47-55.1 AD wiring

[Matt_50]

First off id like to thank you guys for all the help so far. This forum has been extremely helpful. As a few of you know I just got my drivetrain in, it's coming along pretty good. Front suspension, rear suspension, cab has a floor again, and now the drivetrain.

Time to start looking at the smaller stuff. I think I have brakes all planned and should go fairly smoothly. My fuel tank and system should also go pretty smoothly. But dont be surprised if i ask a little advice.

My truck is outside and so some of the little projects have found their way inside. Like the gauges. Well I took my wiring out of the donor 84 c10. I'd like to maybe use it. Any thoughts here? I started cleaning it up and separating it out. Wall in small workroom looks kinda funky now.

How many circuits am I really looking at on this truck? Only thing I'm really adding is gonna be the a/c. You guys think it's worth it to use the donor wiring harness? Or should i just buy a small kit. But then i need to add connectors and so on. But if i keep this one i probably need to shorten some of it and get rid of a lot.

I also know you get what you pay for, but wire is wire and a plastic fuse box is just plastic right? What's wrong with a 50 dollar kit off the ebay? Are there differences I should avoid? What's the painless wiring got that makes it so much? Instructions?

So I need a diagram, for a basic setup for a AD 3100. No power windows or locks... carburetor on the engine...

What's everyone's advice? Use new or old? New I add connectors.. old I take out extra wire and maybe shorten wire.

What have you guys done?

[Matt_50]

Here's some pics of what I'm working with so far on the old harness. Here's the funky wall in workroom lol

[mr48chev]

I've done the donor wiring thing and my truck is wired that way now. Doing the math that 84 C-10 would be 33 years old now. If that truck was still on the road they might be having wiring issue with it because of the age of the wiring.

I'd invest in a decent wiring kit for the truck and even though it might be a bit tight on the budget now you will thank yourself times over later on.

[Matt_50]

What would you consider as decent? I'm not aware of any wiring issues. I drove the truck for 6 years, and I had the new motor and trans put in too. I am a little worried about the age of the wire though. I'm not sure how to tell if it's bad or good. Once I cleaned off the tape and plastic, the insulation looks great. But i am a little paranoid... I've done wire repairs but never a dull harness. I can buy any and all connectors right?

[Matt_50]

Fuseible links. Where to use them if I buy a new harness? These would need to be added right?

[Black93GT]

Looks like you did all the hard work. Might as well take advantage of it. I'd remove or replace any wiring with hardened/cracked/damaged insulation.

I was too lazy to remove any wiring and just bought a generic harness.

[cwii]

Hey Matt read thru the info in this link http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/hot-rod-wiring.html (copy and paste if needed)
There is some advice how how and where to use fuseable links.
I agree with the advice on buying a new harness, Speedway carries some low cost solutions. These are made with the correct type of wire and labeled well enough to help you out.

Chuck

[hogfarm]

Just ordered a wiring kit form Amazon $142.00 for my 58, will let you know how it looks

[mr48chev]

On thing I have seen with guys posting about wiring harness kits on this board, the HAMB and others is the quality of tech support that you get from the company after you buy the harness. Painless and Rebel Wire seem to have pretty good and consistent tech support as does Ron Francis. Ron Francis is one of the oldest wiring kit outfits out there but they are also the most expensive in most cases.
I looked on Amazon and found a couple of options for the price that Hogfarm quoted. both look interesting but I am more inclined to go with the GM color coded unit. It's a whole lot easier to wire with the GM color codes and who ever follows behind you if you sell the truck in a few years will be most appreciative in that they can easily figure out the wiring by the color coding.

One thing that is very important is to make sure that the kit includes enough wire and all the wires you need. That means long enough wires to reach the head and tail lights without splicing in wires. I've got an Ebay bargain price wiring harness out in the shed that was cheap and isn't bad for what is there but has no wire for the lights front or back and no wires for the accessories. It is a basic hook it up and get it running wire kit more intended for off road Jeeps or basic hot rods. It will end up in a very basic roadster so it isn't a big deal other than I was real disappointed when I received the kit and there was no wire for the head or tail lights.

If you do use that donor harness you will find that you are going to be eliminating a lot of the wires such as the ones for the high beam bulbs in the quad lights plus you will be cutting and splicing a lot to get the correct lengths rather than just installing wires. Then you have to deal with what ever someone did to the harness in the past if they bypassed a circuit because it had shorted or hooked up who knows how many different trailer wire hookups over the years. My 77 1 ton is the biggest wiring mess that I have ever owned because everyone that owned it over the years made some change to it plus there are original circuits that don't work and are bypassed. I've got to completely rewire the tail, stop and turn lights plus the clearance lights on the bed and am not looking forward to it.

[Matt_50]

I see your point mr48chev. It's got age and I would not have a tech line to call for assistance. I'm reading up on wiring a car. It's been awhile since I had and kind of class on it. I'm ok with troubleshooting and making proper fixes, and adding in the small accessory or two. I've just never wired the whole vehicle. So far I'm leaning towards a new harness, but I think I will continue to play with this old one. See how it's put together and all and then draw up my own diagrams. I'd like to use a harness with instructions, but I'd also like to fully understand what I'm doing. I also have a lot of free time lol

Couple questions so far.

Are fusible links still widely used? Seems to me I could just use maxi fuses inline to protect spike areas. I didn't see fusible links in the painless diagrams. That and use relays. For example, seems like it might be worth adding a starter solenoid on firewall to shorten the cable with a lot of juice in it. Also, if I'm going to need new stuff anyway, I'm thinking I'll use LED lights throughout. Less electricity needed and they don't get as hot.

Thoughts so far?

[hogfarm]

Got my wiring harness yesterday,it's not bad,all the wires are labeled

[Matt_50]

Did it come with long wires for the lights?

[hogfarm]

Originally Posted by Matt_50

Did it come with long wires for the lights?

Wires seem to be plenty long,for both front and rear

[gigamanx]

I can only vouch for the one truck I've been building. I happen to be at the end of my wiring as of a few nights ago. I just got myself working lights! I originally wanted to use the existing harness from my 1988 S10, but trying to figure out what wires go where, what has a fuse, what don't I need, ugh. Crazy!

I have the JEGS 10405 universal 20 circuit harness. It has more than I need as it includes circuits for power doors and windows.

+ Each wire is labeled with the function of that wire. Printed all along the strand. Its my favorite thing about buying a wiring harness. No color codes needed, just read the wire

+ Each circuit has a fuse and it comes with the relays. All you have to do is run the wires.

+ Wires are grouped for their function. Engine group, tail group, instrument group, ignition group.

+ I am yet to find a function on my truck that doesn't have a wire. I did add an electric fan that contains an electric thermostat shut off. It came with its own four wires, but they were easy to figure out.

+ The manual spells out what each wire is for.

- The only wire too short was the passenger tail light. I had to add about 12". I probably could have wiggled things around to get the extra space, but I like my wires to have tidy routing along the frame, so I think I used a little extra for that.

- Sure, it would be great to have all the wiring connectors like a painless harness, but after wiring the whole truck, I realize I would have had to do my own anyway. For example, I bought new park and LED taillights that needed to have connectors installed. Easy when I had a box full of ones I bought and could choose what to use.

I actually ended up going with some generic waterproof connectors. They were super easy to crimp, work awesome, comes in 2, 3, 5 wire connectors.
https://www.amazon.com/MUYI-Waterpro...nector+3+prong


So having just done this (and never having wired more than a light bulb before), I can't say enough for the amount of anguish I avoided for that $300. I would do it again in a heartbeat. To get the carbureted engine running, you'll need a few other wires of course.

1. Battery pos+ and neg- cables
2. Ignition module
3. Neutral safety switch wire from the trans to the starter
4. Ground wires for headlights, fuel pump, electric fan, tail lights
5. Make a few 4ft wires that have alligator clips on each end. I used them a ton just to test circuits before attaching connectors and making things perfect. Great for troubleshooting. Stick a light bulb between them as someone suggested to me to make a few attachable test lights.

I'm working on making my own harness diagram for my 3100 in visio. I'll post it up when I'm done.

[hogfarm]

gigamanx
would you be willing to share the wiring diagram that came with your kit? I still have a couple unanswered question.

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by hogfarm

gigamanx
would you be willing to share the wiring diagram that came with your kit? I still have a couple unanswered question.

Happy to share. Where are you stuck?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15IY...ew?usp=sharing

[hogfarm]

I'm not stuck yet and thanks for the diagram,but I'm sure I will run into problems

[Matt_50]

Alright! Got a little extra cash and I was able to stay in my budget. Mostly.. I found a EZ 21 circuit mini kit for 160. Still waiting on it, but it looks very complete compared to the very cheap ones. Heard a bunch of good stuff on EZ so I hope it's all good.

One of you guys recommended I read a site and I found this. Using a ford solenoid relay..

http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/power-circuit.html


Could I use this?

http://www.madelectrical.com/catalog/st-1.shtml

[MIKESAD50]

Matt, you are correct on the headlights. the lights in the grille are running lights, turn signals were not factory equipped in the 50's. not sure year they became factory equipped.
I used aftermarket LED front marker/turn signal lights. you can also get them that use a dual filament bulb and wire marker light and turn signals.

[jweb]

I just finished wiring my '51 with an EZ wiring harness. There are a few things to think about when you do your lights.

Steering column - If you are using a newer GM or Ididit column it's easy to do. The EZ kit includes a flat plug that will attach to the columns stock wiring. I don't know what's involved with a different style column.

Dimmer Switch - Usually a floor mount switch like this to control your brights. This wil also plug right in to the EZ harness.
https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speed...itch,2370.html

Headlights/ Relay - I highly recommend the Cibie headlights and using a relay.
https://www.amazon.com/Cibie-082440-.../dp/B008DQV88Q

I used a relay kind of like this, don't remember the exact one: https://www.amazon.com/2-Headlight-H...70_&dpSrc=srch

Front park lights/ turn signals - If get LED,you will need no load flashers. Or stock style like these:
https://www.classicparts.com/1947-53...ctinfo/47-012/

Headlight switch - It looks like you have this figured out. I just used a stock '68 Chevy truck switch.

[Matt_50]

I've got a 1970 column. And if I don't go the dimmer switch route, then I need a high/low headlight switch.

[jweb]

I just noticed the headlight switch you showed above is 4 position, the 4th being brights. I've never seen that before. You wouldn't need a dimmer switch but you will need to figure out the difference in the wiring which shouldn't be too difficult. There are only 3 wires that go to the dimmer switch.

[Matt_50]

I'm not making a harness from scratch, I just don't know enough yet to tackle that. But by using a premade harness, I just need to worry about what stuff I buy to plug into it.

What size relays and what's amps and stuff I need for switches.

[Matt_50]

Do I need to crimp AND solder AND heatshrink EVERYTHING?

[69l46vert]

I've used the same ratcheting crimper that jweb shows. It works great for almost everything but its not for weatherpack style connectors. For the weatherpacks, this one works pretty good for the money.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1