wiring..... piece of cake or holy crap?

[z400rider8787]

so iom considering just rewiring my whole truck since most the lights dont work and i think it would just be easier to re-do the whole thing as opposed to just fixing them one at a time. its a 70 GMC. if anybody has any input or tips let me know thanks.

[ajserra]

I just put an complete wiring harness in my 69 C20. It is available from American Auto Wire. If you are reasonably handy, you can do it yourself following the instructions. If you get stuck, they have a great tech help desk that will walk you through your problem. There was a thread on this site a while back with a video.
I would advise against patching or "Fixing" you current harness. You never know if you've found all of the faults. One missed short can cause your whole truck to go up in flames.

Good luck

Tony

[cdowns]

most wiring problems are poor conections and worse grounds
IMO most wire replacement is uncalled for

[VetteVet]

Originally Posted by cdowns

most wiring problems are poor connections and worse grounds
IMO most wire replacement is uncalled for

I agree and if your harness hasn't been hacked to death then it's fairly simple to repair it. Here's your dilemma. If you order the stock harness then it;s not going to have all the nice conversion upgrades I.E. Internal regulated alternator, headlight relay, HEI ignition etc, so you'll have to wire those in anyway. Usually if you just strip a couple of inches of insulation back and replace the terminal, the wire will be as good as new.
I don't get what you say about wiring the lights one at a time because you'll have to do that anyway plus all the stuff that is already wired. Lastly these harness aren't cheap.

[big_al_71]

One of my guys rewired my complete truck, it is by far the best upgrade that we did in my own truck...My assistant spent four days rewiring the complete truck and at the end he told me that he only took that long because ran all the wiring completely hidden and that it was not that hard at all, he said thank God that he has alot of patience...money well spent..

[Skirkpat]

I would not hesitate to upgrade wiring, old wiring ,unless perfect is at least an issue and maybe an accident waiting to happen. If money is not an issue, M&H is the best IMO, If you want to do a little extra work, I have heard EZ Wiring, a Division of Dolphin Guages is not a bad setup...just not plug and play....And M&H uses factory conectors, and can be bought with any accesorys already installed, like HEI, power accesories...etc.

[haysonj]

I used the painless kit on mine and it was very easy and the kit is 100% complete with easy to follow directions. Complete new fuse panel that fits in the stock location and all wires use the factory color plus marked every foot. they also supply all needed connectors plus the upgrades for HEI, internal alt. elect. fans and tow packages.

[psmall000]

I have heard that Painless Wiring makes some older wire harnesses with terminals for newer stuff like HEI and newer style alternators. I haven't looked in a while so I might be wrong.

[Sport/Truck]

Originally Posted by psmall000

I have heard that Painless Wiring makes some older wire harnesses with terminals for newer stuff like HEI and newer style alternators. I haven't looked in a while so I might be wrong.

Pretty sure the all offer that. I used M&H and was very happy. I went with headlight relays, electric choke, internal regulator Alt. For the most part it was “plug & play”.
s/t

[Longhorn Man]

if you are afraid of trying to repair a few lights, then a full rewire will have you pulling your hair out.
I agree with the minority, unless it is all hacked up by some ham fisted gear head, or unless mice have been living in there for 5 years, I say get a book, read up on how things work, and then dive in.
These trucks are so simple it is unreal.

[b-rad]

Originally Posted by longhorn man

if you are afraid of trying to repair a few lights, then a full rewire will have you pulling your hair out.
I agree with the minority, unless it is all hacked up by some ham fisted gear head, or unless mice have been living in there for 5 years, i say get a book, read up on how things work, and then dive in.
These trucks are so simple it is unreal.

x2

[Bpokey]

I rewired my 68 a while back and as long as you are good with a soldering iron it wasn't too bad. I used a EZ wiring kit because of the price. I had to re wire mine because the fuse block was ruined and the wires were hacked. If yours are in good shape you may be fine with just fixing what is there.

[see ten]

We rewired my wifes 54 car...It's intimidating to say the least! Taking your time and moving slowly will make things go smoothly. I've never rewired one of these trucks and probably wouldn't unless the harness was trashed. Her car was a different story. It didn't even have a fuse box when we started on it. Not to mention we converted it from 6 to 12 volt. We used an EZ wiring harness.

[PanelDeland]

Asa cheats though.He has most of the "Worthless" intel at his disposal.

[see ten]

Deland, that was the first time any of us had ever done a complete rewire...except for that one Volkswagen.

The best way to gain experience is to do it!

[mark 68]

I have used to painless kits never had a problem. But, you have to understand how all the switches (light switch, ignition switch, etc.) work and what spades to use. I'm not familiar with the other companies but on the painless kits usually offer all sort of upgrades from the stock kits. I got to swap to hei plus a lot of extra wires tucked away for future upgrades and add ons. I had to call the tech people once on my first harness and they went step by step on how to fix my problem. Also their website posts most of the instruction manuals so you can read and decide if it will work for you. They are pricey but they make a dang good product.

[psmall000]

I like wiring. Sometimes I fiddle around with the wires in our trucks and clean them up a little. It occupies both my mind and my hands and is something I enjoy. It can definitely be uncomfortable, though.

[Tom Vogel]

Dont fail to check out American Auto Wire. As of a couple weeks ago, they have the new Classic Update Kit for "our" trucks. You NEED to at least check this out on their website.

[Richard8971]

The wiring on these trucks is pretty straightforward. I pulled the entire harness out of my'67 and rebuilt it over Christmas of last year.

You can do it, just look for the right diagrams (there are some here, so a search) and take your time. You will be fine.

Don

[Camper Power]

im gonna have to go with replacing the entire harness, 40 years can take their toll on wires, cant really say much about which brand cause i havent rewired my truck yet, but its definatly on the to do list when i rebuild the truck. you could fix the current problems but if you take this route i definatly suggest inspecting the complete harness. thats what i did but you do need a lot of spare time and patience but i did find some bad spots that needed to be fixed.

[CSGAS]

Is your objective to restore the truck, or add modifications?

I think that makes all the difference. If it's the former, stick with the existing wiring and patch repairs if you need it , trying somehow to not damage the oil-soaked cloth insulation. If it's the latter, then go for the upgrades and specify all the relays, non-stock circuits, etc...some companies will give you a blade fuse box upgrade option too, with more circuits available. The blades are MUCH easier to pull than the glass ones.

[72lb4x4]

I'd guess that a Painless or AAW harness kit is probably close to $500 shipped, while almost all the similar to stock harnesses from M&H can be had from http://www.carolinaclassictrucks.com for about $750 shipped.

The M&H harnesses can be set up for HEI, different side alternators, etc. You just have to find the right part numbers to order.

I fixed and in some spots replaced my harnesses a few years ago and made a mistake (I think anyway) by using a 68 dash harness on a 72. The starter wants to turn when the key is in the acc. position. In any case, its having a few problems with the firewall connectors and I don't feel like messing with it anymore.

I think I'm going the M&H route.

[Musclerodz]

AAW new complete Update kit for 69-72 trucks is the best choice on the market right now. For under $500 , you get everything you need to completely rewire your truck. Before this kit, AAW and M&H only had direct replacement harnesses which could easily run $800 or more if you replaced everything. We have sold nearly 20 of these kits in the last few weeks and are still a hot commodity. Retail on this kit is $539, we sell them everyday for $485. If you got questions just ask. There have already been a couple threads with this kit in them.

[Longhorn Man]

How many cloth covered wires are in a truck? One. Ad it's probably gone already anyways.
Relays and circuits and all the cool add on things can be wired into the stock harness.

Originally Posted by CSGAS

...If it's the former, stick with the existing wiring and patch repairs if you need it , trying somehow to not damage the oil-soaked cloth insulation. If it's the latter, then go for the upgrades and specify all the relays, non-stock circuits, etc...some companies will give you a blade fuse box upgrade option too, with more circuits available. The blades are MUCH easier to pull than the glass ones.

[z400rider8787]

thanks for all the input. I think i will go with a full harness. wiring is not a problem for me i build 70 million dollar airplanes for boeing so i think i can handle it. ive decided to re-do it all so i can add all the cool modern stuff (HEI/CDI ignition, electric fans, upgraded headlights, possibly power windows, etc.) ill let everyone know how it goes.