[mike the painter]

I'm getting ready to start a complete wiring job on my coupe and I'm trying to make up my mind weather or not to use a painless fuse block kit someone gave me in trade.its only a 12 circuit and has no wires just screw terminals.I'm sure it wont be enough and if I go buy all the properly coded wires it'll get real expensive real fast.It seems I have two choices ,go to the junk yard and spend a day taking a harness out of a camaro or getting another painless kit with all the wire and everything,it sure looks like the easiest way to me,maybe use the 12 circuit kit for my old 54 P/U.
If the general consciences is the new wiring kit who has the best deal on a quality fuse block kit? I've heard about aircraft wire that has insulation that wont melt I dont know if thats something thats recommended or even needed but I'd like to weigh all the options before I go out and buy something and I definitely dont want any crappy stuff from China....I sure would like to know what you guys think of the products that are out there so I dont screw up right from the start...
thanks, mike

 

[OneMoreTime]

Definitely buy the kit..Start at the fuse block and neatly run the wires to the various places it is need and neatly loom the wire and fasten it in place using the zip ties with the provision for a screw to attach them to the frame or body as needed..The last thing to do is go around and make up all the terminations as needed..One thing I look for is the kit with the wires marked along the length of the wire that shows which wire belongs to what..Makes life a bit easier..Proper grommets and loom where needed is necessary as well..

Sam

 

[EOD Guy]

I used the painless kit for my Camaro, couldn't be happier. As stated above, start by mounting the fusebox and work outward from there, use lots of wire ties to securely fasten all the wires and route them to where they should go, after you change your mind several times and re-route the wires and re-apply the wire ties etc........ lastly make the terminations.

DO NOT leave the extra 6 inches of wire for "if I need it later" I did and it looked like crap and I ended up cutting it out and re-terminating etc..... once all that's done apply the split woven wire loom, avail on ebay, for a nice sharp looking install

 

[123pugsy]

I fall into the cheap guy category and am using a donor harness. It will be a pain in the keester but there are so many expenses building a rod, this is a place where I'll save a few nickels.

The wires on my pickup are 1976, 1987 and 1992 all mixed together. Just took a bit of time to trace everything and solder up all the splices.

 

[mike the painter]

The one thing I really want is a plug connection for every wire just like the factory does ,do these harnesses come with all the plugs?
I certainly understand about being cheap and saving a few bucks but I'm so close I just want it done and turn key driveable... 3-400.00 sounded like a whole lot of cash a couple years ago now its just holding me back,Plus its been the hard road and uphill both ways getting this thing done I think I'm ready for something EZ or painless...but if I have to go to the scrap yard for all the proper plugs then splice them in, it wont be so ez...
I dont much like the idea of splicing plugs in either is there a way to pull the pins out and solder the new wire to a new pin using the old plug casing?

 

[35WINDOW]

The one thing I really want is a plug connection for every wire just like the factory does ,do these harnesses come with all the plugs?

Radio Shack carries Moldex plugs-


http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062448

 

[123pugsy]

New pins can be purchased and crimped on. To get the pins out of a casing, you just need to insert a thin piece of metal into the end and push down the tab on the pin and it pulls right out.

Its easier to splice wires using solder and heat shrink. One of the mini butane torches is the best thing since sliced bread. Fast soldering and can also be used on the heat shrink.

 

[delawarebill]

wiring

when i did my Tbucket i also looked into painless... i felt it was too costly for a few ckt's. i did help a friend do his wiring with a painless and turned out to be "painfull". i just didn't like there 10 ckt unit.. so i sat down and drew a picture of every gage, lite, ign, etc.. determined what gage to use and picked a color to use. visited pep boys and got everything except the fuse block, i used a marine fuse block. it was cheaper to do it this way but i was not looking in that direction, but the easier direction. needless to say i don't have a stereo or heat or air to contend with..

 

[North Texas Hog Dog]

Wiring

Hot Rod Wires. com

 

[35terraplane]

wiring

You can buy the tools to replace the pins in the plugs, there are different widths for different plugs. they come in a kit, for when I got mine $5.00 (but I think gas was .19 cents a gallon then ) they are pretty cheap. replacing pins is better than splicing in a wire and have two more places for some thing to go wrong on each wire.

If you use stock pins the hard part is finding the right pins, as GM doesn't used them anymore. I went to a couple GM dealers that still had theirs and they gave me all of them, they said they never used them.

Bob

 

[mike the painter]

OK, looks like I'll get on line and find a fuse block kit first then get back to you guys see what you think of what I found before ordering..Then off to the shack and see what they have for tools and plugs. i think I'll still have to get to the scrap yard to find a few plugs for things like my electric window motors theat take a certain type plug.I'm pretty sure I thought of this already and all the plugs left in the sockets my motors and regulators are out of an 04 monty carlo..I guess I gotta sort through all this stuff and start making a plan...

 

[EOD Guy]

Sounds like you got a plan...... the pins, if soldered, can be reused by heating them up with a sm torch and pulling the wire out, if crimped..... you'll need new ones. My painless kit had most of the standard plus plus terminals..... I had to adapt a few plugs and used some weather pack plugs I got off ebay...... I buy from this guy often....... 2,4,6 up to 12 wires in one plug made for a easy day on some of my older projects...... good luck

 

[Joe G]

Hopefully your local Radio Shack is better stocked than mine is.

Before you settle for what's available at the shack, check out these guys:

Waytek, Inc. - Waytek sells name brand, high quality wiring supplies for less than the cost of the cheap China shtuff at your local auto store. They carry genuine Delphi plugs and terminals.

DelCity - Competitive with Waytek in selection, quality and price.

Digikey and Mouser - this is where you can find all the stuff that they used to carry at Radio Shack.

For electrical plugs inside the car, I like to use Molex Mini-Fit, Jr. series plugs and receptacles. (available at both Digikey and Mouser)
They are compact and inexpensive and with 16 gauge wire and the proper terminals, are rated for up to 13 amps per pin.

Hope this helps.... :thumbup:

 

[mike the painter]

very helpful,Joe ..Just what I was looking for....places to start looking for the stuff I'll need to do a proper job that if someone down the line has to repair something like a regulator or a motor or even replace a door it'll go just as smoothly as a factory job no cutting and splicing.. THATS a major PITA when I get caught up in something someone else put together without thinking about taking back apart later in the future.I think we've all been there before.
I'll stop by the GM dealer on my way to work in the morning and see what kind of pins are still available they gotta be pretty cheep so I'll get a bunch of everything...
This has been a big help in making a battle plan...Thanks guys.... any other tools I might need to be looking into ???
Are all these crimp on terminals all pretty much the same or are some way better than the ones in my kit from advanced....I know that crimping tool is a piece of crap I want a good one of those...and some wire strippers

 

[EOD Guy]

These are the connectors I use, he also sells the spare pins both male and female, I used to crimp them on but most of the crimps looked like crap, I was using the correct crimpers, I now solder them.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DEUTSCH-GRA...pt=Race_Car_Parts&vxp=mtr&hash=item4d00b4675e

And these are the crimpers I use

http://www.lowes.com/pd_30891-72068-KP1022D_4294821046__?productId=3128535&N

I've owned many pairs of crimpers but these are the ones I always end up using, They do a great job on insulated and non- insulated terminals..... and even tho' they weren't designed for the packhard 56 terminals (GM OEM terminals) with a little practice they work very well for professional crimps.

 

[mike the painter]

Now THATS the stuff I'm looking for right there...

 

[mike the painter]

OK,two more questions and I think I'm ready...when routing the harness (lets say in the door) most cars have little push in clips wraped up in the harness and you just push them into a hole...What are they called??I'll be needing a bunch of them in various sizes.....
and Last ,when wraping up the harness they use something like electrical tape but with no glue what is this stuff called and is this what I should use?
Well, I think I'm ready to make an order,I'll do a little more research and let you guys know what I came up with before ordering..Thanks for all the help you guys are great...

 

[John long]

Hey DeadBM... Hmmm That ain't good :mwink: Just another thought on your harness kit. I had purchased a Kwick Wire 12 circuit fuse block with terminal strip at a swap meet a long time ago. When it came time to wire the car I spoke to the gentleman at Rebel Wire. He had me give him a list of the circuits I was going to use and sold me the color coded and labeled wire for those circuits. I love the fact that I now have all circuits terminated on a terminal strip instead of being hard wired. That allows the flexibility to add a circuit such as an alarm and sharing the fuse with the radio. I think I gave less than a hundred dollars for all the wire several years ago but now every circuit is coded and labeled. I am really pleased with the way it worked out.

John L

 

[EOD Guy]

Those clips are sometimes hard to find....... I don't use the stickyless tape...... I have found the techflex braided split loom works very well and looks top notch...... It's not that cheap looking plastic crap you can get in the stores..... I use normal panel fasteners avail at any parts store and push them thru the back side of the braided loom into the holes etc.... invisible and allows you to insert more wires later on and easy access to the wires for maint etc.... There are many sizes of the loom and allows you to run smaller 1/4 inch wire runs into larger wire runs and they look great....... On deadicated wires that arn't going to be worked on in the future ie..... the horn wire, I add a piece of srink tubing, that will fit over the loom and run the wire thru that before I terminate them..... that way when I put on the loom the heat shrink finishes it off nicely..... otherwise I use black elec tape

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-SPLIT-B...t=Car_Audio_Video&hash=item53e198af02&vxp=mtr

 

[mike the painter]

having the properly coded wires is a must for me and although the little 12 circuit painless box will get me started with the basics ,tail lights, blinkers ,etc,it would get full fast,so if I used it I'd be doing everything twice so right from the start I'll order the big fuse box , all pre wired and coded.
Those tec flex split looms look like the sheet to me,I like the idea of slipping more wire in later on when things like linier actuaters get added.I even have an electric tilt and teliscopic steering colume out of a caddie I plan on using a little later on,so those looms will come in handy

yesterday I dug up my window regs I stashed away and sure enough I left oem plugs intact ,found the electric door latches out of an 04 Impalia also with complete plugs intact so I'm going to start installing the electric windows and door lock & latches right away I even put up some of those rubber booties that go from the door to the jamb carrying the harness...
All this stuff is going into a 48 ply biz coupe and I want everything to look like it was made this way from the factory,I think I can pull it off with some help from you guys.