New wiring harness

I'm rewiring my car, with a kit. Should I tear out the old harness, and start from scratch, or use it as a guide. Under the dash looks like a hornets nest. Thanks

 

You might look it over a bit BEFORE you rip it out, to identify all components etc., but if the new harness is like most, the wires are all marked as to their function/destination and routing them in an orderly fashion is fairly easy. Biggest concern, aside from correct connections, is to be absolutely sure you get good crimps on all the terminals. Just follow the instructions and it will work out.


edit: agree with 333 Half Evil on soldering/heat shrink....takes more time, but far superior.

Ray

 

I always take a decent look at how the original/existing wires are routed etc., even take pics if you want, then pull it all out. The new harness is basically self explainitary and you need the old out of the way to get the new in place. There are car/trucks that you can actually route wirs in much cleaner ways than the factory did, if you are looking at keeping things looking cleaner/simpler. Most aftermarket harnesses have enough wire to route a different way if you so desire. Personally, I solder every conection you have to make, and use heat shrink to cover conections as well. Crimping works, but soldering to me is just a better way. Good luck!

 

I ran my new harness kind of side by side with the old one. It might take you a couple of days. If you rip out the old one after looking it over, you might forget what it was like a few days ago when you ripped it out. Once you get under the dash, it should be pretty self explanitory. Keep it neat, don't cut wires too short, leave yourself some room for error. Watch your routing when getting near moving parts like the brake switch wiring being near brake rods under the floor. Watch getting near hot spots like exhaust components.