wiring harness replacement/lighting upgrades

Wiring, lights, heater controls, anything electrical..
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sweatybetty
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wiring harness replacement/lighting upgrades

Post by sweatybetty »

i finally decided to do something ive needed to do for years. replace the wiring harness in my 70 w200. i will try to post enough pictures, but please ask if you need more detail.
the first step was to find a harness, which i found here http://www.streetrodelectrics.com/wire- ... echSupport and headlight relays http://www.streetrodelectrics.com/wirin ... relay-kit/

this harness is very nice with bigger wires than factory, and every wire is labeled as to where it goes. the only thing i dont care for is the instructions are helpful but could be alot better, and they are written mainly for gm crap.

since it seems that most electrical problems are caused by bad grounds, i fixed that problem by adding a few. 1st was a ground from the block to the frame, and then a brass machine screw at every corner for the lights. the ground screws for the taillights are on the frame, while the front light grounds are behind the grill. make sure to sand that spot down to bare, shiny metal on both sides for good contact. every connection will get dielectric grease to stop corrosion, and then spray painted to stop rust.

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i also soldered a wire onto each light housing that will run back to the brass screw and fastened with a ring terminal

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today i start with removing all the old harness and figuring out what needs to stay. more to come

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sweatybetty
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Re: wiring harness replacement/lighting upgrades

Post by sweatybetty »

part 2

45 years of repairs and upgrades. looks like crap, but not for long!
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once everything is out, its time to get the fuseblock ready and in place. since it will fit right where the old one was, i added some 3/16" foam tape to the back of the new block to seal the hole in the firewall.

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the engine compartment side

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mounted in place and ready to start routing wires

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all the wiring is divided into groups such as front and rear lighting, engine, dash and column.most of it went to the correct spots, but a few didnt and i had to re-route them. like i said earlier, gm crap mentality.
heres a pic with the wiring that goes out the firewall all divided up

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more to come

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Hobcobble
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Re: wiring harness replacement/lighting upgrades

Post by Hobcobble »

Looks like a good project!
John :Thumbsup

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moparbay
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Re: wiring harness replacement/lighting upgrades

Post by moparbay »

Excellent find on the wire harness. Most of us need to replace the wiring in our old trucks. look forward to following your progress.
moparbay

Ole "Blue" 68 D100 Adventurer
65 W100
67 D400
67 W100 (in pieces)
69 D100 converted to 4x4 (SOLD)

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sweatybetty
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Re: wiring harness replacement/lighting upgrades

Post by sweatybetty »

ive finished everything up and everything works like it should. i did end up turning my idle up to around 650 to get the alternator to not fluctuate and hold 14 volts. lights, heater and wipers all at the same time :clap whooda thunk it possible? the rest of the pics

everything all taped up

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here are the headlight relays, circuit breaker and connection terminal. the fuseholder i found here http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Systems- ... derPN+5006 it holds a 30a circuit breaker that i found at napa.

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here is a closer pic of the connection terminal. the wire from the alternator, starter relay, headlites and battery all join here. no loose, corroding connections. the main feed to the fuseblock also ties into here and goes through another circuit breaker. this one a 50a.

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all in all i have maybe $550 into this but everything was replaced except the voltage reg and the ignition box which are fairly new. the fuseblock also comes with a horn relay but my horns dont work :thinking
here is another pic and a short video.

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moparbay
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Re: wiring harness replacement/lighting upgrades

Post by moparbay »

Do you know how many wires pass through the fire wall. I am going to replace my wire harness and I want to try a bulk head connector instead of running them through a hole in the firewall.

BTW, your wiring looks good. You did a great job.
moparbay

Ole "Blue" 68 D100 Adventurer
65 W100
67 D400
67 W100 (in pieces)
69 D100 converted to 4x4 (SOLD)

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sweatybetty
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Re: wiring harness replacement/lighting upgrades

Post by sweatybetty »

moparbay wrote:Do you know how many wires pass through the fire wall. I am going to replace my wire harness and I want to try a bulk head connector instead of running them through a hole in the firewall.

BTW, your wiring looks good. You did a great job.
thanks
there may be 20 +/- wires through the fire wall. all the front end and rear end lighting, and the the engine wiring. all of those through a 1" rubber grommet. in my opinion, forget the bulkhead connector. it is just 1 more trouble spot

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marklein
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Re: wiring harness replacement/lighting upgrades

Post by marklein »

While you were upgrading, you could have gotten a coil that is good for constant 12V, and remove the ballast completely. Eliminate one more problem area.

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sweatybetty
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Re: wiring harness replacement/lighting upgrades

Post by sweatybetty »

marklein wrote:While you were upgrading, you could have gotten a coil that is good for constant 12V, and remove the ballast completely. Eliminate one more problem area.
ill look into that. there is 1 wire from the ballast to the ignition control. would need to figure out what the wire does

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marklein
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Re: wiring harness replacement/lighting upgrades

Post by marklein »

Get a 12 volt coil, just tie the wires that go through the ballast together, just eliminating the ballast.

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pwadventurer
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Re: wiring harness replacement/lighting upgrades

Post by pwadventurer »

Just a thought,Along with the 20 wires through the bulkhead for all the standard equipment , some additional wiring for the tach, ac compressor, washer fluid pump, fuel pump relay and towing equipment wiring may be needed.

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