Posted by John Waak [99.53.149.180] on Tuesday, August 26, 2014 at 22:32:53 :
In Reply to: Wiring harness posted by Stan [108.74.212.40] on Tuesday, August 26, 2014 at 18:35:02 :
If you could only afford one book, I recommend purchasing Automotive Electrical Wiring (HP 387), by Jim Horner. He will walk you through the process of understanding automotive electronics, to drawing out your schematics, to purchasing and installing the wire. I love this book. Other books worth consulting are The Official 12-Volt Conversion Guide, by Randy Rundle, and How To Wire Your Hot Rod, by Dennis Overholser. Overholser is the guy behind Painless Wiring, so expect a sales pitch. Nevertheless, he has some good information worth absorbing.
As for wire suppliers, I found KayJay to be great people with great products. They can be found at the link below. There are plenty of others. Do your research.
You want to do this part of your rebuild thoughtfully. Following Horner's recommendation, I drew out individual circuits, estimated my total length of wire needed, added 15% waste, and placed my electrical wire order with KayJay. Truth be told, I had a few additional orders placed before the job was completed to my satisfaction.
The bonus of this method was that I totally understand my electrical system, and so far, it works perfectly. The downside is that I probably spent more money that if I had simply purchased an pre-made harness. Considering that this rebuild is a hobby, I consider dollars spent of less value than knowledge gained.
Circuits and wire are only part of the formula. Connectors, too need to be evaluated. I went with aircraft connectors and crimpers, but that is another story for another day of sharing obsessive compulsive behaviors.
And now that I think of it, I went crazy with ground wires. Every device has its dedicated ground wire all leading to a grounding bus and then going back to ground at the battery. I also added a fuse block, and used marine grade equipment. I figured this truck will never be water tight, so marine grade was the way to go. Bluesea was my supplier for fuse block and busses. Ron francis is another supplier I used for a few miscellaneous pieces like bulbs and do-dads that rounded out the whole projects.
Good luck. Have fun, and learn something.
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