Wiring Harness

[ezyrama]

Evening All

Now I have "Ralph" tucked away in the shed at work (the clutch guy near me wasnt interested in repairing it,so I'll have a go myself) I have spent this afternoon checking out the wiring in him and rewired the headlights and parkers etc, I have found a lot of brittle and corroded wiring (like in my old minimoke)so I am thinking of replacing the wiring harness. I found one on here somewhere for about $400.00 so my question is this: Is it a major to do with most of the car intact or is it not too bad. It doesnt look like it would be too bad as it's a pretty simple circuit really?

Cheers Ian

[JDNSW]

I think you are asking how big a job is replacing the wiring harness (not how big a job is it to make one).

I have not actually replaced one a a stand alone job, but I have done most of the bits at one time or another.

It is a fairly fiddly job, as there are quite a lot of connections to be undone and redone, but the actual removal and replacement of the main harness is not that much work. You should plan on replacing all the grommets that wires go through - most of them will not be in good shape, and in any case it is a lot easier to replace them with the harness out. If you have all the grommets, wiring etc and a blown up wiring diagram to check connections, and are not doing anything else such as painting behind the wires, refurbishing instruments etc, you should be able to do it all in one day.

Before going ahead, I would think about wiring changes you might want to make, and incorporate them as you go. Some of the changes you might want to make include :-

More fuses
Headlight relays
Alternator to replace generator
Driving lights
Reversing light
Interior light
Radios
Second battery
Tachometer
Power socket(s)

Even if not making these changes at the time, you might want to provide for them.

John

[ezyrama]

Thanks John
I want to replace the harness, as there is a lot of extra wiring in "Ralph" that doesnt belong there. I will want to add a few things but there is a row of switches in front of the steering wheel that look crappy and so many connectors with join after join, so I want to tidy it up and make it look good again. I did read somewhere that the harness'
available are made with the original rubber and cloth wiring, are these all that's available and if so are they ok to use?

thanks Ian

[chazza]

I did read somewhere that the harness'
available are made with the original rubber and cloth wiring, are these all that's available and if so are they ok to use?

thanks Ian

You may be thinking of the excellent reproduction harnesses available from a variety of companies that use pvc insulation covered in a braid to simulate the original cloth covering. Rubber is not used as the wire coating anymore.

Well worth the money - my S1 harness cost $440,

Cheers Charlie

[JDNSW]

As Charlie says, these are quite OK to use. It is quite possible to make your own harness, but you will find it very difficult to match the original appearance - it is also hard to find wires to match all the original colours, particularly in the small quantities that you need. And it would be quite a lot of work!

John

[ezyrama]

Hi Charlie, Where did you get your harness from, I contacted one crowd in Melbourne and they want $600 + for one.
Thanks Ian

[chazza]

Hi Charlie, Where did you get your harness from, I contacted one crowd in Melbourne and they want $600 + for one.
Thanks Ian

Vintage Wiring Harness in NSW

Vintage Wiring Harness - High Quality Replacement Automotive Wiring Harnesses

Cheers Charlie

[Dinty]

G'day All, Vinwire has been sold to a chap in Victoria about 2-3 years ago, I don't know whether this was the person you contacted or not, but the last S2A 109 harness I bought from them cost approx $400.00 and it is a 1st class product cheers Dennis

[ezyrama]

Thanks Guys
Got one on the way. $411.00
Cheers Ian