Rebuilding Wiring Harness?
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 9,341
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas Nevada
Rebuilding Wiring Harness?
Has anyone ever rebuilt thier own wiring harness? I've checked with a few different places about getting the wiring harness's rebuilt for my 81 and no one ever seems to have one in stock. I figure if I have to pull the whole harness out of the car and send it in to get rebuilt I might as well go ahead and do it myself to save some money. How difficult could it be :lol: :crazy: . Maybe I'll start with something small... lol
Racer
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 458
Likes: 0
From: libby mt.
Re: Rebuilding Wiring Harness? (SharkByte)
the guy that i bought my '77 from had the point of view that if the Vette ran with out it then cut it off and throw it away. there had also been an electrical fire which melted most of the interior wire. I scabbed a wiring harness out of a '77 malibu and rebuilt my wiring harness in my basement. I ended up with the window motors, steering column, starter motor, the dash, headlight etc. in my basement all strung out to the proper length. i would measure what i couldn't haul downstairs and over the winter rebuilt and replaced everything. i haven't had any problems and this was over six years ago.
[Modified by bmar, 1:58 AM 5/2/2004]
[Modified by bmar, 1:58 AM 5/2/2004]
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 9,341
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas Nevada
Re: Rebuilding Wiring Harness? (bmar)
Think I'm going to try it when I get home from the desert:) The worst that could happen is that my electric door locks and cruise still won't work when I'm done :lol:
Pro
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 749
Likes: 0
From: Perth,Western Australia,Australia
Re: Rebuilding Wiring Harness? (SharkByte)
I did it to my car,& it's not really that difficult,if you can use your old harness as a template.I removed the harness & layed it flat on the work bench,bought the different colour wire from a local auto shop,together with connectors & a decent crimping tool,work with one wire ar a time & create a mirror image of the original harness.If you do it right should be as good as a bought one.
Neil.
Neil.
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,426
Likes: 1
From: VetteMOD
St. Jude Donor '05-'07
Re: Rebuilding Wiring Harness? (Fleetwood)
I did it to my car,& it's not really that difficult,if you can use your old harness as a template.I removed the harness & layed it flat on the work bench,bought the different colour wire from a local auto shop,together with connectors & a decent crimping tool,work with one wire ar a time & create a mirror image of the original harness.If you do it right should be as good as a bought one.
Pro
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 749
Likes: 0
From: Perth,Western Australia,Australia
Re: Rebuilding Wiring Harness? (BBShark)
Were you able to get the connector pins at a local auto shop? If you could get a pin extractor and new pins, you should be able to do this.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,131
Likes: 4
From: May help you? You can sure as hell try!
Re: Rebuilding Wiring Harness? (SharkByte)
I rebuilt the harnesses for my '68. It wasn't at all difficult. Most of the connectors are available at better auto parts stores. I used a jewler's screw driver to bend the pin on the terminals just enough to back them out of the connectors. If your '81 has the weathertight type terminals you can use a small diameter piece of brass tubing (many sizes are available at a hobby shop) to bend the pins so that they can be backed out of the connectors. There is also a tool available for these connectors but the tubing works the same for less money. Many restoration supplies (like Eastwood) carry the adhesiveless harness tape. Eastwood also carries a lot of the connectors although GM used some pretty funky looking connectors for some of the ignition and gauges that may be hard to find if yours are broken.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 9,341
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas Nevada
Re: Rebuilding Wiring Harness? (LemansBlue68)
I can create work-arounds for most of the bad, broken or missing connectors. My main problem is that the bottom right corner of my Fuse block is melted and pretty much unrepairable. I haven't been able to find a new one so I was figuring I'd find one out of another car thats about the same size and modify it to work. I've been searching for a while and haven't been able to find a replacement original fuse block...
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Racer
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 458
Likes: 0
From: libby mt.
Re: Rebuilding Wiring Harness? (SharkByte)
if you can find a fuse block out of a junker chevy, the wires can be removed fairly easy. the wire ends have a section you push in and the connection will slide out. my original fuse block/firewall plug had burned also, so they drilled holes thought it and ran new wire. Bill
