[FC] Making a Engine Wiring Harness
Dale K. Dewald
corvanatics@corvair.org
Sat Jan 17 01:05:01 2004
At 12:49 01/15/04 -0500, Dio wrote:
>Since my '62 Ramp is in the garage for the winter, I'm thinking of rebuilding
>the engine harness. Any suggestions on where to buy wires and connectors? I'd
>like to get this done using off the shelf parts. Any guidance on how to go
>about building it would be appreciated.
Hello Dio,
I would strongly suggest that you purchase a reproduction harness from one
of the parts vendors. You will probably spend just as much money on the
individual parts to build your own as the cost of the reproductions. This
does not even factor in your time. Previous posts suggest using the '65
Greenbrier harness if you plan to replace your generator with an
alternator. If you use an internally regulated alternator you will need to
make some minor alterations to the harness. This is discussed in the Tech
Guide.
I have direct experience with vehicle wiring:
Two years ago I completely rewired my brother-in-law's International 3850
front end loader . The original wiring harness on the loader was
completely shot and had been hacked up by several previous owner's
makeshift repairs (that is being generous regarding the PO's--time has a
way of filtering expletives) Since the International earth-moving
equipment line has changed hands several times and is now owned by Komatsu,
most parts for this loader were no longer available--including any wiring
harnesses. (What few new parts that are still available are hideously
priced.) It took a lot of time to do the wiring job, on the order of 100
hrs, partly because we ripped out all of the old stuff (including some
Romex!?!) and started from scratch. I drew up a wiring diagram using a '65
Corvair as a starting point and added special circuits for extra gauges,
lights, and the Diesel glow plug system. We spent close to $350 on
miscellaneous wiring supplies, but it helped that I had a large box of
salvaged wire in several sizes and multiple colors, and an assortment of
wire loom material and connectors. The job was a success; we now have a
new trouble-free electrical system (there were a few minor problems at the
beginning), but that can be only attributed to the meticulous attention to
detail and many hours spent documenting the design prior to starting in on
the work.
Dale Dewald
Hancock, (UP) MI
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