Anyone got any good tips on how to go about rewiring a car? Ive never even thought about doing it before and was planning on waiting until winter time to figure out how to rewire my 54, but I recently discovered a bunch of questionable things about the car that need to be taken care of. The kid that had it before me tried to put red lights behind the grille or something stupid a**** other things. and SOMETHING somewhere is draining the battery while the car sits. So if i dont drive it for a couple days...dead battery. Now Im just at the point where I want to rip everything out and re-do it all the right way and be done with it. I know a lot of people have had success wiith rebel wire kits. How much of a pain in the *** is it to do?
Does the car have an electric clock? If so disconnect it and see if the battery stays charged longer. Old clocks are a HUGE drain on old batterys.
I did my own harness, it was not worth it .I helped a friend put a rebel in a shoe box, it was trouble free I think his was called the nine circuit.
I used a Rebel 9 + 3 in my '54 and it was a breeze. I ripped everything out and started from scratch. Follow the instructions you get with the kit and it's pretty straight forward. I also went from 6V to 12V at the same time so I had to replace all of the bulbs. I pulled the dash out and wired it on the bench and the trick to making that an easier task is to wire a plug connector into the dash wire bundle, somewhat close to the fuse box. This gives you a pigtail for the dash. All in all, the worst part about wiring the car was worrying about wiring it.
Completely agree with the rebel kits! Great folks to deal with also. X2 on doing the dash out of the car as well. I did mine in the car and it ****ed. Rocky
Click on this: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?do=discuss&group=&discussionid=32232 I posted two links that will help point you in the right direction in the 2nd & 3rd comments.There is a good video on youtube about finding a current drain.
The only tips I have is to pay extra close attention to the quality of your grounds, and to budget at least the same as the cost of the wiring kit on supplies (heat shrink, connectors, solder, replacement components, etc). But it's definitely well worth the time and effort to get rid of all that crumbling fabric fire hazard wire.
I also bought a Rebal kit and will be doing mine next month or so . They are USA MADE and really nice kits for the money . I bought the 9+3 so I would have extra places if I wanted electric windows , a/c , wipers , stereo , electric fans and so on . It's also the best time to change the system over to a 12v system . You can also use your 6v starter ! They love those 12v too ! A suggestion on a alt , get a one wire set up . That will make wiring one up really easy . The very best advice I can give is to read the instructions until you have them memorized by heart . They lay the wiring harness out on the ground or where ever you are going to be doing it and lay it out just like you would in the car . That way you have an idea on how everything will be going in the car . Also remove the front and rear seats to make it easier to move around . If you can remove the dash that would be a good idea as well . Makes things much easier than laying on your back and trying to see everything under the dash . Also have plenty of GOOD connection , heat shrink tubing , and voltage reducers you may need , all the 12v bulbs and other parts need for the conversion if you are changing to a 12v system , good ground straps , a wire brush or emery cloth to clean the places where you will be grounding something to on the body , good sharp wire cutters , wire strippers , 12v bulbs , flasher , voltage regulator , points , condenser . Get lots of 4" pull ties to keep all the wires in a simple harness . Make sure you solder all the connections and heat shrink them weather tight for trouble free wiring . Most of all , just take your time and don't rush anything . Also the most important thing to remember is , " YOU CAN DO THIS REWIRING OF THE CAR !" Just follow the instruction to the letter and step by step and you will be fine ! If something frustrates you , just walk away for 15 mins , then come back and it will go together fine . Good Luck and we are all here to help if needed . Jim
i strongly agree about the grounds..you can never have too many!! ha ha.. you could go to autozone and buy there cheap fuse blocks, rolls of wire, relays and such and make your own.. but i suggest buying a harness by rebel or painless. if you don't have soldering skills i would invest in a good set of wire crimpers and i like to use bullet connectors to all the lights that way if there's ever a problem you can just unplug it
Alright you guys I think I'm finally ready to try and do this rewire. I'm looking at 2 options. Obviously most of everyone on the HAMB has told me go with Rebelwire. But a few other guys I know have said Painless is the way to go. It looks like the painless kit comes with more stuff. My question I guess is, is all that really worth the extra 300 bucks or what? I'll probably be ordering one or the other next week after I pay all my bills this month. 200 sounds a lot easier to swing than 500. I guess I'm also wondering what else I'd need if i went with the rebelwire kit as far as connectors and what not, as it looks like the painless kit comes with all the connectors i need. AND do they come with wires for the grounds or do i need a spool of black wire for all that. Damn sorry for all the questions you guys have been more than helpful already. I'm totally clueless and overthink **** too much, but now I'm in the mindset where I want to do it myself and not pay a shop to do it so I know exactly where everything is and actually learn something new in the process.
uglysteve save yourself alot of trouble and order a wiring kit from EZ Wiring. I use these kits in all my cars and the ones I build for others. Just installed one in my friends 40 Chevy took me about 4hrs to wire complete car.Car has a/c, power windows, cruise control, light in the trunk, under hood. 21 circuts color coded every wire marked as to were it goes. At 185.00 it is the way to go. If you look in my album of my 67 GTO you can see the one I installed in the car. My 58 Chevy has EZ-Wiring under the dash too.. My cousin's son-in-law bought a Painless wiring kit at over 400.00 to install in his 51 Chevy. I bought a EZ-Wiring kit for my 50 Chevy at Goodguys from a vender for 175.00. After we did a comparison, he is now paying the 10% restocking fee and will order a EZ-Wiring kit. I don't sell this product I just like using the best for my money. But if you want to pay way to much, then buy the others. Tech support is great if you need them. Just my .02 cents on the subject.
yeah see that EZ wiring kit looks like it has all the same stuff as the painless one at less than half the price. what other stuff would i need? i have soldering stuff and wire cutters, heat gun, shrink wrap and all that already.
Best thing i got is to lay it out, think, dont be in a hurry,lots of thinking beer and read read read. I have only done one ( its was truck so very easy) but the directions were key. good luck!
Without a doubt the most important aspect of the rewiring of a car is to have the correct tools and use them correctly. A good quality crimper - i prefer the ratcheting type - is very important. There is nothing worse than wires that fall out of crimp lugs in tight spaces. Poor crimps will also cause high resistance joints which will eventually fail and be a ****rel to trace. Secondly, get yourself a good test probe and a good meter. I prefer ****ogue to digital as when you are testing resistance, digital multimeters are a PITA. All the other suggestions are all pertinent. Regards
alright getting ready to FINALLY start this rewire monday. I got an EZ wire kit. Feeling pretty confident. just a question...here's some pictures. I don't even know what these things are, all in the engine bay. Do I still need these or can I just rip em out and byp*** them completely or whats up?
yikes...that nasty old master cylinder is getting replaced too. i got everything to do the dual reservoir swap.
Since you are rewiring with a kit you can junk all the old under hood wiring and run the new circuits,that part on the firewall turned out to be useful when I did my rewire after removing it I replaced with this:http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hla-002843011/overview/ with key part under the dash, run your main power lead from the battery to one terminal and the other terminal goes to your fuse box.By doing that you can have an anti-theft device with a removable key.I ran a one wire alternator and one wire HEI to eliminate more wiring clutter,the wire coming out of the steering box is the horn wire so don't wack it off.I strongly advise you to read this:http://www.watsons-streetworks.com/current_topic.html and add the relays to your system (junk those old Ford relays in your picture) the 70 amp relay can be found here:http://www.frys.com/product/6401272?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG to run off the ignition switch for accessories,for the horn and headlights use these:http://www.frys.com/product/4191633?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG Frys also has the matching plugs for these relays for easier hookup http://www.frys.com/product/4191643?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG .I found out the hard way the old Ford switches don't like 12 volts without relay protection,also HUGE difference in the brightness of the headlights using that diagram.
Awesome thanks Jeff. I'm gonna check out the Frys up the street tomorrow. hopefully they have those in store. Some progress today. Got my interior all out. (dont laugh at my pink rabbits foot...) Floors look pretty nice under there! Not bad for a midwest car eh? Took forever trying to get the dash out. I'm going to wire that up on the workbench and make the pigtail disconnect like a couple people suggested before. Trying to do it underneath would have been horrible. Whats the best type of plug or plugs to get for that? Im sure there's got to something better than putting single spade or **** connectors or whatever on every wire and connecting them one by one right? or is that the only way to do it? Also should i maybe start with the dash first and get it all wired with the fuse panel and everything attached then cut the bundle and do my connectors? Sorry if these are all simple questions. I've never done any big wiring projects ever and I'm just trying not to screw myself up here.
Don't forget when going from 6 volts to 12 volts you'll need this for your factory gauges http://macsautoparts.com/ford-musta...or-c6dz-10804-a/camid/MUS/cp/JS0R3CHL1082108/ your local NAPA usually has these in stock.
the car was already switched to 12v when i got it. apparently the guy did it skipped that step...what about a ballast resistor? i didnt find one of those either. how do i know what ohm rating or whatever to get?
A kit of connectors like these are a good idea. http://www.narva.com.au/products/browse/quick-connect This is a contact for a supplier in Oz. I am sure you will find something similar from NAPA or another part supplier. You will need a crimper for these contacts though you can do it with pliers. Regards
Autozone and O'Reillys connectors are Chinese junk,want USA made? Wal-Mart has them! 3M brand made in Minnesota. Bought mine there.
The plug for the pigtail that you want can be found at Radio Shack or most auto part houses. Might be cheaper at Radio Shack. You can get them invarious sizes from 3 pin all the way up to 20 pin (perhaps larger). Wiring the dash first, last or in between is entirely up to you. I mounted the fuse box where I wanted it and went from there. Did the engine compartment, front lights then rear lights. Wired the dash, installed it and then ****oned everything up. Presto-chango...new wires and everything worked
thanks for all the help so far guys. another question...these dash guys. should i just connect the new wiring to the little ends i left on all these or is there somewhere i can get new ones? i went all over today and couldn't find anything.
If you remove the bulb the base and wire will push out and you can get a replacement base at Autozone or O'Reilly or Pep Boys.Now if you want a custom touch you can do what I did,Pep Boys has LED lights in several colors since I'm doing the interior in blue I installed blue LED's.The LED's have a smaller base and a hot lead and a ground lead you will need some rubber grommets to push into the metal plug to hold the LED in place,not expensive you get a pack four LED's for around $6 I'm really liking the difference!
yeah! i saw the LEDs at pep boys today and wondered about those. ill have to go back tomorrow. thanks Jeff
When I was shopping for those socket pig tails, Auto Zone had them ranging from $2.99 to $11.99 ea. I wound up buying all of mine from Dell City online for $.55 ea. here's the link.
oh man you're a lifesaver. i found some at pep boys today for 4 bucks a piece. i need like 7 and its only 30 bucks but still...i work on straight commission and business is slow right now...
The CVR that Jeff suggested is a must for the original gauges. The only ballast resistor that I used/needed was in the engine bay and was part # CR 107 at Auto Zone for $4.99. I can't remember where I found the info on the proper ohms for it but, it's the correct one for a 223/6. One side of the resistor connects to the ign switch and the other splits in two, with one half going to the coil and the other going to the solenoid.
Also, if replacing your door jamb switches, you can get them from Rock Auto online. They are about $6.00 a piece compared to $12 at the local parts store. Rock auto part #1s4397
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