Need rewire tips

[NuBomb]

Long time no post. I've been pretty busy and not able to post. I brought my blazer home in late december, and have her under a shed behind the barn. The second time bringing taking her out from the shed, the transmission took a dump. I got the transmission rebuilt and I'm about to put it back in. Can't wait to get driving.

Anyway, I have decided to replace the wiring and I bought a painless kit. I'm looking for helpful suggestions and tips. Also, How long will did it take? I know at least one person has used the kit, but I can't remember who. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Later.

[BobbyK]

My suggestion is go slow,take your time and pay attention to what your doing.

Don't rip out all the wiring at once.The wiring in your truck is in sections...do one section at a time.
For example,the harness that feeds your headlights, battery and alt. are one separate harness.Take the old one out noting attachment points and wire routing then install the new stuff.
I know the painless wiring is all labeled(each wire I mean) so you won't get too screwed up installing it.

Also,if your kit came with crimp-on termianls I'd suggest cutting off the plastic insulation on those terminals and crimping then soldering the terminal ends on.Then cover those terminals with heat shrink tubing.
Like this,crimp 1st


Then solder and cover with heat shrink.




If you get stuck along the way we're always here to help.

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by NuBomb

I have decided to replace the wiring and I bought a painless kit.

1st, good to see you back.

2nd, IMO you've just created alot of work for yourself.

I've dealt with both and for me ordering a replacement harness is the only way to go, it's a plug and play event, you could rewire your entire blazer on any Sunday.

What's the advantage of a painless kit over good/new/factory replacement harness's? (curious)
I understand 'upgrading' but the replacement stuff is really good and very easy to do.

You can order a factory harness to have/do whatever you want, the last one I ordered had the internal regulator wiring built right into the harness, looks stock now.

Good luck, keep us posted.

[jcfoote60]

I like the Painless kit because you get a new, modern fuseblock that allows you to add things like power windows, locks, AC if you don't have a stock one, etc. I have worked in electronics for years and with these trucks being 30 + years old even copper wire gets corrosion and the vibration of the electrical current flowing through the connectors over time will make connections loose...so loose, corroded connections are points of failure, that includes the fuseblock as well. Corroded connections and bad grounds also manifest themselves with old wiring. The approach of soldering and shrink wrapping may be time consuming but you will guarrantee an excellent long lasting connection. Lastly ground strap your body to your frame using the smaller straps at various locations (like stock ones), but most importantly follow the instructions in the Painless Kit instructions for Grounding with the large guage conductor so frame, engine and body all home run ground to the same point. You do this and it should completely eliminate alternator whine in stereo equipment too (no ground loops). When you are done you will have bright tail lights, head lights....and not have the problem of one tail light brighter than another or dim headlights that make your truck look OLD....So take your time, follow the instructions, do the job right and you will have an electical system just as dependable as the day it rolled off the line...

JC

[NuBomb]

Thanks so far. I really like the way the soldered connections look. I will try my best to be patient and do it right.

I'm never really gone - I always lurk, but I rarely post.

VT - I know it would be much easier with stock replacement harnesses, but the painless kit does what JC says and it appears to be much less expensive than stock replacements. The whole kit was 338 shipped to my door. If I was going back to stock, I would probably do one at a time with factory reproductions. I hope my blazer will look stock with modern upgrades. BTW - The painless kit is made for our trucks with GM connectors.

Thanks guys - If you can think of any other tips let me know.

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by jcfoote60

I like the Painless kit because you get a new, modern fuseblock that allows you to add things like power windows, locks, AC if you don't have a stock one, etc. - do the job right and you will have an electical system just as dependable as the day it rolled off the line...
JC

I understand what your saying but a modern fuse block is available as a replacement with the stock harness also, several option's available when ordering them.

Installing a painless kit is WAY more work, that's all I was suggesting.
I think the cost issue is very relavent too and I'm sure going stock replacement would cost alot more.

Didn't know they came with factory GM connectors, that's gonna help a ton.

[LUV2XCLR8]

My kit is NOT a painless one, but it had ALL the factory connections and the
PO said it installed extremely quick, I can't remember the brand name of it

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by LUV2XCLR8

My kit is NOT a painless one, but it had ALL the factory connections and the
PO said it installed extremely quick, I can't remember the brand name of it

IIRC, yours is what I was talking about, a stock replacement harness using a modern fuse block.
They look stock but have the upgrades built in. (okay, wired in)

[makovai]

I did the painless setup in my vette and it wasn't too bad as long as you understand the basic concepts of DC wiring. I actually had a lot of fun doing things like remote power windows, doors and hood, and all digital gauges.

The pictures are too big to post on here but i have some pretty nice pics on my web sitehttp://www.fast77.com/new.htm

[caboutin]

Hey Jeremy,

No wiring tips here, just wanted to say Hey from Big Canoe just up the road. Are they having that car show at Belks this weekend?

[71RestoRod]

I rewired my '71 with a Painless kit. I decided to go that way because I knew that I was going to be customizing a lot of stuff. I wired in power windows, power door locks, EFI & fuel pump relay, alarm system, Vintage Air, 700R4 lock-up wiring, headlight relays, etc... The Painless kit was perfect for my purpose.

The Painless kit is very straight forward and includes most of the connectors. Everything under the dash is covered. One place where it fell short was the tail light harness (not included). I replaced mine with a factory style M&H harness which had all the connectors, rubber boots, etc. The Painless kit I used also did not include sockets for the side markers... no big deal, you can splice in the old ones or buy replacements at most auto parts stores.

As you know, you'll need to enlarge the hole in the firewall for the larger fuse block. Once you have the new fuse block installed, the various "sections" of wire are arranged just like the stock harnesses and are GM color coded with GM circuit codes and descriptions printed on the wire.

As far as the installation goes, just take your time and check your work. Use a voltage meter and check yourself along the way. Test your connections every way you know how. Sometimes continuity, sometimes voltage.. When I check voltage I hook up a battery charger because it has a circuit breaker and low amperage. Route the wires carefully before you cut off the slack.... you can always make it shorter! Home Depot sells split loom for a fraction of the price it will cost you at the auto stores. Get various sizes. The split loom will really dress up your wiring job.

[LUV2XCLR8]

Originally Posted by vtblazer

IIRC, yours is what I was talking about, a stock replacement harness using a modern fuse block.
They look stock but have the upgrades built in. (okay, wired in)

No modern fuses, but here is a Pic

[71RestoRod]

Here's a picture of the Painless fuse block for comparison. As you can see, even with 18 circuits I felt compelled to add one more...

Hey Luv... where's your parking brake??!!

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by LUV2XCLR8

No modern fuses, but here is a Pic

Yeah, I was a bit sleep deprived when I saw it last...

[71jimmy]

71RestoRod, that is some sweet wiring work.

[NuBomb]

71RestoRod, that is some sweet wiring work.

I agree. That looks great. Thanks for all of the tips. I was wondering how the tail light harness worked.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

The one thing about the painless kit is that everything goes through one hole now so make sure you buy soem extra plugs for the holes left over.. I went painless on mine because I knew that over time I was gonna add some extra stuff and it was already built into the harness,very easy to install and looks great... How ever they did not include the rear taillight sockests in my kit so I bought a m@h rear harness and adapted it to the painless kit..