WIRING!!!

[greaserlife]

HEY GUYS I AM NEW TO THE FORUM.I FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS COOL SITE VIA INTERNET. I WAS LOOKING UP WIRING SCHMATICS ON MY 1966 F100. I BOUGHT THIS TRUCK COMPLETE WITHOUT ANY WIRING. SO MY QUESTION IS IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN HELP ME BUILD A WIRING HARNESS FOR MY TRUCK? OR SHOULD I JUST BUY AN AFTERMARKET HARNESS AND START THAT ROUTE. ANY HELP WOULD BE GREAT!! BY THE WAY THIS FORUM IS GREAT LOTS OF USEFUL INFO.

[tomrooster]

You could look in the classifieds for a good used one . That would be the easier way. Tom

[skidoorulz]

Are you going back to original wiring? If so I would check out the local salvage yards or get online and find some junkyards that have them and buy one. Here there is a junkyard that has about 25 slicks that I get parts from. Most parts I have gotten are in really good shape. I would think this would be much easier and cheaper than building a harness considering you would have to source all the bulb holders and such for the instrument panel.

[truckster]

I really hope I'm reading the above responses wrong. Please don't tell me you're recommending a USED harness when replacements are cheap and much safer.

To the OP, Rebel wire makes a "9+3" circuit harness that is perfect for our non tricked out trucks for under $200.

[Hunter's 64]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EZ-Wiring-12-Ci ... _864wt_900


Why put something 50years old in when you can go new wire and fuse holders , Unless your doing a correct restoration Why.

I have purchased several items from this ebay store , they have nice gauge sets and will help if needed by phone.

Danny

[skidoorulz]

I really hope I'm reading the above responses wrong. Please don't tell me you're recommending a USED harness when replacements are cheap and much safer.

To the OP, Rebel wire makes a "9+3" circuit harness that is perfect for our non tricked out trucks for under $200.

Nope you're not reading the above wrong. I said used from salvage yard. Just because they are 50 years old doesn't mean there is something wrong with them. I am using my original harness in my rebid. I checked it over and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. The wires and insulation is flexible and there are no cracks or nicks to be found. I have seen will fit harnesses and in my opinion and mine only they are not as good as the original due to the fact that they are usually a lighter gauge wire which will cause a heating issue under load. I will stick with my heavier gauge harness and be plumb happy with it. JMHO.

[tomrooster]

I'm with skidoorulz. Depending on the person some don't have a lot of money in the budget and just want a driver, 200 bucks might be put to better use somewhere else and it's got to be a lot easier using original wires. Tom

[Toyz]

I am nearly fanatical about electrical, and of my multitudes of various projects; I have completely re-wired only a few. Those were scratch-built with WeatherTite connectors and heavier gauge wire where applicable. If I get an unacceptable voltage drop, or note something I dislike; it gets fixed (eventually). Maybe it's simply being cheap and lazy, or knowing I can fix any problems which might arise; but I prefer this approach to modifying a "one-size fits all" to my needs. Wrecking yard wiring needn't be from a fifty year old vehicle; modern harnesses can be gutted to your specific needs.
Again, YRMV; just my
Paul

[foodstick]

I am cheap ! and am no electrical genius !
And I like new wiring! and hate confusion !

hahaha,

that being said, lets face it about 80 percent of our trucks wiring is clipped on the back of the gauge panel, and runs to the light switch ! ANYBODY can rewire from the door jambs back, even me ! what is there 5 wires with the dome light and fuel tank sending unit? hahahah There are only about ten wires under the hood on a stock truck? I say yes to new looms if you wanna splurge a little...and yes to redoing an old one if you check and splice well.

I recall taking my entire loom out to replace and realizing it was remarkably flexible and uncut, I wiped it all down with Armor All and soldering and shrink wrapping any questionable areas. If you mark everything well with a tag it is so much easier, and if you cut out some bad wire be sure to leave enough length for installment when done. Oh yeah PUT IN THE HIGH POWER headlight upgrade !

OK I admit it, I am really sitting on the fence on this one. If the plugs thru the firewall are nice makes it even easier.. I am not sure, do they sell the firewall electrical plugs now to?

[Toyz]

The WeatherTite plugs are a definite advantage IMO, over the originals. I do NOT care for splices, although the manner Lance describes is more than adequate. If the panel wiring has not been butchered, a resistance/ voltage drop test combined with "wiggle" testing will probably provide as good as or better results compared to a wholesale re-wiring. If you don't know how to perform these tests, and prefer not to learn such procedures, then you might be ahead of the game by having someone re-wire the vehicle. The turn signal/ brake lamp circuits alone are enough create confusion, and that confusion does not go away simply by purchasing a universal rewiring kit.
So, going back to the original question; if you have no existing wiring, going back with an original harness may prove easier and less costly. The caveat there is that our trucks have multiple variations as to wiring circuits. Early slicks had generators, there were several instrument panel arrangements through the years, and different models had different accessories. An aftermarket harness is not available in a "plug and play" configuration to my knowledge. You ARE going to be checking and re-checking diagrams and scratching head whichever way you choose.
When you finish with the slick wiring, find a mid-eighties vehicle with a burned dash to repair!
Paul

[unibody madness]

The lwb I first bought when I got back into slicks, had an expensive after market easy wire job done extremely poorly by the p.o.
After countless hours of repairing some of the dumbest wiring I have ever seen, I got it running and still have an occasional glitch.which is about to get addressed.
My Turk project has supple unbutchered wires and after cleaning,retaping them are going right back in. Thanks to a lot of help from people smarter than me right here on this site, all appears to run great with the new upgrades and the factory manual still has merit.
If newer power trains or one off custom builds are being concidered however, all that goes out the window

[bobenhotep]

I did some mods to my harness, but kept it intact for the most part. I changed my brake light switch to one under the dash, so now I have the old brake light wires hooked up for tach sender and oil pressure gauge. I built an additional fuse node under the dash to power a few things, and I added quick connects so that I unplug 3 plugs and disconnect the speedometer cable to pull the dash. I also ran the headlight relay upgrade, and made a fuse/ relay node under the hood to handle stuff under there.

As long as you arent going with power everything, the old harness isnt too bad, and is definitely a good starting point.

[LM14]

I'm 100% for a new wiring harness. When I did my '57, the old wires were brittle, weak and the insulation was brittle. My uni is the same way. You sometimes think your wiring is in decent shape but compare it to a new piece of quality wire and you usually find out what you thought was good isn't. Some areas of the country might be better for this than others.

I will put a new kit in my truck and get rid of all that 52 year old wire. I'm 56 and I know I'm not as flexible, can't carry what I could earlier in life, and I don't always make good contact. My bet is my truck is the same as me. Wiring I can replace, me I'm stuck with.

SPark

[Toyz]

Steve, the comparison with your body is very appropriate! If you can keep those loads down below the original, all is well
Paul

[Michael Bryce Winnick]

Does the '66 Bronco harness from Painless work in a slick. Normally wth a Cirkit Boss, I can make anthing work.

[truckster]

i guess more people on this site than i thought are bitten with the "original or bust" bug. There's no way anyone can convince me that a 50 plus year old harness is better than new. Even NOS-never been installed wiring. I'm actually appalled at the thought of this.

I really hope the OP is a little more open-minded and isn't swayed by the old-school (which is fine in most cases...wiring, not so much). Do yourself a favor and go with wiring that isn't weathered and cracked and still has years and years of flexibility.

http://rebelwire.com/rebel-wire-product ... ire%20Kits

[truckster]

maybe I'm in the minority because I'm actually fine with four wheel drum brakes as well

[jordanhltn]

my tip to you is check out american autowire they ship it out in bagged separated labeled and mapped sections. every cable is labeled every six inches and they are in bundles when you get it by far the easiest wiring project i have ever done. i just finished a wiring update in my 63 f250 today, i started at lunch and replaced everything.

[greaserlife]

Thanks for the info guys! Guess I just need to check out my options. New wiring would be nice.... I think I might just go that route.

[Toyz]

Swap meet season is underway; so this may be an option if you choose to go with an aftermarket kit. A local meet this weekend had a variety of "universal" kits available from individual sellers. This is probably the result of "buyer remorse"! The caveat there is to check that all harnesses are present as originally packaged. Some will utilize what they need, then sell the rest. I much prefer the ones with repetitive labeling, just in case I'm the one who ends up scratching my head on one of these conversions later.
Paul