[FC] Making a Engine Wiring Harness

[Dale K. Dewald]

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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