making your own wiring harness

Well, I'm ready to start making one. I've got the circuits identified, and have the colors I am going to use identified, now for the wire.

I took an old wiring harness from a '71 cj5 and measured it. Then I went to Lowes and bought a 12 foot 1x6

Next step is to mark the board every foot. Then, taking the old wiring harness starting with right rear and put a screw in the board sticking up about a half inch at each exit point from the old harness.

Mark the board at the end where the 6 pin connectors on the old harness end up. Put the old harness on the floor and ignore it unless you need it.

Then tie a new wire around each screw which would represent a circuit. Take the wire and stretch it to the other end of the 1x6 and cut it off at the mark for the 6 pin connectors.

Keep doing this until all circuits (screws) are accounted for.

Install new six pin connectors on the ends of the wires at the original harness 6 pin mark, and install quick disconnect plugs on the outlying ends.

Mark each wire with wire marking numbers and note the color for when you actually install it in the Jeep.

Wrap the wires in a loom and there you have it! A homemade wiring harness for the cost of a few connectors, a 12 foot 1x6, and some wire and a loom.

Now I'm only to the point where I am noting the circuits on the 1 x 6, but this promises to be much easier than I first thought

To do the front under hood harness, turn the board over and do the same thing on that side.

To do the internal and dash harness use the same side as the under hood harness, only use the other end as the start point.


k man

 

Sounds like a plan , plus once your done you've got a "jig" ready to go into business helping out all of your electically challenged EJC5 buddies

 

I was thinking more along the lines of making sure everything is labeled well and taking pictures of each of the jig templates.

I have to incorporate some fuses into the system. I have some ideas, but they haven't gelled yet.

From what I have found out so far by going over the schematics and wiring diagrams, the careful and strategic use of fuses will minimize the number required to just a few and still protect the entire jeep.

I think it is ridiculous what vendors charge for wiring harnesses. My goal is to come up with a method that costs <10% of what the vendors charge.

I need to make 5 of them at least to get my jeeps running again, so I need a process that is repeatable and standardized.

 

If you can make them cheaply and produce a decent quality product, I'm sure several people would be interested in buying. (myself included)
Good luck, keep us posted on how it works out.

 

I really like your approach to making a wireing harness. Being out of the jeep when making your harness helps you to make tighter conections on the end of the wire. I did my harness while on the jeep. And when you are on your back under your jeep, for some reason you just don't have the ability to get those conectors on as tight.



Below is how I made one that is listed on the CJ3B website at http://www.film.queensu.ca/Cj3b/Tech/WiringHarness.html

They also have some other comments from ohters about this subject.

Cliff Todd: "I made my own wiring harness for about 50.00 Used crimped conectors from auto supply store. I took one item at a time and in about four evenings after work I would take 2 to 3 hours at at time with the Jeep. Instead of taking the old harness out I would unhook the old wire and follow it the where it went and hook it up, then cut out the old wire. Kept it all running along the same path as the old harness.

"Afterward I used a plastic wire loom cover to enclose everything and used zip ties to attach it to the inside of fender or frame. Also added some inline fuses to some areas that were not protected from a previous botched job. Not a rocket science type of project. But rewarding in knowing I did it myself, and saved a wad of cash that would choke a horse in the process. Of course if you use an off the shelf wiring harness, it would be fast work and save a few hours."

 

i've got some fuse blocks from a local "power supplier" sitting in my shed... link the tops in series, and then run a bus fuse to the circuits on the bottom side. it saved the 67 one night, still lost the headlights but it made it home just fine.

your method sounds little more thought out than mine... i just hooked up one circuit at a time straight to the fuse block (which is right where you're talking about mounting your 1x6) and at the end of the day i had a fully wired cj. it doesn't really take long. in my oppinion its a little more difficult to try and trace the wires than just running a whole new one. and the cost of mine can't be beat either... fuses, block, and wires were all "donated"

 

I had to re-work a lot of wiring in my M715. I used a marine (boating) fuse block that worked very well. Got it from West Marine (www.westmarine.com). I've found the electrical stuff made for the boating industry is usually much better than their automotive counterparts.

Stan

 

I installed a Painless into my Jeep last year and it wasn't exactly a waste. Simply because I thought the name represented the actual labour intensity and I had never taken on such a task. I only used about half the wires and although labeled very well (every 24") I would assemble my own.
Great product but definitely overkill. If you're meticulous about labeling, have access to a fuse block, waterproof connections, diagrams to wire the turn signal and HEI, and then you’re already at a “Painless” level.
I thought it would only take a weekend but it turned out to be a 3 month task. I really was starting from not knowing what a amp was nor HEI nor a proper ground. The best thing about this endevour is that it should last a long time. The original wiring harness performed well into its 33rd year. If I can get half that length out of the Painless then I guess I didn’t spend too much.

 

Me too. What a pain trying to trace wires. Eventually I'll have to take this project on - not sure I'll be able to find enough colors that I can tell the difference.

 

I've made them both ways. When I make the harness with all black wire I just stop by the electical supply house and get a couple of packs of the numbers that electricians use to id wire when they pull it. Usually couple of packs work for me.

 

Military harnesses are numbered like that. Actually kind of a nice way to go.

Stan

 

One thing you may want to do is use liquid elec tape to seal the connectors.
Small can worth alot.