Wiring harness sugestions

[mike14_07]

Any body know if the speedway motors kit has a headlight relay? If not im guessing it would still be a good idea to add one?

[ozzyman]

Originally Posted by mike14_07

Any body know if the speedway motors kit has a headlight relay? If not im guessing it would still be a good idea to add one?

I don't think any of them come with a relay harness, including the expensive ones

Always a good idea to let your headlights draw power direct from the battery

[gofastnut]

My $.02, pay the $ and get a good product that's American made. For Accessories, try MAD electrical, he's got really good stuff: pigtails, headlight and cooling fan relay kits, etc.

[54 jimmy]

i used a ez wiring kit on my 54 gmc and love it. easy to install. had to cut a lot of wire off cause they were too long which is good becaus it wasn't short. i have no ac power windows or locks so i have extra circuts. under $350.00 and i had to buy about $40.00 in extra connectors for stuff that was differnt than what the kits was for. i would use there kit again.

[gmcdeadhead]

would you guys rewire your truck with the aftermarket kits if your doing a ground up restoration, or would you use the original wiring if it's still in great shape?

[54 jimmy]

it depends on how much you trust that great lookin old harness. or if it was a matching #'s resto i would find a reproduction factory correct harness. a little pricy but well worth it.

[wutnxt]

Originally Posted by 54 jimmy

i used a ez wiring kit on my 54 gmc and love it. easy to install. had to cut a lot of wire off cause they were too long which is good becaus it wasn't short. i have no ac power windows or locks so i have extra circuts. under $350.00 and i had to buy about $40.00 in extra connectors for stuff that was differnt than what the kits was for. i would use there kit again.

I am with you on EZ....I have done about 6 projects in the last 6 months and have you used EZ harnesses in all of them. I really like there product and I have used painless,and autowire......and bang for the buck aside I would still use the EZ kits. I now buy them in cases of ten kits at a time and I don't plan on switching over to anything else.

[CEE1NG_RED]

Originally Posted by wutnxt

I am with you on EZ....I have done about 6 projects in the last 6 months and have you used EZ harnesses in all of them. I really like there product and I have used painless,and autowire......and bang for the buck aside I would still use the EZ kits. I now buy them in cases of ten kits at a time and I don't plan on switching over to anything else.

So...comparing quality, what is the breakdown with EZ and Painless/ETC?? For $165, I can get an EZ complete wiring harness, but mostly everyone mentions about quality difference, but in what way????? Wires expire within 3-4 years (home wiring 12-2,3/14-2,3, etc), if laying around so I'm sure it's the same for automotive wiring as well. Just want to know whats up. Thanks.

[LDO]

Originally Posted by mike14_07

Any body know if the speedway motors kit has a headlight relay? If not im guessing it would still be a good idea to add one?

I used the 'total system' from MAD Enterprises and also the headlight relays from Daniel Stern lighting are good as well. Everything worked great with my Rebel Wire harness when I totally rewired my 57. I will probably go the same route with the 66.

[gmcdeadhead]

54jimmy

it depends on how much you trust that great lookin old harness. or if it was a matching #'s resto i would find a reproduction factory correct harness. a little pricy but well worth it.

the truck is in mint shape , 14,000 miles on it , the wiring harness looks great , should i replace it anyway or just use it over.

[wutnxt]

Originally Posted by CEE1NG_RED

So...comparing quality, what is the breakdown with EZ and Painless/ETC?? For $165, I can get an EZ complete wiring harness, but mostly everyone mentions about quality difference, but in what way????? Wires expire within 3-4 years (home wiring 12-2,3/14-2,3, etc), if laying around so I'm sure it's the same for automotive wiring as well. Just want to know whats up. Thanks.

Well ....as far as quality and wire length go I think EZ stuff is great.....In fact afte using a painless kit I would say that EZ kit is a .....uhm...Well Painless has been around for a long time and they are great kits no doubt. But the EZ kit sure does look like a painless kit. I buy the big circuit kit with the longest wires and that is what i use for everything I do now.....I like them. I solder and heat shrink every connection.....I wrap everything in flex cover.....I never have any problems and I think thats what building stuff is all about. I am just about finished wiring my 58.....and am starting to wire my 65 next week.

[54 jimmy]

if it is in that good of shape with that low of miles i would re use it . just test ever wire with an ohm meter befor putting it back in to make sure you don't have any broken wires and have to tear it out again.

[wutnxt]

Originally Posted by gmcdeadhead

54jimmy the truck is in mint shape , 14,000 miles on it , the wiring harness looks great , should i replace it anyway or just use it over.

Your in a differnt boat then me.....but for my 2 cents....
For me after I go to all the work of building a truck the thought of turning a key or a siginal and not having it work makes me crazy. But again I hotrod my stuff,for you if your restoring it would be tempting to reuse a mint harness. But the wires get brittle with age.....So if it was me i would either rewire the block wire by wire ( there really isn't much for wire in a stock truck ) or buy a kit that is a stock reproduction if that look is important to you.
Good luck...and nice find with only 14,000 miles on it

[earl84]

So what about all the connectors and plugs? If I was to use an EZ Wire kit as an example, where do you find the factory type plugs for the taillights and reverse lights and everything else? Or do you use what you have and pull the guts out of the plug and install new connectors inside the plugs?

[earl84]

Oh, and any pics of how to install new connectors inside the plugs would be great.

[kevinc]

I'm in the process of putting in a Speedway motors harness. Its going in really well and everything is well laid out. I got the 20 circuit kit since I'm putting in a 5.3L. I have plenty of extra circuits available. You do need to provide your own connectors. I found Weather Pack connectors on e-bay for a real good price plus free shipping. Just got those yesterday.

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedw...ess,42872.html

[azdude1964]

aaw is what i used super nice

[earl84]

So what I am really asking is this. Do you cut off the factory plugs that are like this and use all new weather pack connectors or other similar connector? Sorry if this seems so basic, just no experience doing a major electrical upgrade. Only installed a stereo.

[tincan1966]

Here's the best advise I can give, and I've been wirng hotrods, racecars, trailers, etc for over 20 years.

The least amount of connections the better. Why would you cut out a harness, add a new on and then reuse a 50+ year old connector?. The supplies are out there to do it right and enable you to have the least amount of problem later.

The AAW Classic Update series is a very good product that very closely resembles the OEM harness, with exception of newer style fuses.
I've installed a few EZ wire harness that customers brought in-wasn't impressed,mainly for the lack of instructions/explanation of how they had the harness configured.

Sorry if I say this over and over, but your truck is an investment- don't cut corners.

[azdude1964]

i agree the last thing you want to do is have an electrical fire and all the work that you've put into is now ash.

[earl84]

Oh, I totally agree tincan 1966 and azdude1964, I just don't know what is in the kits or the best way to make connections if starting with a whole new wiring harness. It seems like, at least by looking in the parts catalogs, that if I was to buy a taillight for example, it comes with the factory looking connector. So I am only asking what is the best solution for connectors. Is it cutting off that old style of factory connector and using what is in the kits, or some other variation.

Maybe that picture that I posted was confusing you on what I was asking. My truck is still fairly new to me and hasn't been on the road much at all. The left rear taillight stays on all the time, and I have to disconnect the battery when I stop. Also, there is a constant drain on the battery. The wiring back there had some obvious issues, so I was trying a quick fix to see if that cured my problem. It didn't. That told me that there are some issues further upstream and after looking for a while at the rat's nest of wires under the dash, I have come to the conclusion that it would be better to start fresh with a new wiring harness. Most of the wires are as old as I am, and the ones that aren't, the PO did a terrible hack job on. Just as an example, he used a cut up extension cord to run from the alternator to inside the cab, which I guess goes to the fuse block, I don't really know.

The truck ain't pretty, but I do want to drive it and be able to start after coming out of a store and not have it start on fire.

[doobiebro]

By far the most complete and best wiring harness kit I have installed is the 60-66 American Auto Wire kit.....You get what you pay for... thumbs up for tincan1966

[azdude1964]

ok here is what i think your looking for. American auto wire uses most of the factory fittings IMHO. its the one to go with .Allows you to customize your wirining to your truck. ie. stock gauges or aftermarket. also extra footage to run it tucked. and last and mostly not least install instructions are installer friendly. would and will use it again.

[tincan1966]

earl84 go to: americanautowire.com and look at the Classic Update series kits. NO they are not the $169 kit from Speedway. BUT as listed, ALL connectors for OEM style are included, and a new Headlight Switch, Ignition Switch, dimmer switch, light sockets, grommets, steering column connector, all the terminals, etc.

I would imagine, that if you bought a $169 kit, by the time you bought all the other pieces, you would probably be close to the AAW price. The AAW kit is designed to be a direct replacement in appearance, with modern updates for accessories.

I know I sound like a broken record, but it is what it is- about the best deal going. And from personal experience, their tech dept and instructions are hard to beat,also.

[CRGRS 66]

I think I posted this previously, but Carolina Classic Trucks has the best price for the American Auto Wire kit for our trucks...