wiring harness for 66 c10

[66fleetsidewarrior]

My wiring is a mess and it is starting to drive me insane not being able to drive a perfectly good truck because I don't have any lights working. I have replaced bulbs and chased down most of the wires but the wires are so eaten through that it is a losing fight. Anyone know of a good built to fit harness for around 500 dollars? Thanks.

[Mick65]

http://www.painlesswiring.com/

[Reyals Bemus]

American Autowire Classic Update kit #500560 hands down. It is the best.

http://www.americanautowire.com/shop...66-chevy-truck

[JWheeler331]

Originally Posted by Reyals Bemus

American Autowire Classic Update kit #500560 hands down. It is the best.

http://www.americanautowire.com/shop...66-chevy-truck

Can you tell me what the difference is between this one at 550.00

and this one on the bottom right of this page....at 185.00?

Is it just that the one you say has more stuff? Is it really needed?

I am about to rewire my truck also and dont want to cheap out but if I can get the same result with a 365 dollar saving, well, you get my point.

http://www.ezwiring.com/wiring_harness.html

[66fleetsidewarrior]

http://stores.homestead.com/ez2wire/...959/Detail.bok

Any thoughts on this one?

[argonaut]

The ez2wire kit looks remarkably like the american autowire kit.

I am installing that same classic upgrade wiring kit from american autowire right now. The wiring is all 14 gauge or bigger which is great, and there are many decent connectors, and it includes most of the circuits that you need. But it could do a few things better. I don't care for their recommended mounting method for the fusebox. It got in the way of my cowl vent handle. Also they use different connectors for the starter solenoid and ignition power wires, and also for the rear lights. These connectors do not pass through the firewall cleanly. Its almost like they couldn't figure out a better way. The rear one makes sense for a car where the dome lamp, fuel tank and tailights all run to the back, but to run all these on a single connector for a truck seems odd to me.

I am reusing several of my stock connectors and re-routing some wires through different connectors to clean things up a bit. But that said, the AAW kit is quite complete and serves as a good base. Its a pretty good deal for the money if you don't have any factory wiring to start with.

If you have most of your factory connectors then I'd buy one of the more universal kits, plus a bag of male and female pins and a quality crimper and just remake your own harnesses
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[DPowers]

http://www.wiringharness.com/

[64shortbox]

Here's what I did. This 21 Circut harness:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/21-Circuit-S...#ht_3320wt_758

Followed by this so I can use my factory Packard 56 connectors and terminals.
http://www.repairconnector.com/packard-56-terminals/

But it all depends how much time you have to invest versus how much money you want to save. Me, I went for saving money + I get to build my harness exactly the way I want.

[tincan1966]

What most don't factor in is all the extra things you purchase to go along with your "budget" kit. The AAW kits and Painless, Ron Francis, etc, most of the time include new switches, connectors, terminals, tie wraps, and most everything you need.

In no way should anyone compare one of the AAW Classic Update Series Kits to an EZ wire universal because the EZ is just that- universal. The Classic Upgrade Series from AAW and direct fit harness from Painless and Ron Francis are designed to install as an OEM harness.

If you're a novice at re-wiring, I'd personally suggest getting the most "plug and play" harness you can get, if nothing else- to ease the frustration during install, and also it'll help you be more confident in the work you did.

My best advise I can give- is shop around for the best deal, NOT the cheapest price, and see what all comes in the different kits for that price. That is the biggest difference. You can spend well over $100 on the remaining items you'll need to install.

[502ms]

Painless is the best. Wires are clearly labeled. Better than OEM fusebox. Just a great system. I pulled it out of my old cab and put in my new cab with no problems. No Jerry-rigging needed. Clean install.
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[JWheeler331]

Originally Posted by 502ms

Painless is the best. Wires are clearly labeled. Better than OEM fusebox. Just a great system. I pulled it out of my old cab and put in my new cab with no problems. No Jerry-rigging needed. Clean install.
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With Painless, can you order a complete kit or do you have to order each seperate? Looking on their website I can't seem to find a complete kit.

[66fleetsidewarrior]

Originally Posted by tincan1966

What most don't factor in is all the extra things you purchase to go along with your "budget" kit. The AAW kits and Painless, Ron Francis, etc, most of the time include new switches, connectors, terminals, tie wraps, and most everything you need.

In no way should anyone compare one of the AAW Classic Update Series Kits to an EZ wire universal because the EZ is just that- universal. The Classic Upgrade Series from AAW and direct fit harness from Painless and Ron Francis are designed to install as an OEM harness.

If you're a novice at re-wiring, I'd personally suggest getting the most "plug and play" harness you can get, if nothing else- to ease the frustration during install, and also it'll help you be more confident in the work you did.

My best advise I can give- is shop around for the best deal, NOT the cheapest price, and see what all comes in the different kits for that price. That is the biggest difference. You can spend well over $100 on the remaining items you'll need to install.

It looks to me that the ez2wire harness has all of the connectors I will need. The connectors alone are half of my battle right now. They are so old and broken it is hard to get a good connection. That kit says not compatible with ammeter. Is that something I should be worried about?

[argonaut]

Not unless you run a generator
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[tincan1966]

Originally Posted by 66fleetsidewarrior

It looks to me that the ez2wire harness has all of the connectors I will need. The connectors alone are half of my battle right now. They are so old and broken it is hard to get a good connection. That kit says not compatible with ammeter. Is that something I should be worried about?

These are UNIVERSAL kits-which means they will fit anything you want to wire.
If you want something more like the OEM, then the AAW Classic Update is the way to go.

[chevyrestoguy]

Originally Posted by tincan1966

These are UNIVERSAL kits-which means they will fit anything you want to wire.
If you want something more like the OEM, then the AAW Classic Update is the way to go.

You are correct. If you want a "plug and play" harness, the AAW harness is a very nice piece.

Another thing to remember...a lot of the universal kits don't accommodate an ammeter gauge. Mixing and matching ammeter/voltmeter wiring and gauges can create a serious wiring issue. It's much more serious if you're putting in a voltmeter gauge with ammeter wiring, because an ammeter needs the full volts and amps present at the gauge, where the voltmeter is just looking for voltage only.

In the -73-'87 section, the guys with the '73-'74 trucks that had ammeter gauge clusters and had upgraded to '75 and up voltmeter clusters and didn't fix the wiring burned their wiring and clusters up. High amps will blow through a 20 gauge wire like it was never there.

[66fleetsidewarrior]

Originally Posted by tincan1966

These are UNIVERSAL kits-which means they will fit anything you want to wire.
If you want something more like the OEM, then the AAW Classic Update is the way to go.

I hadn't realized that the ez2wire was a vendor, not a manufacturer. I ended up buying an AAW classic update kit. Hopefully it is what I thinking it is and gets me setup.