Editing Rewiring a vehicle

--[[User:Docvette|Doc]] 18:03, 13 September 2006 (PDT)When completely rewiring a vehicle there are a few things that must be determined beforehand. First, one must decide if a prefabricated harness will be used, or if a custom harness will be made from scratch. In any case the harness should be assembled into groups and cut within a reasonable distance to the right length, while leaving extra wire to account for routing. == Scratch Built Harness == ---- If you Intend to Scratch Build your Harness, You will need a few things from the Garage..A pair of Saw Horses, One or (better) Two, 4 X 8 Sheets of 1/4 or 1/2 inch Plywood..Some nails about 4 inches long. If you have a Two Car garage you can afford to tie up for a few days, Set your saw horses up next to the Vehicle to be wired, and join and place your plywood on top of them. You should now have a platform About the size of the Vehicle to be wired. Get a Magic Marker, Draw a rough out line of the Vehicle Side To side, front to tail, with lines for Firewall, Dashboard and trunk spaces on your plywood. Measure and show headlight locations as well as Tail lamp locations. Next, Studying your Vehicle, Determine The Course of Harness routing and areas of location for the Fuse buss, Battery, Dash, Engine Bay Harness, and all locations for electrical plugs and devices..Make a rough drawing and take measurements from point to point. Transpose those over to your plywood, Draw a line to show Routing, and at each Termination point Drive a nail about 1/4 an inch in your wood, and Mark it's function(Tail, Left..Ect..)..Place your plug/Socket and pins there (for later..)Continue until you have all termination points laid out and represented by a Nail on the plywood. That being done..Figure out your Wire gauge for each circuit, as predicated on The Draw and Length of the run..Make a list (EXAMPLE: Tail Lamps...21 Feet...10 amps...14 gauge Black) Now starting with your smallest gauge , at the Buss, Tie the wire there, run it down your marked route line (add Extra length for anywhere it must rise or fall within the body) To the nail marked "Tail lamp" then mark the wire with a wire marker (available at any hardware store) mark the function and number on your notes.. and continue the "Wrap" along to the next Item (like the right lamp ect..) Do not cut until the wire reaches termination.. Continue until all color wire of that gauge are laid out..Then Repeat with the next largest gauge wire, until all wire is laid out nail to Nail..Be sure to keep your runs straight..and tight, and do not cut the nail ends until ALL wires are in place..ADD 5 % "Spares" and mark then as such the length of the harness...(for future expansion or In case you shoot a screw through one and get a bad wire..) Tie the bundle up neatly with proper tie wraps nose to tail.. Cut all nail ends at an equal distance, referring to your notes, and wire markers, as to function and number.. add your firewall connectors/Sockets, fuse buss and devices.. Lastly, using a DVOM or "Ring Box" Ohm or ring the harness out point to point for accuracy..Correct any errors, and you should be ready to fit it to the vehicle. == Tools and Supplies Required == ---- Next one must have the tools and supplies required for the job. Here is what is required: *Wiring harness *Black wire (for grounds) *Wire, Various Colors (Red/White/Green/Brown/Purple/orange/),Various Gauges. *Good quality Wire strippers W/ Depth Gauge *Crimper's *Connectors *Electrical tape *Wire loom *Wire Markers *Adel Clamps *Anti~Chafe *Rubber mating *Pliobond Adhesive *Grommets (Various sizes) *Electricians Putty *Plastic Conduit (Chrome or black Or any color) *Rubberized wiring hooks (may not be needed in some cases) *Tech or Self Drilling Screws. *Star and Lock washers (various sizes) *Sheet metal screws (may not be needed in some cases) *Accurate Wiring diagrams, as well as YOUR Notes and drawings made for the new system to be installed. EXAMPLE:[[Image:http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/Docsmagic/exefp.jpg]] If soldering: *Good soldering Station (don't use n undersized or non Controlled unit; it will slow things down) *Solder (24 gauge 60/40 is good) *Resin *De~solder Tools, and Braid *heat gun *Shrink tube *Hemostats *Dental Pick *Read [[how to solder electrical connections]] if you are unsure how ---- == Harness Removal == Next, the wiring harness in the vehicle must be removed. A Digital Camera , and Note pad are your best friends here. Photograph EVERYTHING even if you think you won't need it later.. Be sure to label every disconnected or cut wire as to its original location, and as you do this add it's location, colors, gauges and functions to your notepad. Keep the original harness intact as possible and UNPLUG EVERYTHING YOU CAN. Keeping this harness intact can help with understanding of how things were wired in the Original Configuration before the routing of Harness wire. Once that is complete you are ready to begin installation of your new harness. ---- == Installation Of The New Harness == Once you have your wiring harness and your old wires removed, your first step is to install the fuse block. Many fuse blocks connect to the factory bulkhead connector with bolts, in other cases the fuse block may need to be screwed or bolted to the firewall or another secure location. The next step is to begin routing your wires. While doing this keep in mind any sharp areas that may sever a wire and secure the wires as good as possible. This will prevent the wiring from deteriorating as quickly as they would if little care is given. Begin by routing your longest wires first, as, quite often they will get in your way while dealing with the shorter wires. Once these wires are routed and secured you can begin attaching them to their connections. The following order is recommended tail lights/fuel gauge sender, headlight/horn, engine compartment, interior lights/speakers, power windows and locks, heater and stereo, dashboard. Keep in mind that certain connectors are not easy to find new, therefore in some cases you must solder or crimp an old pigtail onto the new wire. Furthermore it is suggested that a maxi fuse is installed rather than a fusible link and while some wiring harness's recommend the main power come off the starter live connection, running the wire straight to the battery can be a better way to go. Such a case would be an off-road vehicle where water or mud could cause problems if the main power wire is connected to the starter.

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