Wiring harnesses

Hi folks,

It’s been a long time! I’m looking forward to resuming (restarting) my L112 rebuild and want to start collecting parts. It’ll still be two years until I move back home and have enough space to work on the old truck.

Two questions I couldn’t find answers to within the forums:
1. Do modern harnesses perform any better (last longer/protect the wires better) than a new cloth harness (like the one linked below?)
2. Any alternatives you’ve found to the one below? It’s so expensive! I built one from scratch when I initially started the project (though I’ll admit I don’t trust my high-school self’s work. I had no idea what I was doing. If someone had the wiring schematics/instructions, I might be comfortable enough to wire one now (given a lot more reading on how to do this safely/correctly- I know there are other posts on this site about best practices)

One I’m looking at: https://travelallparts.com/Wiring_Harne ... ess/p17270

Not sure how original you want to stay, but there are some pretty good hot rod kits out there for not a lot of money. https://www.painlessperformance.com/wc/p.php?s=gmcc4 These have the fuses and flasher units incorporated, as well as labeled ports. I have never installed a Painless kit, but everything is color coded, has the appliance name stenciled at regular intervals and most all the bits needed to install. Usually has a pretty good schematic of a generic system. Problems arise as most of these kits assume a modern steering column, but one just has to figure out the work around.

I recently re-wired a small 1950's British sedan with a kit from a different supplier, but it had the same central brain and marked wires. Total install time was 33 hours, but a portion of that was to car show appearance levels. Super clean and uber-orderly, everything perfectly vertical with the screw head markings aligned. Way overkill for what it was, but what the owner wanted. Can't hurt to have a better than factory appearance in the engine bay.

I bought and installed a Painless wire kit in my 1940 Ford. The problem I had was heavy corrosion on the unterminated wire ends. Many of the factory crimped ends were showing corrosion. The corrosion went far up inside the wires. I will have to remove the wiring and replace it all with another brand, like
American Auto Wire. or Ron Francis. I did call the Painless customer service and before I had a chance to totally explain my situation. the trained monkey at Painless customer disservice jumped on me and said this was my fault. While I was quizzing the talking head, he let it slip that they are not able to control the country of origin for the wire they use. Their supplier may have been sourcing product from outside of the USA.
The store where I bought the Painless no longer sells this product because of similar customer complaints.
I am not looking forward to replacing all of this wire because the car is upholstered now. I may not have the choice to replace it all. The car is having electric problems. I am not an amateur at this. I have my Canadian Red Seal Mechanics certificate.
I hope this helps someone make a better decision on their wire kit purchase..

The kit I used was Highway 15 by American Auto wire. A bit more expensive than Painless. Can't speak to the long term viability of any kit, but I have made my own race car harnesses for 30 years without issue. Dry SoCal likely helps.

Customer service often forgets a disappointed customer is never a customer again and likely to share the negative experience. Poor management skills.

My go-to hot rod and restoration shop, The Old Car Center, now sell American Autowire. American Autowire will be my first choice from now on. The shop assures me that they have not had any complaints with AAW. https://www.americanautowire.com/
American Autowire have set up dealers in Canada.
I would like to try the much more expensive Ron Francis Wire kit, but it is not easy to find here. Ron Francis offers a removable fuse center and other easy connect features. https://www.ronfrancis.com/
I like to buy this sort of produce through a dealer versus my importing a kit.
I know it is very important to ask about wire sourcing. The COO can make a big difference in quality and reliability.
The separate wire diagrams for the major components were easier to follow.

I just talked to the knowledgeable sales person at Ron Francis wire. My favorite go-to store, The Old Car Center are now a Ron Francis dealer /distributor.
This is all good news.

I went with the Ron Frances universal 6V kit on my R152. I would do it again.
Dennis

Wow!

Glad to see this forum is still active. Thank you so much!
As I resume my rebuild, I’ll be sure to post pictures.

Cheers,
Nic

I saw the AAW 6 volt kit. The kit looks like it has the good quality of everything from AWW.
I am not a 6 volt person, ever. I ran the OEM 6 volt gauges, in my R120, for several years on 12 volts until they failed. I was on the highway just outside of Banff after midnight when the gauges let the smoke out.
I was visiting the shop where I used to work, 16 years ago. I was told some of the new HYBRED power units were using up to 1000 volts and over 1000 amps. The company requires every person who may be working on these vehicles to have special training, tools and clothing. Gone are the bad old daze of 6V71-"V" drive two speed transmissions and 12 volts.
Detroit Series 50 was the next power unit. Now everything is Cummins powered or assisted.

http://www.riwire.com/

Check out Rhode Island Wiring Service before Travelall Parts.