The best wiring harness?

[REDROCKER652002]

I have a Ron Francis setup that I gave up on about halfway thru. Just wasn't comfortable with it. I still have it sitting here. I will keep it if I ever decide to buy another truck.

[REDROCKER652002]

Originally Posted by JEC32

AAW, did my 68 and no problems. I had a couple issues and they worked with me to get me through it. Also went with the complete grounding system which saved a lot of hassle !

I did not get the grounding setup, was it worth it? Everything seems to be going ok, but if it will make the setup better I am all for it for 20 bucks. LOL.

RR

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by nrb's70gmc

No love for ron Francis? Thought they were popular like painless

Ron Francis is more geared to the total hot rod. A Thirties car with a later engine and no appreciable electrics to start with.
M+H, and their breakaway, AAW deal in perfect, factory type harnesses, in the right color codes, right gauges, right connectors and right lengths for specific vehicles. They have our era nailed. They also can accomodate popular upgrades like Internal Alternators, HEI, and extra circuits for fancy stuff like elec windows, door locks, et al.
Painless, from what I heard, Ain't painless.

[LS short box]

I've used Painless a number of times with very good results. I buy the universal kits since all my projects are LS based or non-stock. Having said that the Painless instructions are very dated. I've been to the Painless plant and met the owners. They are solid guys. I did talk to them about their install manuals and that it looks like it printed in the 1980's. They took my views in stride. They have updated the install manuals on some of their kits. I will say the Painless tech line is very good. On the first couple of installs I had questions and they were very helpful.
In regards to grounds you can't have too many. Battery to frame. Frame to engine. Frame to body. Clean grounds for all the lights. Clean grounds to everything in the cab.

[franken]

Much like what's been said above, it depends on what the OP wants. wiringharness.com has stock style and stockish w/ upgrades, but individual harnesses that plug right in get costly. The underdash is most expensive. You can buy the same harnesses from any number of places. If it isn't clear, the original system had 2 harnesses under the hood, under dash, A/C harness, one going to the rear of the truck, etc.
Painless and AAW, etc. also have the update kits that are largely one big harness that will need terminated. As others have said, get the right crimpers if you go that route.

Don't wrap a harness in electrical tape (adhesive deteriorates and makes a mess) if it isn't wrapped with something already. Factory type harnesses will be wrapped already. Use harness tape, which is wider and has no adhesive. I'm not a fan of the plastic tubing, but that's an option as well.

[LS short box]

Didn't need the crimpers on the Painless kits. I saved the under dash connections and spliced them in as needed. I hate the plastic tubing wire cover supplied some wiring harness suppliers.
I use the plastic braided wire covering. Painless brand or Summit brand. A bit of a pain to get over the wires but it looks so much better.

['68OrangeSunshine]

I bought a couple rolls of the OEM-style no glue vinyl wrapping tape from Eastwood, about 15 years ago. Still have a roll and a half.