painless wireing

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tyler_s18

tyler_s18

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i am thinking about rewireing my '75 scamp. i was looking at painless and it looks like they could work. i was wondering if anyone has done this and if it is to much work. or any place that helps us more then painless.

my wireing is not messed up it is just old and really confusing. so would like to go with something that looks cleaner and that i can trust more then who knows how many people doing their own thing to it all lol
 
I've heard "painless" is anything but... I've seen quite a few complaints on other forums.
 
I used EZ wiring harness. If I can wire a entire car then you know it was EZ. LOL!

http://www.ezwiring.com/wiring_harness.html

I purchased the 21 circuit for $185

If you need a second opinion cudaspaz used it on his car.

DSC01981.jpg
 
Rule #1 if it aint broke dont fix it.
The stuff that can be confusing for the novice (like brake lights wired through signal switch) wont change. Then when you need help with a problem the factory service manuals will be worthless. Your only source for help will be the aftermarket harness vendor.
 
RedFish said:
Rule #1 if it aint broke dont fix it.
The stuff that can be confusing for the novice (like brake lights wired through signal switch) wont change. Then when you need help with a problem the factory service manuals will be worthless. Your only source for help will be the aftermarket harness vendor.
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On the EZ wiring kit each and every wire has wrote on it where it goes so there is never a need for a wiring diagram or vendor assistance. It even indicates if it coming from the fuse panel or going to. The main reason I wired my car is to do away with the 5 fuse box. I have other electrical stuff now, electric fan, relays, electric fuel pump, that needed a separate fuse for each rather than piggy back. I also totally did away with the bulk head connectors.. it's just straight wire now without the resistance the bulk head connections would create. Also have extra fuse circuits just in case I add something else. No it wasn't broke but it is much healthier electrical system now.
 
I've used the EZ wire kits on a couple street rods. Every wire is labeled as to its function. If you've never wired a car it would be one of the best to start with. Sometimes it's easier to take out all the "rat's nest" of wires and start fresh. I've seen wires change colors two or three times from the fuse panel to their termination. Bad grounds and frayed insulation will have you pulling out your hair trying to troubleshoot an old system.
 
Run away from Painless! I rewired my Dart with it and it was awful. If I had to do it again I would use Reproduction factory harnesses or some other part.

AL.

p.s. I am an auto tech at an Import dealer and have been for 28 years so I deal with automotive wiring almost daily...
 
Capt. Zorro said:
I've used the EZ wire kits on a couple street rods. Every wire is labeled as to its function. If you've never wired a car it would be one of the best to start with. Sometimes it's easier to take out all the "rat's nest" of wires and start fresh. I've seen wires change colors two or three times from the fuse panel to their termination. Bad grounds and frayed insulation will have you pulling out your hair trying to troubleshoot an old system.
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thats why i want to do it just better words lol. and what mullinax95 said to make it healthier.

with the ez wireing is it all formed to fit the car or is it a one fits all cars? i want it to look really clean. i will have radio, electric fuel pump and maby fan on it to lol
 
mullinax95 said:
I used EZ wiring harness. If I can wire a entire car then you know it was EZ. LOL!

http://www.ezwiring.com/wiring_harness.html

I purchased the 21 circuit for $185

If you need a second opinion cudaspaz used it on his car.
Click to expand...

I agree. I used ezwiring also and it was relatively easy. Being patient is the key. There are a LOT of wires and unless you are going to totally get away from the MOPAR way of wiring things, some pitfalls in setting up the system for your car. I chose to do a generic setup and took the pages referencing MOPAR and threw them into the trash. Made the job a lot more simple.

The ezwire system gives you a detailed wire listing and schematic plus the wires are marked every so many inches so you can keep track of where you are.

Larry
 
Just an observation of the picture of the glovebox with the fusebox. Back in the day, did they have drinks that actually stayed on those "cup holders"? Can't imagine a big 40 ounce hot coffee staying put while making a turn.

Back on point. How did you rewire and replace the bulkhead connector? I can understand running the wires straight thru but what about the hole the bulkhead connector would have left?
 
On mine I made a square plate and cut a hole in the center for the supplied grommet and passed the wires thru it. Screwed the plate over the hole where the bulkhead connector was. No sense in making another hole when there is already one there. Also used the same hole for my EFI harness.

Larry
 
Dartnewbie said:
Just an observation of the picture of the glovebox with the fusebox. Back in the day, did they have drinks that actually stayed on those "cup holders"? Can't imagine a big 40 ounce hot coffee staying put while making a turn.

Back on point. How did you rewire and replace the bulkhead connector? I can understand running the wires straight thru but what about the hole the bulkhead connector would have left?
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ok.. first I cut the wires going to the bulk head from under the dash about three inches. In the engine compartment I cut or unhooked the wires from the connectors. I removed the connectors and the bulk head completely from the car and took over to the work bench. Then I removed the wires and connectors form the bulk head and the connectors. Another words all I had was plastic bulk head and the plastic connectors. I drilled out each hole with a 3/16" drill bit in the bulk head and the connectors. Then I re-installed it back on the car with the connectors snapped into place. When it came time to push a wire into the engine compartment from underneath the dash I started at the left top of the bulkhead with each wire slowly working myself down. I actually have extra holes left for something later down the road if needed. It all still looks factory but you don't ever have to worry about a loose or dirty connection at the bulk head again. Hope this makes since.
 
tyler_s18 said:
wow thats a great idea. how many hours do you have into doin the whole wireing?
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I couldn't really tell you the exact time frame but I started on a Thursday night, went to work Fri morning, got off of work at 11:30am and worked on it all weekend. It took sometime to fab up a bracket for the dash mostly. I was tying up loose ends on Monday after work.

I found out one thing that wasted a lot of time. I couldn't get the front turn signals to work and I fumbled with that a while. I had the turn signal housings sitting in the engine bay (I have a cuda so the turn signals bolt on) with a towel under them trying to prevent scratches in the engine bay. Well I was about to pull my hair out when the turn signal fell and touched the header. Bam! It lit up! I didn't realize that the turn signal body had to be grounded! I was just not thinking I guess. I wasn't going to tell anyone. :-D

Make sure when you remove the old harness and fuse panel that you try to keep all it together. I used it as a reference a bunch of times. I used solder and heat shrink wrap on every connection. I had already done this before hand but I did the amp gauge bypass. You can find the info on madelectrical.com I highly recommend you go ahead and do this while you are at it. Especially if you plan on running a higher amp alternator in the future.

http://madelectrical.com/
 
What is the technique to using the EZ wiring with the column ignition switch, turn signal switch, etc.? Do you just splice it into the connector?
C
 
box.jpg

paint.jpg

rearpanel.jpg

fusepanel3.jpg

insert.jpg

underdash.jpg

comintogether.jpg

switch.jpg

xenon2.jpg


I got the EZ wiring kit, and also these gauges from EZ.
The wiring was so easy as it was all labeled the entire length of each wire and thick wires too.
I got a creative switch assembly to power my fuel pump, electric fan, reverse lights, and left one blank for future accessories.

Inside the glove box is a battery cut off switch for easy driver access, and a toggle swith that powers the dome, trunk and glove box light all at once to save trouble.
I also wired in the xenon lights which basically plugged right into the factory style light harnesses.

Hands down a great buy, and it seems that painless tries to sell you a fancy harness for every single accesory in addition to the harness you already bought from them.
Ez seems much more of a general harness that you could use on anything, and wire up a car in a couple days.
 
clhyer said:
What is the technique to using the EZ wiring with the column ignition switch, turn signal switch, etc.? Do you just splice it into the connector?
C
Click to expand...

That's what I did. Cut, soldered, heat wrapped and tucked up out of sight. My turn signal switch looks as if it was replaced some where down the road so it was in good condition.
 
ill be getting ez wiring due to cudaspaz and mullinax. its inexpensive compared to painless and ron francis.

My harness is in good condition but i dont like just having 5 fuses plus i want to make the wiring clean and out of sight.
 
ok. i think i can do it then lol. i like doing wireing but i have not had much experience doing such a big job. i guess since its not my daily driver i will go for it lol.

cudaspaz what did you have to do for the xenon headlights? like do they draw power the same way and all? also did you run a relay for the cut off switch or just heavy wireing?
 
i have been himming and hawwing about this for too long,,ive looked at all of them,,ez wire,american wire,painless,ron francis,,,still considering the ron francis, i like there fuse block,and there add on kits are very nice and way cheaper then the same thing from all the other wire companies,,

all the fuse blocks except are old style GM fuse blocks,wired to GM color code,, some of them come with mopar friendly diagrams some dont. all of them try to make you go to a one wire altenator,but ron francis has a kit if you use a mopar alt,, to wire an external voltage regulator,,


one thing to keep in mind,,if you have any thing other then your orignal stock type head lites you need a relay on the high and low beams, H4 bulbs drawl a lot more current then the old orignal head lites,,and will sooner or later burn your head lite switch out,weather its the orignal or a new orignal style or a new style switch,,
 
well i used a painless kit with a bulkhead connection on the fusebox it mounted in the factory bulkhead hole with a little modification and it was not that hard to install. The only thing i recommend is have the factory diagram and spend the time reading the instructions first and compare the factory diagram with the one for the kit before u do anything on the car.
 
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