OBSESSED WITH QUALITY WIRING -- Tools, materials, suppliers, techniques?

I did a little searching, but didn't see quite what I was looking for.
This one was good, but it still didn't answer some of my questions.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=177715&highlight=wiring+tools

Many of the vehicles I've owned have had ****py wiring. Years of heat and ozone from underhood exhaust leaks have taken their toll. I had a car-b-que last summer (I think it may have been the wiring), so now wiring it right with really high quality materials, tools, and techniques is an obsession for me.

I recently got a 1959 Willys pickup that needs some work, especially wiring, so I'm taking the opportunity to do it right, really right.

Here are my questions:

1) Where do you buy really good wire for a reasonable price? The Pep Boys and Kragan places have crumby overpriced imported wire with poor quality insulation that you can strip with a thumbnail, so that's out. Would you recommend PVC isulation or something else? Is Kynar or Teflon overkill?

2) Where do you get really good connectors? Are the crimp-on ones the way to go? They always seem a little hacked when I do them. Do you also solder them? Has anyone used heat-shring tubing on the connectors? I like the GM Weatherhead connector system, but it's a bit out of place on a more traditional car.

3) What tools do you use? My experience with the crimp on connectors hasn't been great. The auto discount store tools are nearly worthless. The professional ones by Klein are a little better, but not stellar either.

4) Final question. Does anyone who does a lot of wiring have any tips or techniques to share? Old hot rod books used to talk about weaving or wrapping the wiring or looming -- I can't remember the exact terms they used. Do you use wire-ties every few inches or that flexible split plastic cladding? How to you attach it to the frame?

Thanks in advance!

--Matt

 

Sorry I can't help you but I'll bump this because I'd like answers to those questions too.

 

I worked on computers back in the mid 60's, you know the ones that filled a huge air conditioned room to do less than the one sitting next to my foot right now. We used to "lace" the wires (22 ga bundles as big as your arm) with flat nylon cord and if you got really good at it it really looked cool. Did it to my altered and used all teflon insulated wire, which is nice for airplanes or race cars because the wires are actually smaller (the insulation is thinner) plus their heat resistance. The lacing cord is still available from Aircraft Spruce and some surplus outlets, you just have to learn the knot to tie, and space them correctly. The Experimental Aircraft ***ociation probably has some information on this technique. If you're going to use tie-wraps do yourself a favor and find a surplus source for tie-wrap guns, they pull the wrap up tight (adjustable) and cut it off correctly. There's lots of sources for wire, but it'd be hard to beat the stuff the guys that make ready made looms use, like the rebel wire guys. If you have a chance, check out some wiring in WWII aircraft, real industrial but super neat. I think EAA might be a good source for wiring techniques. Hope this helps

 

The wire you want to use is a thermo cross link (TXL) wire good for abrasion and temps to 275 degrees F. Use terminals that have both conductor and insulation grips and a good set of crimpers to properly close the grips. You can solder the terminals after you crimp them but if they are crimped right you don't need to. As for covering the harness you are better off putting convoluted tubing over the wiring for protection especially in the engine compartment and under the car. There are plastic clips that clip over the convoluted tubing that secure it to body panels, frames, etc. Most of your wire harness suppliers like Painless, Ron Francis, EZ wire sell the TXL wire, terminals and other harness accessories, check them out . As well as the book in the pic.

 

GARDNER WESTCOTT...they have alot of connectors in kit form...they have all sizes of shrink wrapping...they are really cool to deal with...CALL and get a catalog before you order so you know what you need, and can give part numbers....I bought ratchet crimping tool from j&p cycles, cost like 80 bucks, works every time....the tool has 3 different interchangeble heads and is worth the cash for piece of mind...does spark plug wires perfect...hope it helps...I am crazy when it comes to wiring and set up of controls,these have helped my obsession...

 

I've done it from scratch and used the premade harnesses. Doing it from scratch is more expensive imho because the price of a roll of good copper wire is high. I do like planning my own circuits better than having to work with the ones given though.

Either way I've been using crimp connectors and heat shrink on all connections. A really good crimper is a must. I buy a 5lb bag of 4" long wire ties for cheap, and they go fast. I use them every 4" on the bundle. That way I can use the lenght of the wire tie to space the next one, then clip off the tail.

 

I'm working on my 32 right now. I've been using several sizes of heat shrink tubing on all the connectors and splices. I've been soldering the splices with a gun and rosin-core solder. After puting the heat shrink on it protects it in the bundle.

For a little style, I've been using this "Expandable Braided Sleeving" stuff. It's a fine braid, black in color and nylon I believe (do a google search on the words in quotes.

Anyway, once you cut this stuff, the end get's kind of loose and doesn't look good. What I do in hidden areas is fold the sleeving back onto itself, and put a tie-wrap on it, then clip off the frilly hairs and unruley parts with the ****s.

For areas that you can see, I put some heat shrink over the ends after I have all the wires inserted. Heat it up and it melts down onto the braid and makes it look nice.

For example, I just got done with my Idi*** steering column (no ignition). I cut off the dumb connector and pulled the wires so they were individual and not all formed together like they are normally for the connector. Take about an inch of big heat shrink tubing and push it over the wires and into the steering column as far as you can, and then "shrink" it onto the wires. Now take another inch of shrink and put it over the wires, and insert the wires into the braid, and then the braid into the heat shrink and "shrink" the tubing and braid onto the previous shrink tubing.

Here's the deal though, you can bunch this stuff up onto the wires (much like women do when taking off or putting on nylons). So figure the length of this braid to get it to a hidden area. Cut it off, and then pull it all together in a bunch to expose the steering column wires. Now you can solder on the wires to the steering column wires, and when done, un-bunch the braid over the new wires you just soldered on.

Just some ideas.

 

Matt,
Get the TXL wire mentioned by 4tford...it is good wire or any silicon jacketed wire. Make sure it is pre-tinned. If not tinning can be done with a reasonable soldering iron. I am not allowed to use flux-core solder as I do mostly Mil-spec type connections. As far as crimpers, DMC. They are a little pricey but well worth the money if your gonna be **** about the crimps. Heat shrink on all connections is a must. Convoluted tubng for your runs is the best for routing. And if you want to make it look nice in your runs there are tricks you can use. Makeing soft 90 degree bends is possible with a little alumin. soldering rod in the bundle...make your bend and it will hold to just about any shape. PM me as I could write a book on this stuff. If you need to do any **** splicing get solder sleeves with the shrink built into the ends (enviromental splices)and for God's sake get a good heat gun. Lighters are not the thing to use on heat shrink. The heat gun will be necessary for the solder sleeves but makes great connections.
Fitysix

 

PS... 8 guage and larger wire should be crimped with a multi stage crimper ie..Lobster Claw. I like to use non-insulated crimps on 8guage and above then heat shrink.
Fitysix

 

These folks have all kinds of wiring "stuff".
http://www.delcity.net/delcity/servlet/navi?action=sitemap

Tom...

 

My trick is to map it all out, connect one end with wires identified with numbers or colors, and make all the loose ends come to a connector, the harness becomes two or three connectors.
Try this to land a stick block. Scuff the spot, give it a dab of baking soda, put a coupla drops of super glue on sticky side, slap it on. If it sticks its stay'en. DONT breathe the fumes.
Unless you want to go to AMP or some lab coat 300 dollar crimper kind of connector I'm not sure how to advise you, sometimes when I forget my crimper I can make up pins with solder and needle nose pliers.
Five diameters of bare wire on a crimp, one on a solder. A tube of telephone Co. NOOX can make a crimped harness live a long time in bad weather.

 

the Belden wire sold at auto parts stores (Car Quest) seems to be decent stuff, although I admit I haven't bought much lately.

for 50s-70s cars I like the non-sticky harness tape that you used to be able to get from Ecklers (corvette resto place), it's about an inch wide and just what they used on GMs for many years.

Lacing twine has been discussed here a bit, it gives an "aircraft" look to an old car, but is not really what you'd expect to see in a typical hot rod.

zip ties and corrugated plastic both look like ****, and are way out of place in anything older than the mid 70s.

 

try www.waytekwire.com they have free catalogs with quality stuff.

 

I've used :
happyterminals.com

Good prices too!

 

This is a must:

http://www.howardelectronics.com/MasterAppliance/UT-40SIK.html

Solder tips for soldering; hot air tip for shrink tubing.

JUST BE SMART AND DON"T BLOW YOURSELF UP BY GETTING TOO CLOSE TO GAS OR OTHER FLAMMABLE MATERIALS!

 

i buy shrink tube in large rolls of ebay for next to nothing. wire i get the good stuff with silicon jacket and all conections get solder. spent the money years ago for weather proof connectors. I like to make all my harnesses like a new car that can be unpluged in sub sections. makes fixing or addin an easy job. i run 3 extra wires in every section just so stuff can be added if needed.

 

I lay it all out neatly, and heat shrink the entire harness (especially under the hood). After you've done a few cars, you won't forget wires, which means you won't have to re-do your work to insert that horn wire. When you open the hood, all you see is neat, black loom.

PLAN AHEAD! Is your brake light switch under the car, under the hood, or under the dash..... Same goes for Neutral Safety switch, etc....

TIP: When heat shrink covering under the hood, for example, shrink the harness only as far as the first Y junction (usually at the firewall). Then loom each branch about 12 inches. Then, add a 6 inch piece of shrink over all the branches, to overlap the entire junction. This way, no wires will show, it will appear as 2 or more black legs eminating from a black harness.

I use Thomas & Betts crimpers, and never use Scotchloks!

 

T And B Lugs Are The Best. Crimp With Their Tool And Then Solder.strip Wire A Little Long So The Solder Can Get To It.
The Best Wire To Use Is Teflon, But Very Expensive. Belden
Wire Has Great Coatings That Will Stand Up Under Most Temperatures. The New Cold Solder Guns Are Good. Avaliable At Harbor Freight. Deucemanab

 

www.terminaltown.com

 

1. Not sure how reasonable the prices are, but try:

http://www.waytekwire.com/
or
http://www.statewire.com

Make sure the wire you get meets SAE-J1128 specifications, this is the standard the auto industry uses. Wire that meets these specs will tolerate the under hood temperatures, oil, gasoline, anti-freeze and other nasties that are around your car. Don't use regular house wiring.

2. Check out the same web sites. Look for GM WeatherPack or Metri-Pack connectors. They're good enough for GM so they should work well for you. These are crimp style connectors. Don't solder your connections. Make sure you have a good mechanical connection with a crimp on style connector, this will be the most reliable connection.

Delphi has a data sheet on the WeatherPack here:
http://connectors2.delphi.com/DCSGD...earch.aspx?vUser=GuestUser&vID=Transportation
In fact you can find their entire connection systems catalog here. Might want to check out the crimping tools too.

3. Suggest you get a good crimping tool. But good ones are not cheap! The Waytek site lists some but they are around $100. Maybe others will have suggestions about where to find good crimpers for a reasonable price.

4. Think you already have some good tips from others.

 

Please...just say no... to that plastic convoluted ****. Especially the lime green and chrome yellow junk. Nothing looks gaudier, uglier or cheaper than that plastic ****. Sure it's easy. When has easy ever looked better than craftsmanship? It makes your engine compartment look like a 20 dollar *****.

The first thing I do is make a drawing. Not really a schematic but more of a component locater drawing. Anything that gets a wire is drawn on paper in rough relationship to the other major components. Once this is done then routing and bundling of the wires becomes easy.

I rarely use the street rod components. I like using the old Ford ignition switch, generators with old amp meters and stuff that the generic street rod harnesses don't provide for. I have to run extra wires for separate turn signal circuits that most don't have. No GM tilt columns to cover up with carpet. To me wiring is just another component that needs as much thought as the color or the the wheels that you want to use.

If you want it "just like the 50s bro" wrap the whole harness in plastic electrical tape. It can be a challenge to do it neatly but that is what we used. We tried to hide the wiring instead of making it jump up into your face with purple harness covers.

I like the crimpers that actually punch into the terminal rather than just mash it flat. They actually shape the terminal for a cleaner look. I use heat shrink to cover up the blue or red plastic covered terminals if I don't remove it first. If it's in an area exposed to the weather, I solder the connections. The solder seals the area around the wire strands preventing corrosion even with heat shrink.

Plan it out and think about it for a while before you start slingin' wires.

 

But I like 20 dollar *****'s! Not trying to be an *** here but What IF down the road sometime you have a problem in your harness and have to tear off that fancy harness tape or lacing with whatever to get to that problem area? With the convoluted tubing you just pull out the wire, fix it a, and put it back in. Now I'm not saying run it out in the open where it will look like ****, but like under the dash and under carpeting(if so equipped) to protect it and keep it together. What wiring would you run under the car for? Just my opinions. later shawn

 

You make some good points. Obviously (to me) it doesn't look good in the engine bay. It looks like m*** production there (quality or not).

The only problem you are going to have with a harness, is external damage: collision, fire, criminal, etc. A piece of wire generally doesn't do anything by itself (unless it's too small for the current).

Out of sight, it is a good way to protect wires from rats and mice (inside quarter panels, etc. The only place I used it myself was because the instrument wiring came with it.

I like that expandable braid stuff better. Looks like someone took their time, rather than some factory goon on the clock.

 

When I **** splice two wire together with solder, I place the two wire together and wrap them with a single strand of copper wire to hold them tight together while I solder. This really works good when you need to join three or more wires. I use about a four inch s**** piece of wire and strip off the insulation except about and inch in the middle. When I want a single wire for wrapping, I just pull it out of the insulation that is holding them together.

John

 

I have the link somewhere, but NASA has an excellant tutorial on using lacing cord

 

Ron Francis has a new catalog..

 

My only trouble with the plastic-based electrical tape is that it doesn't last that well, cracks out after some years.

I've always wanted to know what the factories use, it's more like a cloth-based black electrical tape, that stays flexible for a long time. Can you buy this stuff anywhere????

 

Also, I'm a pretty big fan of lacing, it's been used in the telecom business for years and years. I haven't used it on a car, but personally I think it would look fairly traditional, at least in terms of being an old technique. Any thoughts?

 

now that id like to see

how about hockey stick tape

 

I'm not really a fan of tape but it is what we used back then. I buy the old fashioned wire loom. It's almost a paper mache' type material. It looks old and doesn't jump up in your face. It comes in several sizes. I do have to use vinyl tape to connect a small branch loom to the larger trunk line.

As far as service is concerned, I've never had to go back into a harness unless it was damaged from an accident or something. I did have to replace a harness when the alternator shorted out once. I use a fuseable link on the main line ever since. That won't happen again.