too far to drop in and give you a hand with the re-wiring! I think you'll do OK if you use your head, take your time, and ask for help if you hit a snag. When you hook up your circuits, try to test them one at a time as you go. One thing I've found helpful for wiring is Radio Shack's heavy-duty jumper leads, sold in a bag of maybe 10-12. You can also pick up a cheapie meter there. The jumpers allow you to easily check out individual circuits as you go along - a big time-saver, especially on connections where you have to screw them down, as opposed to plugging them in.

 

Best advice I can give is to mount the fuse block first, run ALL the wires you plan on using, and even the few you "might" need later, to where they go. DO NOT CUT ANY WIRES UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO TERMINATE THEM AND ARE SURE THAT IS HOW THEY WILL STAY. Route all your wires to where they need to go, and just zip tie the loose ends until you are CERTAIN that is where you will leave them.

I had already run my tail lights when I realized that I needed to move my fuse block a little bit. I had to splice in about 6" for that to happen.

 

"Best advice I can give is to mount the fuse block first, run ALL the wires you plan on using, and even the few you "might" need later, to where they go"

X2

 

X3

 

X4, I mounted my fuse block on the passenger side of the firewall and drilled a new hole into the engine compartment, all of my wires are basically insidet the tub, I ran the taillight wires around the pass side of the tub under the lip and drilled a hole thru the wheelhouse and then hooked to the rear lights with bullets and shrink wrapped them, that way if I remove the tub the wires stay with it and all I need to do is disconnect a few things, the turn signall and flasher are the hardestthings to do.

Check this website out and take it to heart it will help immensly with the jeep switches and such.
http://www.jeep-trucks.com/WOJP/Electrical/Spartan.html

 

trust these folks. it looks absolutely confusing at first, esp. if you have the usual rat's next that most of us started with.

pick one system at a time. then go ciruit by circuit. after starting with the fuse panel, i started with the ignition first. follow wire by wire in both the diagram and the actual jeep from the business end (eg. right front turn signal) to the power source. sometimes the two won't match up because of p.o. "mods", but if you look at the logic of the diagrams you can figure out what you need. pretty soon ( well, days) i had it traced, completed, replaced and the old wiring stripped as i went. i also labled each end and one or two places in the middle of the wire, for future ref.

take your time, don't panic and try to understand how each system/ciruit works. the logic will become apparent.

that said... i'm glad i done with it though. i didn't use a premade harness. but if i had the scratch at the time i think i would have.

ask questions here. most everyone has had to try this and there is lots of confidence building done on this site.

enjoy the zen of rewiring......