Universal wiring harness choices

I bought a complete (Universal) harness from Painless wiring a few years ago but haven't installed it yet....Anyone use them before, each wire is lettered.
Twenty-two years ago I put my 39' together, buying rolls of colored wire to match GM wiring color codes..... one wire at a time and it's still working fine!
(Hope I didn't just jink myself).

 

I have experience wiring two cars from the ground up, one using a Painless 18-circuit kit and the second with a Speedway Economy wiring harness. Here is how they compare:

The Speedway kit costs about 1/4 as much as the Painless.
The Speedway kit uses much heavier gauge wire than the Painless for virtually every circuit. Painless has lots of 18-gauge, whereas the Speedway is mostly 16 gauge.
The Speedway manual is simpler.
The Speedway kit includes two relays; Painless only one.
The Painless kit has a better selection of connectors (but still not even CLOSE to what you'll need).
The Painless kit has longer wires. Due to crowded space on the driver's side, I mounted both kits on the p***enger side. The Painless kit had more than adequate wire length to reach every connection from the "opposite" side; the Speedway had to have several wires lengthened (ie dimmer switch and brake switch). More splices equals greater chances for failures.
BOTH kits SHOULD HAVE included 100 or more zip ties and lots of shrink tube, but didn't. I'll bet I spent an additional $75 on wiring accessories with each kit.
Which kit do I prefer? If you mount the fuse panel above the driver's left foot, the choice is obvious: Speedway. If you mount it anywhere else however, the short wires is almost a deal-breaker.

 

I've used Ron Francis, American Autowire and Painless. I used a Painless when I built/wired a Cobra a few years ago because it came with the kit. I said at the time I would never use Painless again. The ONLY reason I used the Painless this time is because I won it at Goodguys. Never again. Lousey instructions and poor labeling. I contacted Rebel and those guys were very helpful in explaining their product, but I just couldn't see spending more money on the build when I already had a harness. Big mistake. I wish I had gone with the Rebel harness. Next time for sure.

BOutlaw

 

I used to do my own wiring from scratch because I came out of the marine industry and got high quality Ancor components and wiring cheap, but in recent years we have been buying kits because you can't beat the price and having each wire marked with it's destination really makes it nice.

My one Son has a Summit kit on his T bucket and it was a ***** to install, mainly because the instructions ****ed. We have done a lot of wiring and it was even hard for us to figure out) My other Son has an American Autowire kit on his rpu and it is very nice and the instructions are great. This time around I wired my 27 with a Rebel 9 + 3 kit and was very impressed with it. The instructions were very clear and when we called with any questions they were as friendly and helpful as you could ask for. I will buy from them again for my latest project.

Now, as far as soldering terminals versus crimp ons, we only crimp. Both my Son and I did professional wiring in the marine industry and soldered terminals are absolutely forbidden on boats. The reason is, soldered joints create brittle spots that can break from vibration. However, some people do like to solder each connector on a car and that is a personal choice. The crimped terminals on my 27 were on there for over 20 years before I redid the whole car and I NEVER had a wire problem. Crimping is sure easier than soldering when you are laying upside down under a dash, too.

But it comes down to personal choice and what you feel more comfortable with.

Don

 

I used a NW Autowire (Moses Lake, Wa) universal 12 ckt. kit in my g***er project. Very reasonably priced, and great diagram and intructions. Wires were short, and expect to add wiring to reach front and rear bumper areas, but I prefer that myself. Did a Painless before and it had too much wire, and was a pain to deal with the excess.
At under $100 it's a steal!
http://www.nwautowire.com/servlet/the-10/hot-rod-jeep-14/Detail

 

BTW, here is a little tip on how to keep the wires bundled while you are doing the wiring. Usually you use plastic wire ties to keep things neat while you are doing the wiring but the problem is you waste a lot of them because as you keep adding wires you need to cut off the existing ties and then keep adding new ones. By the end of the wiring job you have a bunch of cut off ones laying all around the floor and they aren't cheap.

What I do is insert the end of the wire tie into the other end FLIPPED over from it's usual position. You know how it it normally goes in there are teeth that keep it from coming loose, but if you flip it over and insert it the wrong way it will pull back out? That is what I am saying, insert it the wrong way and while it will hold tight enough for your purposes it will also allow the wire tie to come back apart so it only acts as a temporary clamp and can be reused over and over again. Saves a lot of waste and money.

I also keep a garbage can right outside the car and as I cut off pieces of wire and the ends of wire ties I immediately toss the waste in there. Sure saves a lot of cleanup later and laying on pieces of s**** while you are working.

Finally, if you lay out the harness and eliminate the circuits you won't be using in the beginning it saves having a lot of unneeded wiring to remove later on. For example, my kit came with 3rd brake light, AC, wipers, etc that I don't have on my car so I snipped those off first and had a lot less wire to deal with while doing the job.


Don

 

I've used several different ones, and made from scratch I like Afforable wiring panels made out in the middle of Kansas, Rich, the owner has ALWAYS answered the phone if help was needed, great customer service. I like that !

 

Quality wise Ron Frances,then rebel.

 

from harbor freight for the small ones they are about $10 per hundred
cheap insurance

 

I helped a buddy run all the wires for a Rebel 9+3 in his 66 Ford truck this weekend. Very simple and labeled very well. Will probabally finish the wiring job in a couple of weeks

 

after a lot of resurch I ordered a kit from e-z wire.i found both rebel and e-z instuctions on line they look like they were writin by the same person.specs are almost exactly the same when it comes to wire size and qaulity.chose e-z because they had a few small parts I also needed that rebel didnt offer.even after discount offered to HAMBer's cost was close to the same.I also called both company and asked questions before I bought anything.both seemed to have good customer service.I think they are both reputable companys to deal with.

 

I got a nice 20 circuit kit on sale at Speedway for $154.00. All wires are labeled. The kit includes the ignition switch. Based on the GM harness. I believe it comes from Mr. Roadster. Some wires have to be extended to reach the back lights. I also prefer soldered connections versus crimp type that came with the kit. Not bad for the price.

 

Me too. Very happy with mine.

 

Ive used Haywire and Rebel wire and like the Haywire kit much better. It was also more expensive.

The Rebel Wiring people are really nice when you talk to them on the phone and the Haywire people were not that much help.

To hold my wires together while I run the harness and re-arrange wires, I hit Wal Mart and ask the Produce guy for a few extra twist ties (like 50) to hold my wires while I do the wiring. You can daisy-chain the twist ties together to form a longer tie to simulate a longer zip tie. After the harness is totally in, I go through an finish up the Zip ties and remove the twist ties.

For my s****, I put the extra wire in a pile cause you never know what peices youll need later of a patricular color and toss them after Im totally done with the wiring.

For the small s****, and trash, I keep a rattle can paint lid as a little trash can that I tote around with me. Yes, I knock it over a couple of times, but it better than having to pick up a bazzillion little 1/4" long peices of colored wire housing from stripping for connectors.

I am bad about NOT eliminating wires like I should and that is a great idea to do so before installing the harness.

 

Ditto used the Francis in my 49 Chevy with no issues.

 

Just got my Rebel Wiring harness in the mail today. Arrived very promptly and well packaged. They're not kidding about the thickness of the wiring. Looks very impressive. I bought the 9+3 RHD kit straight from the company. Better than any deal I could find locally. Unfortunately it didnt come with someone to wire it up for me, but I guess one can't have everything