I'm curious to know if anyone out there who lives in the Toronto, Ontario area of Canada can suggest someone who does real good work when it comes to car wiring. What I'm looking for is to have my fuse panel replaced in my 32 Ford...recently had some 'issues' with the panel and would like to have it swapped out. But like anything when it comes to our 'babies'...I'm looking for really good work which I don't mind paying for. Any help steering me in the right direction would be appreciated as it's not something I want to tackle myself.
I can't really recommend anybody, Norm- but may I ask why not do it yourself? Are you looking to re-wire your baby front to back? Or just ... um... fix something? I'm doing the wiring for my '51 from scratch... and once you work out a plan, it's really easy. Time consuming, but easy.
Thank you for the very speedy reply...as to why not do it myself? I didn't wire the car myself and it is extremely well done except for the few issues I've had with the fuse box so I didn't want to mess with a good thing although I'm a very 'neat' guy when it comes to doing things mechanically, wiring has never been my forte if you know what I mean. Thanks for the confidence vote though and good luck with yours.
Welcome to the HAMB Norm, I admire a guy that knows when to call a pro. Watching a nice car burn to the ground isn't something you want to see. Hope you find someone qualified to do the repair. Bob
Ha ha- see, and when I got mine, I had no wiring. So, I'm doing it from scratch. I'm 99% done the engine bay, which is really most of the work imho. So- what issues are you seeing? What needs to be done?
No Bob...seeing it burn wouldn't be good...at all...one never knows what can lurk when one isn't exactly sure what to do no matter how good their intentions are. Thank you for the welcome.
I've had issues with my electric fan going on hiatus for no apparent reason David and after poking and prodding and generally attacking the fuse panel connections, it works once more but this last time my horn went on vacation...and the connection in the box itself got burned somehow for the horn. So I think it's best to replace the entire fuse panel, looking at a Painless panel, 12 circuit, which is what I have now only it's an EZ Wiring panel.
If you go with a fuse panel from American Autowire theirs has the advantage of every wire unplugging from the panel. Most other companies make theirs with the wires and the fuse panel as one unit. The reason I suggest the AA one is that it would make it easy for someone (you) to replace one wire at a time at the panel without disturbing the "good wiring" to the rest of the car. I know wiring a car scares some people but it really is one of the easier, more fun jobs you can do yourself. I love it when I get down to the wiring part of a build because it isn't a dirty job, the components aren't heavy, and you get to lay down a lot and take naps while working under the dash. If you are particular about the kind of work you get on your car the best way to get a good job is to do it yourself. As long as you take your time and follow the instructions almost anyone can do it. Don
Here's some helpfull info for guys that do their own wiring - I put some fusible links in my system after reading it. http://www.alanhorvath.com/54chevy/fusible_links.php http://www.alanhorvath.com/54chevy/mad_electrical.php
Thank you again for the good advice with the website links. More decisions to be made now. I was also looking at a Painless Panel as they offer just the fuse box as well...decisions, decisions....
I'm not going to say anything negative about you because I enjoy your posts and the cars you build, but that view of electrical work just drives me nuts. The guys car can turn into toast and burn his house down and you want him to do it himself? I'll run the conduit, and a pro will run my wires if it ever gets to that point,the less wires the less chance of a problem. Bob
I understand what you are saying, but we are talking about 12 volts here, not 220. As long as a person takes their time, thinks it out, and follows the instructions not a lot can go wrong. Every circuit is fused (except for the starting circuit) so the worst that can happen is a fuse or circuit breaker blows. Look at how many wiring kits are sold by people like American Autowire, Ron Francis, Painless, EZ Wiring, Rebel, etc, etc, and how many house burning down fires do you hear about? But you are right, if a person feels this job is beyond them they should seek out a pro to do it for them, or at least a friend who has some experience with it. I completely rewired my first car when I was about 15 and the only mistake was that I used all red wire because it looked neat. Sure was hard to trace problems though. Don
I know of a couple good guys locally, don't have contact info right at hand but will get it and shoot you a pm.
Amp relay, I'll add that to the list. Every electrical post on the HAMB turns into a competion to see who can add some component ,tool or measurement into the discussion. Basic problem as I see it is controling heat/fire and saving valued items from distruction. Bob
Since I am not an electrician and only speak from experience I've been told that by running a wire directly to an electric fan needs a very heavy wire. With the relay you can run a smaller hot wire to relay and a trigger wire to a switch if you want it to operate manuly. Then a short heavy guage wire to the fan. We've found out we need 50-70 amp relays or they keep burning up. A simple way to check is look at relays on late model cars. Almost forgot, horns also need a relay.
I guess it is like every other aspect of car building, some people feel comfortable doing certain tasks and are afraid to tackle others. I think Bob makes a good point, if you are worried it might be best to seek a pro on this one. No shame in doing that at all. Don
When still in Illinois a buddy built a beautiful 55 Chevy. He did all the body work, welding, paint, and ***embly. But left the interior and wiring to others. Many do this. When my wife joked "are ya gonna tell everyone you did it all?" ---because he always said he does all his own work----he answered "YEP" . Him and the 55 now live in ******s, Fl. and sometimes we run across him at Turkey run.
Hi!! I ,v wired from scratch and have used a kit from centech (very nice) and two from ron francis wire works(excellent,very easy directions) wiring is not hard just commom sense to keep wires safe from moving and hot parts. Pete
As I see it if I hire a guy to wire my car and it burns to the ground I can track the SOB down and, and light him up. Bob
His first name isn't Bob, is it ? And he doesn't have like 45 cars down here and the same amount up there in Illinois ? Don
One more thing I wanted to add, make sure you install rubber grommets through any firewall openings you plan on running the wire through. Here's the system I built from scratch. EDIT: This is for the engine compt only. I didn't add the stuff downstream of the fuse box - like radio, gauges, lights, etc Don't mess with it if you are unsure about doing it
Headlights should be on relays, in addition to the horns and fans. It also couldn't hurt to put the starter on one, but most folks find that over the top. Simply put.. The relay allows you to control a BIG wire using a LITTLE one.
None of it makes sence, why not run the proper size wire to start with. Explain the fuse deal, it is like a fire door right, stops the flow of fire from that point to the end, were does the fire that is being fueled in the first place go?
Bob, my diagram is not complete. It's only for the engine compartment. Sorry if I didn't clairify that (I just added that note for the fusebox) The main protectors are the fusible links located near the battery in the engine compartment. If there is a direct short anywhere, they will burn & break the circuit before the main primary wire catches fire (hopefully) - note: the insulation on the fusible links does not burn like standard wiring insulation. I put fusible links on all the "always hot" wires Fusible links are 4 sizes smaller than the wire it protects. For example, my alternator charge wire is 8 gage, so the fusible link near the battery (at the Ford relay) is 12 gage
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