So I have a 52 chevy coupe that I have been working on for the past year and a half and now in my project it is time for the wiring harness. I purchased a painless harness to get the project started. I am just wondering if anyone has wired a complete car before and if you have any words of advice maybe some do's and dont's thanks guys
The black search ****on at the top, do a thread ***le search with it. Thee are many, many threads on the subject, some large ones with all the info you will ever need.
if you can return the painless wiring kit do so, and get the ron francis kit, then when you are wiring up everything do 1 wire at a time, keep loose zip ties to route all the wiring wherever it needs to go, its mostly patience that you will need, dont cut any wiring untill you are happy with its routing, make sure all connection are perfect, use double crimp connections if you can, shrink wrap connections, and again its mostly patience, take your time
I put complete painless kits in 3 cars, read the directions, take your time, they have a good Tech support, that can answer questions. Even though wiring the car was one of the scariest parts, they all went off without a major hitch. I'm not fast by a long shot, but was always able to do it over a week-end. Good Luck!
I have used both Painless and Ron Francis wiring kits. Both are good products and well made. The advice I can give you is to just take your time and read and understand the directions. It is not as hard as some people make it out to be. I had the hardest time with the little wire ends that plug into GM columns. After I walked away from it for a few minutes, I reread the instructions and figured out what was wrong. Both cars started on the first try and all the lights worked. You'll do fine.
You can break it down to under hood, under dash and rear of car.. And then break it down again to lights, ignition, battery feeds, accessories and misc.. Then start with a circuit like lights and move on to the next and WHAM, you're done...
To do a good job, don't try to do it in one day...Just lay it all out and follow along with the instructions. Walk away after a few hours especially if you are getting tired. I've used all the big brands and they all do the job and have tech support if you need it.
there is a little book called "how to wire a hot rod" i think. it looks like a cartoon drawing book costs under $10 and was a load of help in wiring my cars with an ez wiring kit 10+ yrs ago. the book explains and shows easy to understand basic wiring diagrams and helpful info
I've had Ron Francis and Painless kits. I preferred the Painless kit. Aside from the good one wire at a time suggestion, mount the fuse block first for a starting point. Take your time and don't expect to get it done in a couple of days. When it's done you will be SO happy!
...also, keep in mind, you dont have to "think like a manufacturer". you dont have to put the fuse-box high up on the fire-wall where you'll need to be a contortionist to reach and see the fuses. Think out-side the box and think about where you can view the fuses and relays easiest. I dont know about you, but my back hates laying on the door sill and rest my head on the brake pedal to see'em ! (and take your time)
You have a good wiring kit so don't return it. Like others said, take your time! Another thing I found helpful is to get rid of all the old wiring. You may need a couple of connectors for certain things so don't toss it til you're done. But all the old inline connectors, splices, etc.. can be eliminated. I wired 2 cars with the Rebel wire kit and they worked out fine, had 8-10 hours into each one. Did a job for a guy who wanted to cobble things together from his old junk and re-use a lot of things... I had nearly 50 hours into it after all the work + troubleshooting.
Collect a bunch of twist ties like they use in grocery stores to temporarily hold wires in position and together. NOTE TEMPORARILY. Collect the little plastic tags that are used on loaves of bread to write what the wire is. AGAIN TEMPORARY use only. Makes it quick to identify wires while you are working. Make sure the wires are supported and not rubbing on anything that moves or is hot. Take your time. Understand what each wire is doing and why. Canuck
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