How I redid my harness and a few pics - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

Luvlegs · 02-13-2008, 07:13 AM

In case you haven’t thought about your trucks wiring – you should. I almost lost my truck a little over a week ago because I too thought THOUGHT all was good. Anywho, figuring it was about $350 or so for a new under dash harness and the fact that I’m cheap, I decided to redo my harness – and get more familiar with my trucks systems.

I started at the fuse box and replaced all the wiring, pulled the fuse box apart and cleaned all the parts, put in PROPER rated fuses and then reassembled. For those with a little ability (soldering and staying organized) it’s not too daunting. This is only what I did and this information might help someone who only needs to make a repair. Notice the one fuse holder connector on the left - it's been cleaned up. Looks nice no?

Luvlegs · 02-13-2008, 07:15 AM

My first recommendation is to get organized – and STAY organized. I dropped the whole harness no less than 4 (yep four) times with some stuff not connected – it took several hours to get it all straightened out. I took a bunch of pictures and didn’t back them up – when I needed them, they had been corrupted and then deleted themselves – that was helpful… I also used 3 notebook pages to document stuff and still missed things. I also had a printed color copy of the wiring diagram that’s in the FAQ section (thank you to the poster of that) and my Haynes manual. I found that all the stuff I could find was for an 8 cylinder and not a 6 (which I have). Another member sent me a scan of a 6 cylinder diagram and the fuse box and such looked identical – Long section short,
”Be diligent”.

This pic is the internal bulkhead connector that I am moving all my wires over to – the old one in the background grenaded so I replaced it. Do one wire at a time and keep track!

Luvlegs · 02-13-2008, 07:16 AM

To take apart the fuse box, I made several little tools (first pic) from thin sheet metal, shaped/rolled/flattened the noses and then taped the handles – you can see them in several of the pictures. I also used a thin “pick” to get at some parts. Be careful not to exert too much pressure of you’ll risk breaking the fuse box. Making the tools will take a little finagling as you’ll want them thin enough to fit in but strong enough to move the tabs (more on the tabs in a second)

Here’s what I did – if you notice in this pic, from the front of the fuse block, you can only see the ends of the connectors for the fuses and stake on connectors. On the back, you’ll notice there are connectors that feed two or three or four “things”.

Luvlegs · 02-13-2008, 07:18 AM

The next pic is a close up of what the connectors look like and the tabs that hold them in the fuse block. The single stake are very easy to bend the tabs in – the steel ones, on the fuse holders are a bugger. That’s where the little “tools” I made come in.

Luvlegs · 02-13-2008, 07:19 AM

Plug connectors (for the gauges, headlight switch, etc) -Looking in the end of the connectors, you can see on one side or the other, where the little tab is that holds it in the connector. Push up on the wire side of the connector and slip the tool in the other side of the connector – you’ll hear and or feel a little “click” – pull the tool out and the connector should slide out the other side. I CAREFULLY wire wheeled all my ends with a brass wire wheel. CAREFULLY is an understatement – you don’t want something getting away from you and winding up in the wheel, whipping you and your stuff or doing other damage. I also wore a face shield lest I get spiked with any wires. When you re-install them, bend the little tabs up so it will engage in the connector when you put it back in.

Pulling the fuse bars out of the block is a bit more involved but the principle is the same – do the soft tabs first and then use the tools on the steel tabs. Work your way across to the last one (I used the pick for the last couple) Once they get started, as long as you don’t let them click back in, they’ll move out. Here you see several of the tools in use

Luvlegs · 02-13-2008, 07:20 AM

I am not sure why but I believe the consensus is to NOT use electrical tape to wrap the harness up – perhaps it’s to allow expansion? I’m not sure why so I wouldn’t do it. I used a little in key spots just to hold the harness together until I got it wrapped to that point. I didn’t take a pic of the finished harness but it looks like a new one (pretty close anyways

).

This isn’t really a very thorough write up but I’m sure others will chime in and maybe it will be of some use to others.

cdowns · 02-13-2008, 07:32 AM

congrats on the wiring job/wish i could get pictures like that/i took my wiring diagrams to kinkos and had them supersized really cheap and much better to see the detail and follow routing of the wires

Luvlegs · 02-13-2008, 11:04 AM

Had to add a pic of the finished product. The macro feature on the new camera is killer - I can see the pictures better than I can in person!

*72lb4x4* · 02-13-2008, 11:41 AM

Looks great!
The trouble with electrical tape is that the adhesive gets real slimy after it gets old and/or gets oil and grease on it.

Using harness tape that's like electrical tape but has no adhesive allows it to be taken off and it looks more OEM.

Just one opinion...

Sport/Truck · 02-13-2008, 11:50 AM

Use a high quality black tape like 3M's super 88! haven't seen any issues usually associated with other black tapes.
Congrats on the awesome wire job! Nice write up too.
s/t

a1953mdl · 02-13-2008, 12:11 PM

What did you do to clean up the fuse holders? That one in the pic looks new.
Lee

Luvlegs · 02-13-2008, 02:14 PM

I have brass wire wheel on motor (home made deal) - have the real bench grinder set up now but use the brass setup to clean parts - and the brass doesn't tear up the part. Thanks all

shifty · 02-13-2008, 02:47 PM

good thread

**Palf70Step** · 02-13-2008, 08:17 PM

Very Nice job.

02-13-2008, 07:13 AM	#1
Luvlegs Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Smith Mountain Lake Virginia Posts: 1,537	How I redid my harness and a few pics In case you haven’t thought about your trucks wiring – you should. I almost lost my truck a little over a week ago because I too thought THOUGHT all was good. Anywho, figuring it was about $350 or so for a new under dash harness and the fact that I’m cheap, I decided to redo my harness – and get more familiar with my trucks systems. I started at the fuse box and replaced all the wiring, pulled the fuse box apart and cleaned all the parts, put in PROPER rated fuses and then reassembled. For those with a little ability (soldering and staying organized) it’s not too daunting. This is only what I did and this information might help someone who only needs to make a repair. Notice the one fuse holder connector on the left - it's been cleaned up. Looks nice no? Attached Images __________________ "A cat will almost always blink when hit between the eyes with a ball peen hammer" (you don't always have to state the obvious) Wear your PPE! You can eat with false teeth but you can't see with a false eye. 1959 Studebaker Silverhawk 350/400 1972 C10 L6 3OTT 2005 F350 - Built - whew! Last edited by Luvlegs; 02-13-2008 at 07:27 AM.

02-13-2008, 07:15 AM	#2
Luvlegs Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Smith Mountain Lake Virginia Posts: 1,537	Re: How I redid my harness and a few pics My first recommendation is to get organized – and STAY organized. I dropped the whole harness no less than 4 (yep four) times with some stuff not connected – it took several hours to get it all straightened out. I took a bunch of pictures and didn’t back them up – when I needed them, they had been corrupted and then deleted themselves – that was helpful… I also used 3 notebook pages to document stuff and still missed things. I also had a printed color copy of the wiring diagram that’s in the FAQ section (thank you to the poster of that) and my Haynes manual. I found that all the stuff I could find was for an 8 cylinder and not a 6 (which I have). Another member sent me a scan of a 6 cylinder diagram and the fuse box and such looked identical – Long section short, ”Be diligent”. This pic is the internal bulkhead connector that I am moving all my wires over to – the old one in the background grenaded so I replaced it. Do one wire at a time and keep track! Attached Images __________________ "A cat will almost always blink when hit between the eyes with a ball peen hammer" (you don't always have to state the obvious) Wear your PPE! You can eat with false teeth but you can't see with a false eye. 1959 Studebaker Silverhawk 350/400 1972 C10 L6 3OTT 2005 F350 - Built - whew!

02-13-2008, 07:16 AM	#3
Luvlegs Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Smith Mountain Lake Virginia Posts: 1,537	Re: How I redid my harness and a few pics To take apart the fuse box, I made several little tools (first pic) from thin sheet metal, shaped/rolled/flattened the noses and then taped the handles – you can see them in several of the pictures. I also used a thin “pick” to get at some parts. Be careful not to exert too much pressure of you’ll risk breaking the fuse box. Making the tools will take a little finagling as you’ll want them thin enough to fit in but strong enough to move the tabs (more on the tabs in a second) Here’s what I did – if you notice in this pic, from the front of the fuse block, you can only see the ends of the connectors for the fuses and stake on connectors. On the back, you’ll notice there are connectors that feed two or three or four “things”. Attached Images __________________ "A cat will almost always blink when hit between the eyes with a ball peen hammer" (you don't always have to state the obvious) Wear your PPE! You can eat with false teeth but you can't see with a false eye. 1959 Studebaker Silverhawk 350/400 1972 C10 L6 3OTT 2005 F350 - Built - whew! Last edited by Luvlegs; 02-13-2008 at 07:23 AM.

02-13-2008, 07:18 AM	#4
Luvlegs Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Smith Mountain Lake Virginia Posts: 1,537	Re: How I redid my harness and a few pics The next pic is a close up of what the connectors look like and the tabs that hold them in the fuse block. The single stake are very easy to bend the tabs in – the steel ones, on the fuse holders are a bugger. That’s where the little “tools” I made come in. Attached Images __________________ "A cat will almost always blink when hit between the eyes with a ball peen hammer" (you don't always have to state the obvious) Wear your PPE! You can eat with false teeth but you can't see with a false eye. 1959 Studebaker Silverhawk 350/400 1972 C10 L6 3OTT 2005 F350 - Built - whew!

02-13-2008, 07:19 AM	#5
Luvlegs Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Smith Mountain Lake Virginia Posts: 1,537	Re: How I redid my harness and a few pics Plug connectors (for the gauges, headlight switch, etc) -Looking in the end of the connectors, you can see on one side or the other, where the little tab is that holds it in the connector. Push up on the wire side of the connector and slip the tool in the other side of the connector – you’ll hear and or feel a little “click” – pull the tool out and the connector should slide out the other side. I CAREFULLY wire wheeled all my ends with a brass wire wheel. CAREFULLY is an understatement – you don’t want something getting away from you and winding up in the wheel, whipping you and your stuff or doing other damage. I also wore a face shield lest I get spiked with any wires. When you re-install them, bend the little tabs up so it will engage in the connector when you put it back in. Pulling the fuse bars out of the block is a bit more involved but the principle is the same – do the soft tabs first and then use the tools on the steel tabs. Work your way across to the last one (I used the pick for the last couple) Once they get started, as long as you don’t let them click back in, they’ll move out. Here you see several of the tools in use Attached Images __________________ "A cat will almost always blink when hit between the eyes with a ball peen hammer" (you don't always have to state the obvious) Wear your PPE! You can eat with false teeth but you can't see with a false eye. 1959 Studebaker Silverhawk 350/400 1972 C10 L6 3OTT 2005 F350 - Built - whew! Last edited by Luvlegs; 02-13-2008 at 07:25 AM.

02-13-2008, 07:20 AM	#6
Luvlegs Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Smith Mountain Lake Virginia Posts: 1,537	Re: How I redid my harness and a few pics I am not sure why but I believe the consensus is to NOT use electrical tape to wrap the harness up – perhaps it’s to allow expansion? I’m not sure why so I wouldn’t do it. I used a little in key spots just to hold the harness together until I got it wrapped to that point. I didn’t take a pic of the finished harness but it looks like a new one (pretty close anyways ). This isn’t really a very thorough write up but I’m sure others will chime in and maybe it will be of some use to others. __________________ "A cat will almost always blink when hit between the eyes with a ball peen hammer" (you don't always have to state the obvious) Wear your PPE! You can eat with false teeth but you can't see with a false eye. 1959 Studebaker Silverhawk 350/400 1972 C10 L6 3OTT 2005 F350 - Built - whew! Last edited by Luvlegs; 02-13-2008 at 07:20 AM.

02-13-2008, 07:32 AM	#7
cdowns Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: daytonabeach Posts: 22,956	Re: How I redid my harness and a few pics congrats on the wiring job/wish i could get pictures like that/i took my wiring diagrams to kinkos and had them supersized really cheap and much better to see the detail and follow routing of the wires __________________ 71c-10 350/2004r/4:11 lowered3/4 longbed/dead by hurricane MEANING OF DEATH::::: SOMEBODY ELSE GETS YOUR STUFF DONT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK TAKE MY ADVISE;I DON'T USE IT ANYWAY

02-13-2008, 11:04 AM	#8
Luvlegs Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Smith Mountain Lake Virginia Posts: 1,537	Re: How I redid my harness and a few pics Had to add a pic of the finished product. The macro feature on the new camera is killer - I can see the pictures better than I can in person! Attached Images __________________ "A cat will almost always blink when hit between the eyes with a ball peen hammer" (you don't always have to state the obvious) Wear your PPE! You can eat with false teeth but you can't see with a false eye. 1959 Studebaker Silverhawk 350/400 1972 C10 L6 3OTT 2005 F350 - Built - whew!

02-13-2008, 11:41 AM	#9
72lb4x4 Account Suspended Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: DFW Posts: 1,427	Re: How I redid my harness and a few pics Looks great! The trouble with electrical tape is that the adhesive gets real slimy after it gets old and/or gets oil and grease on it. Using harness tape that's like electrical tape but has no adhesive allows it to be taken off and it looks more OEM. Just one opinion...

02-13-2008, 11:50 AM	#10
Sport/Truck Sierra Grande Club Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: New Mexico USA Posts: 2,433	Re: How I redid my harness and a few pics Use a high quality black tape like 3M's super 88! haven't seen any issues usually associated with other black tapes. Congrats on the awesome wire job! Nice write up too. s/t __________________ 1971 GMC Sierra Grande, 1/2 ton short wide, original 4 bolt 010 020 block & heads. (matching #'s). 383 stroker, SMI q jet 750 cfm, Lunati Voodoo 60102 cam, Scorpion roller rockers, Spin Tech pro street mufflers with X pipe. Last edited by Sport/Truck; 02-13-2008 at 11:51 AM.

02-13-2008, 12:11 PM	#11
a1953mdl Rusty but Trusty Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 228	Re: How I redid my harness and a few pics What did you do to clean up the fuse holders? That one in the pic looks new. Lee __________________ 72 SWB, 454 / th400... hoping the kids don't get all the parts before it gets built

02-13-2008, 02:14 PM	#12
Luvlegs Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Smith Mountain Lake Virginia Posts: 1,537	Re: How I redid my harness and a few pics I have brass wire wheel on motor (home made deal) - have the real bench grinder set up now but use the brass setup to clean parts - and the brass doesn't tear up the part. Thanks all __________________ "A cat will almost always blink when hit between the eyes with a ball peen hammer" (you don't always have to state the obvious) Wear your PPE! You can eat with false teeth but you can't see with a false eye. 1959 Studebaker Silverhawk 350/400 1972 C10 L6 3OTT 2005 F350 - Built - whew!

02-13-2008, 02:47 PM	#13
shifty Questionable Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Atlanta Posts: 13,376	Re: How I redid my harness and a few pics good thread __________________ If I've got anything up for grabs, it'll be here: 7-hole gauge cluster for a 67-72 p/u FREE (link) I can't check the forum daily. If I don't reply to you within 24 hours, drop me a PM! I'm (hopefully) still alive and will reply faster to a PM.

02-13-2008, 08:17 PM	#14
Palf70Step State of Confusion! Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Gulfport, MS USA Posts: 47,083	Re: How I redid my harness and a few pics Very Nice job. __________________ Bill 1970 Chevy Custom/10 LWB Fleetside 2010 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner SR5 Double Cab - DD Member of Louisiana Classic Truck Club (LCTC) Bill's Gallery Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God!



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