At what point would you replace a replacement wiring harness? The previous owner of my wagon installed a Rebel Wiring harness. I have no complaints about the harness, it seems good quality, But the install is not great. The main problem is that many wires were run as short as possible instead of routing them cleanly. As a result the wires are too short to reroute. I’m planning to buy the correct colour wiring and extend all the too short wires so I can route them nicely and cleanly and make sub harnesses for the dash and underwood. however, by the time I go to all that work and expense, am I better off just replacing the whole harness??
In my 40 merc the wiring harness was a mess of original 1940 cloth wrapped wire falling apart , chunks of late 60’s Mustang harness they got with the drive train they swapped in , with bits and bobs of **** sprinkled in here and there . started with cleaning up the engine harness , then the front light stuff , which morphed into under the dash and interior , at that point all that was left was the tail lights and fuel sender . it came out good , but I would have been miles ahead buying a premade harness and installing that over making my own . Check what you will spend on wiring , connectors and those sundries and roughly how much time you’ll have into it . Bet it will be roughly the same time and money as a harness , most wiring issues happens at connections and splices
As @VANDENPLAS mentions, connectors are the common failure point. You mention choice one, splicing or choice two, replace everything. Another possibility is choice three, just replace the short wires completely, using the same terminals either from Rebel or another source. You don't mention your skill and comfort level with wiring, but it sounds like this is still a possibility. You don't say how many fixes and mods you are considering, which may sway the choice.
Unless it is a total disaster; it seems like it would be overkill to totally replace the harness. Maybe Rebel would sell you some matching wire. Unless you think you would always dislike the idea of having a "repaired" harness; in that case replace it.
replacing just the short wires is a great idea. It’s mostly the under dash wiring that is a problem, so not all the wires. I’ve wired several cars and this is the least complex one, so I’m comfortable with any of these options.
its already been repaired and spliced a few times so I’m ok with a repaired harness. I’ll probably reach out to rebel a see if I can get some extra wire and pins to fix this properly.
I have a Rebel kit in my '54 Ranch Wagon. No issues with wires being too short. Sounds like the PO shortened them too much. You can lengthen what you have, install a new Rebel kit, or use a kit that is similar to an original Ford harness. If you op for option three be prepared for much more money than the first two options. JMO
I would splice in more wire. Brush up on your attachment skills for sure. Allow more strain relief and use shrink wrap over the spliced wires.
It's past time on my Willys! My 'harness' is a mishmash of junk. In the late 60s I purchased a wrecked '56 Olds to scavenge the ****** and rear end for my car. Turned out the ****** was a year too late, a turbohydro, not a Dual Range, and the rear wax a year too early to be the desirable Olds. I used the rear anyway and salvaged the fuse block and wiring and put it in my Willys. LOTS of splicing and added circuits, really rough job. But then the build on the car is 30v years old so the car is due for a frame up rebuild anyway.
As long as the ****es are done right, no reason not to do that. Do stagger them though, so you don't end up with 'lumps'...
^^^ What Steve said! When you do it, reroute the wires properly. Anchor them to brackets or panels with clamps screwed to a structure (not wire ties). Also, I'm not a fan of the insulated crimp connectors. Get yourself some uninsulated crimp connectors. Crimp the wire, add a daub of solder, wrap the connection with quality electrical tape and follow with shrink wrap. Here's a ground bar I did on an O/T Mustang......
That is not relevant. If you are having a shop do it yes but for a hobbyist not so much. In the end it's your choice. The price of a harness may enter into it but, will you be happy with a bunch of splices in your wiring that may create a troubleshooting nightmares in the future (if you don't solder and shrink wrap the connections). Or do you want a nice clean install that is neat and tidy. I'm not a fan of screw in terminal blocks. They just don't look right in a car and can loosen up with all the vibrations encountered in a mobile application.
Umm....you should NEVER solder stranded wire. Never understood how that misconception became so widespread
NEVER heard that before. It does make a solid spot but in the 50+ years I've been doing it there has never been a failure.
It's wiring basics. Just because people sell tools and materials to do something doesn't make it the correct process. Neither does "I've gotten away with doing it forever". Stranded means vibration. Vibration means cracked solder. Cracked solder means all you did was waste materials and yours and any future owners times. Bout like using wire nuts on stranded wire...
Crimp and heat shrink yes. Solder no. Only place solder is ok is at connections were it's supported by something besides the solder
My soldering certification is 60 years old... Over the years, I've had problems with crimp splices pulling apart - ordinary heat shrink does not help much. I recommend marine heat shrink. It has a thermal set adhesive that adheres to the wire and seals the joint. https://www.harborfreight.com/42-piece-marine-heat-shrink-tubing-67598.html Lately, I am soldering stranded wire splices and applying marine heat shrink. The resulting joint is more resistant to a physical pull, vibration resistant and sealed from corrosion. Russ
Agreed, I've never changed my mind on anything as much as I have about the superiority of crimped terminals. Have had 2 or 3 failures on solid good solder joints in my OT offroad vehicle. The absolute best way is with a ratcheting crimp tool and heat-shrink connectors (these also have the thermal set "glue" in them that @TrailerTrashToo was referring to). Buy an ***ortment off Amazon for cheap. Crimp, hit the connector with a heat gun, and forget about it. Of course, you can also then cover the connectors with normal heat shrink and/or loom for a more traditional appearance.
I don't do a lot of wiring like this, but what @VANDENPLAS mentioned above makes a lot of sense. If the affected wiring is fairly acessible get the right gauge and color coded wire and replace it in one run, terminal to terminal. Otherwise you're just adding two more (potentially troublesome) splices into the circuit. And it keeps you from maybe laying under the car fumbling with wire strippers, crimping connectors, soldering and heat shrink tubing. If you're repairing several affected wires in the same bundle, maybe replace all of them using some good, mating weather pack bulkhead connectors at the ends.
That's for 20 gauge wire, which is too light for pretty much any circuit on a car... As for anybody having trouble with crimps, read this... https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/crimping-tutorial.1127519/
The problem with the crimp vs solder argument is that most people don’t know how to do either properly or when to use either method.
Many years ago I bought a Moroso crimp tool with interchangeable heads. Insulated, bare, and spark plug terminals. It’s a pop off style. Now that I’m old, I really appreciate it, no more crimps that aren’t tight enough. You’ve still got to line up the seam properly, and do the shrink right with a quality shrink tube. Years later, never a failure. I’d try to get the matching wire from Rebel. If you’ve ever chased a bad connection on a wire that changes color in the middle you’ll understand. I was taught how to solder connections. On solid wire in houses. Before twist on connectors were common. Knob and tube wiring, too. You’ll never find soldered wires on ships or aircraft. There’s a reason.
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