I've used E-Z on the last 3 cars I did ...no problems ...Painless is EXPENSIVE !! EZ was $160 ....can't beat it...just my .02 jersey Skip
Provided EZ Wiring has gone back to colour coded wire, I'd do them again. Trying to trace a problem with an entirely black harness is just shy of impossible. I know the wires are imprinted, but those imprints are either; not where you can see the wire; rubbed off; or you used the wire for something different and forgot. I've used EZ before, with colour, and it was just like a GM harness before the wires are terminated, in other words, just perfect. Cosmo P.S. Get a GM wiring diagram for something like what you are wiring: ie: a Chevy II if your doing something simple, a Buick or Cadillac diagram if you are doing something with a lot of power accesories. You can then refer to the diagram for hints on how the factory did it.
Ha Ha...or you could do it like I did...using the vast selection of colors available at the local parts joint (four counting black!) and wire your whole car with that stuff! "Well, the REALLY big red wire goes to the battery, The SORTA big red wire goes to the starter solenoid, The OTHER sorta big red wire goes to the alternator, The kinda medium yellow wires go to the low beams The little bit thicker red wires go to the high beams, The really big blue wire goes to the fusebox, The sorta big blue wire goes to the ignition, The smaller yellow wires are mostly for lights, Another kinda medium red wire goes to the fuel pump, All the black wires are grounds, The small yellow wire to the rear is for tail lights, The small red wire to the rear is for brake lights, And some of the switches use medium blue wire!" See? Nice and neat...only uses the three Primary Colors, and I only spent about as much as one of those wiring kits cost buying all the wire, terminals, fuses and fusebox!
I got a Haywire kit from our very own Elpolacko here on the HAMB. Its provided me with many joyous hours of entertainment just playing with it, and getting ready to install it, and reading the instructions. Im happy with it, and Ive only statred installing it last week! Send him a PM and see what he has to offer! Ill be getting my next one from him also.
Rewired my '68 Nova once Nice, job, all black wires, cool Thought: hah, I'll remember what I've done . Nope
Check out Affordable Street Rods - good kit - easy to install and cheap - Rich is a good guy and can talk you through any problems you have. I also use Kwik Wire, but to do a neat job you need to undo all his ties and tape and reroute everything - they work good though and they are reasonably priced - I have one in my El Camino and I've installed them in 3 or 4 other cars without a problem.
You get what you pay for. I haven't found one inexpensive kit that I would recommend to any of my customers.
I am still having problems with my EZ wire The wires are labeled nicely but they dont match where they come from in the fuse block, pretty damn frustrating when the power window wire actually is the ignition wire!!! If you get one double check before you put it in. From what I have learned doing this I would follow FatHack and buy a book, fuse block, colored wire and do it myself! I still have problems when I rotate the headlight knob the gauges adjust there readings , could it be grounding? I did get to drive the truck for the first time with the new motor - tranny and most of the brakes - so all is good.
scrap metal! I used EZ on the Buick (remember that green blob?) and had no major problems, just whn it came to the starter but it all worked out fine. I see you made it back from Paso ok! I'll call ya soon!
For the last 37 years I have taken complete wiring harnesses out of the donor car and re-used them, cutting wires out that I dont need and shortening others. A plus is all the connectors, the bulb sockets and the ease of installation. Isnt that the HAMB way of doing it yourself??? Whats this about 1-800 credit card wiring kits?
<font color="green"> Here's A LINK with lots of wiring diagrams. May help if you decide to go "home grown". RASHY </font>
[ QUOTE ] For the last 37 years I have taken complete wiring harnesses out of the donor car and re-used them, cutting wires out that I dont need and shortening others. A plus is all the connectors, the bulb sockets and the ease of installation. Isnt that the HAMB way of doing it yourself??? Whats this about 1-800 credit card wiring kits? [/ QUOTE ] Manyolcars...I've done that myself in the past! When I built a Pontiac for a neighbor years ago, I used most of the wiring harness from the wrecked 71 Camaro donor vehicle, but ended up lengthening, cutting and re-routing damn near every wire! it WORKED, but it probably woulda been easier just to start from scratch like I did on this project... ...both ways have their quirks, but either works for the low-buck home builder! I spent about as much on my new wiring as I would have if I'd just bought a kit, but the cost was spread out over a few weeks time...easier for broke folks!! The kits might be cool, but after calling up a few of those places, most didn't even offer a VERY basic kit...I only wanted wiring for the starter, ignition and alternator, plus headlights, brake lights, tail lights and a fuel pump. No wipers, heater, power anything, etc! Doing it from scratch isn't difficult, just time consuming. But, you end up with exactly what you want and it fits YOUR car the way it should! Works for me...but then, I kind of ENJOY wiring!!
[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] For the last 37 years I have taken complete wiring harnesses out of the donor car and re-used them, cutting wires out that I dont need and shortening others. A plus is all the connectors, the bulb sockets and the ease of installation. Isnt that the HAMB way of doing it yourself??? Whats this about 1-800 credit card wiring kits? [/ QUOTE ] Manyolcars...I've done that myself in the past! When I built a Pontiac for a neighbor years ago, I used most of the wiring harness from the wrecked 71 Camaro donor vehicle, but ended up lengthening, cutting and re-routing damn near every wire! it WORKED, but it probably woulda been easier just to start from scratch like I did on this project... ...both ways have their quirks, but either works for the low-buck home builder! I spent about as much on my new wiring as I would have if I'd just bought a kit, but the cost was spread out over a few weeks time...easier for broke folks!! The kits might be cool, but after calling up a few of those places, most didn't even offer a VERY basic kit...I only wanted wiring for the starter, ignition and alternator, plus headlights, brake lights, tail lights and a fuel pump. No wipers, heater, power anything, etc! Doing it from scratch isn't difficult, just time consuming. But, you end up with exactly what you want and it fits YOUR car the way it should! Works for me...but then, I kind of ENJOY wiring!! [/ QUOTE ] HELL YEAH Fat Hack Manyolcars thats what I am talking about I spent $169 on EZ wire and now I have to go thru it all again to make sure its right!! When I could have done my own and been done, 20yrs ago I took a harness out of mid 70's suburban and swapped out my diesel harness in a 79 GMC that i did, a lot of work but it worked right when i finished it. Oh well, live and learn
dixiedog- I'm not sure what happened there. You have some real issues. Hope you can get it all straightened out. Sounds like you have your ign wire to your gauges hooked into your gauge lighting circuit.) Having wired a bunch of cars a bunch of different ways, here's been my experience: EZ wiring is the best bang-4-the-buck I have used. It is nearly identical to Painless, but half the price. They do skimp on the quality of their flashers, as both mine blew out within a week, but it was easily resolved with some parts store flashers. Everything else is top-quality, except their directions are a little weak. They assume you know a little about automotive wiring before you get into this. Oh, and they do use colored wire now, unless you ask for the all-black kit. OK, Ron Francis has one of the most expensive kits, but if you have never wired a car before, it is the best choice. If you know how to hook orange wire #57 to orange terminal #57, then you are golden. It is literally that easy. (It also helps to know the difference between your alternator and your fuel sending unit ) It also comes with new headlight, dimmer and ign switches, which the other kits don't, so that adds some value. I have also used Painless, Haywire, and OEM harnesses. I personally wouldn't waste my time or $ on anything other than what I described above. YMMV, my $0.02.
I've used various kits on different cars and I thought by far the easiest was Ron Francis. That's what I ended up using on my 41. NO problems what so ever. later, monkey
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