I wish someone here or another site would make a complete harness and sell them for our G-Body cars....But that's much work and there are so many other things with our cars as there are so many different modifications made to them, that's what makes it fun.Our cars aren't getting any younger though 🙂
RE-DONE ELECTRICAL
- Thread starter stevenc8337
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Yea I know. I was saying to myself the other day that I can't believe my car is 32 years old. I remember as a kid seeing these cars everywhere. I also want to re-do my lights and wiring
I wish they still were...82wagonkid said:
Went to my uncles salvage yesterday to try to snag some goodies... he had 1 g body... ONE... I remember when I would go with my brother to snag parts for his there was at least 50... made me sad..
Rewiring the entire car is no small job. I am a retired mobile electronics installer (8 years). I've done my buddy's 85 Mustang (partial) and recently did a pro-touring 69 Camaro (complete). http://realoldspower.prophpbb.com/topic3806.html
It's pretty hard to make a harness for a GBody (reproduction wise) different options from all the different years/make would be a little difficult.
You could get your own fuse panel, buy your own wire, terminals , crimp tools and got to work. Thing is though some of the connector bodies used for the terminals are hard to find or are no longer being produced.
You can go the painless route like mentioned, then anything it dosent replace you can replace it yourself. Get familiar with diagrams, how to size wire, get familiar with all the different terminals used and get the correct crimp tool(most expensive part) that match each terminal, there is no one crimper that crimps all...sorry.
Not another solder vs crimp debate but both work when properly done or proper tool and quality terminals being used. I laugh when people say they don't use crimp splices because they fail etc etc, but you do realize that the wire you are splicing has a crimped terminal on each end of that wire correct? Lol stop using those crap all in one crimper/wire strippers.
I'm all for both, when properly done.
You could get your own fuse panel, buy your own wire, terminals , crimp tools and got to work. Thing is though some of the connector bodies used for the terminals are hard to find or are no longer being produced.
You can go the painless route like mentioned, then anything it dosent replace you can replace it yourself. Get familiar with diagrams, how to size wire, get familiar with all the different terminals used and get the correct crimp tool(most expensive part) that match each terminal, there is no one crimper that crimps all...sorry.
Not another solder vs crimp debate but both work when properly done or proper tool and quality terminals being used. I laugh when people say they don't use crimp splices because they fail etc etc, but you do realize that the wire you are splicing has a crimped terminal on each end of that wire correct? Lol stop using those crap all in one crimper/wire strippers.
I'm all for both, when properly done.
RELL88SS said:
X2 all the way. Plus PATIENCE is your friend when wiring. The factory harness can be rebuilt with new wires. It just takes time, patience, and proper tools. Once your done you'll know your car back and forth. Will you ever want to do it again? Absolutely not!!!
If your not patient, save up for the Painless kit. It's a bargain at under $500 bucks.
T
RELL88SS said:
First off not bashing on crimps or anyone...
Since you asked, when I redo wiring there are NO crimp only connectors. All ends that need a crimped connector are crimped w/ proper tool and then soldered also. I will fully agree with you that if a person had all the proper tools and the training to properly crimp then yes it can be reliable. Problem is 98% of all wire jobs are not done w/ proper tool or technique, whereas soldering is easier for an amateur wirier to guarantee a safe wire job. I have seen my sad share of Car-B-Q's because of faulty wiring.
Wiring a complete car is a BIG job and a person needs to take the time to understand what is needed before undertaking or find someone who is qualified. I'm very particular when it comes to wiring because as I said I have seen a few lose their car or severely damage it with wiring faults, shorts, fires. I can't count how many audio amp jobs I have had to fix over the years for my kids friends because poorly done.
Bottom line new wiring in our cars is a great investment. It eliminates countless glitches, quirks. The other added benefit is the new wire system is better able to accept and handle all the modern electronics and upgrades we like to add to our cars.
CWPottenger said:
I have too but, the crimping is the route most taken. we old school wiring guys (among other old school types) are fazing out and the new kids are being sold junk with little to no training. A proper connection is a art form whether it be Crimp, Solder, or both.
When done right it's a beautiful sight. And I know we all agree on that.
T
CWPottenger said:
Not sure if you are saying that YOU solder every crimp connection or if you are saying every crimp connection on a vehicle is soldered from factory?
Either way is good, but again with the proper tool, soldering is not needed and I will post pics of an example below.
I will also say this, I just got done rewiring a complete LS engine harness to work with my car. Not one crimp on the factory harness is soldered. I also went through a lot of bad wiring and few hacked head light wiring on my Monte. While a few terminals were crimped and soldered(mostly the ground terminals and the multi wire splices) a good majority of terminals wasn't tinned.
Don't know what training is needed with crimp tools though :lol: , its literally idiot proof
which is why I believe most car manufactures require no soldering, I think it just comes down to the money not that soldering is "unreliable" It just much cheaper to hand a tech a crimper and terminals and send them on their way then it its to train them on proper soldering, Crimping is just also much faster as well(less man hours spent on a car)Reason I usually will not suggest someone to solder is because not everyone knows how or will take the time to research how, seen too many people try and melt the solder into the wire with the tip when they should be holding the tip under the wire and heating it and then feeding the solder into the wire from up top. Even argued with my brother once when he was in school and his teacher told them to use the tip to melt the solder onto the wire
Cold solder joints in the making.This here is a great tool for anyone to have. Its the same crimp frame as the Wiha or Pressmaster one its just offered under waytek. I suggest anyone pick it up.
Crimp Frame just $43.00
http://www.waytekwire.com/item/560/CRIM ... HANGEABLE/
Then they have various interchangeable dies.
They have interchangeable dies for
*non insulated terminals- just ordered it and will be here Friday
*open barrel terminals- own it, haven't put to use yet
*those common plastic red/blue/yellow terminals
*dies for heat shrink terminals- Have both and they do a great job
*weather pack- I own the die but havent tested it yet to see how well it crimp the wire and the weather seal
*metri-pack- will pick this one up soon.
http://www.waytekwire.com/products/1444/Crimpers/&pg=6
All made in Sweden like the Wiha dies, their same ones just MUCH cheaper through waytek. Dies are well machined unlike crappy Made In china dies for other tools I have seen.
Ive used the heat shrink die and pulled on the wire, the wire snapped before the crimp failed and this was without shrinking the terminal. So imaging shrinking it, wire will be in there for a LONG time before it ever fails.
Now back to the crimping and soldering every terminal.
Here is a IMO shitty crimp tool for a few different GM terminals
And here is a decently better tool, ratcheting and makes just about same quality crimp everytime. No guess work with if you think you crimped it good enough or not. However this is considered a "REPAIR" tool and it is recommended that you solder the connection afterwards.
Here is a production type quality crimper that does not require soldering, I havent been through the full catalog but I know they dont make a crimp die for some of the older GM terminals so you would have to use the previous crimp tool.
Looks similar to this.
Here are some pictures of the Rennsteig crimp tool and the Delphi repair tool.
Top terminal with red seal is with a repair tool(will require solder)
Bottom terminal with white seal is with production crimper (requires no solder)
You can see how good and bad both of the wings were folded over and crimped down onto the wire between the two.
Another look
Link to source of images- http://www.eficonnection.com/eficonnect ... ality.aspx
the Crimp frame itself is $120 give or take, the crimp dies are $250-$400 each and there are a lot of different terminals out there so you add it up.
A lot of people that sell custom LS engine harnesses charge alot because some use these tools, and other use the tool about with the blue handle and sometimes dont even solder afterward. Which would you rather have used with your harness?
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