Neat wiring/ loom - Any tips/ show us how it should be done.

[Deanodynosaurs]

Hi all,

I done my wiring ages ago, and it all works, but in the process of trying to tidy it up. It’s not too bad I’d just like to get it really tidy.

At the moment it temporarily held together with cable ties (thats zip ties in American!), but planning to wrap it in looming cloth. Just looks like it’s gonna be a pain in the arse behind the speedo/ in the fuse box area, especially as I’m running 5 additional gauges, and numerous electrical systems!! 

So is there any advice you got for me?, or any pictures of nice and tidy looms you’ve done. :-)

Cheers loungers,

Dude 

[AntLockyer]

If you have built the loom and just not wrapped it should be fairly straightforward to disconnect everything and wrap. The difficulty comes if you didn't build it with the intention of wrapping it.

When I used to do this stuff we would plan main runs of loom and then have jump off points for things that needed to come off. sort of like a tree with a trunk and branches.

Use non adhesive tape, use a consistent direction and overlap and finish the ends well with self amalgamating tape/heatshrink.

[SCOTTP]

When I worked for Ma Bell, I wired up lots of equipment in the central offices. For wiring bundles we used a nine ply waxed cotton string. It makes great looking bundles and lasts forever. It's a chain lace that you can start and stop anywhere you choose.

ScottP

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[Donny B.]

When I started at Sperry back in '66 I was tasked with building wiring harnesses for black boxes.  We used dacron lacing tape.  That is what it was called.  Do a search for dacron Lacing tape and you will find what I am talking about.  Like above we laced the harness using a running lock stitch then finished with a clove hitch secured with a square not.  This is what was used in commercial aircraft in the 60s.  make sure that the wires do not cross over one another.  You should be able to trace each wire the entire length of the harness.  It makes the end result look very neat.  The dacron tape (it's called tape because it is flat rather than round like string) is very strong and comes in various strength such as 5 lb. and 10 lb. and 25 lb.  Use different strengths depending on the diameter of the wire bundle.  Hope this helps...

[hotrodsurplus]

When I worked for Ma Bell, I wired up lots of equipment in the central offices. For wiring bundles we used a nine ply waxed cotton string. It makes great looking bundles and lasts forever. It's a chain lace that you can start and stop anywhere you choose.

A friend of mine has a channeled '32 Ford standard coupe that was built in the late '50s and raced well into the '60s. All of the wiring was laced the exact same way and a testimony to the method is that it's all still intact.

On some of my period wiring jobs I use waxed linen cord (the common name for it) to insulate terminal barrels (shrink wrap is out of place on a '40s or '50s build). Once I wrap the barrels I coat the thread with Q-dope. You can buy Q-dope but you can also make it yourself by dissolving Styrofoam in acetone. It dries to a smooth and hard shell--Q-dope is the stuff they use to seal transformer coils. Most craft shops carry four-ply waxed-linen cord. That method was used extensively on aircraft and racecars from at least the '30s through at least the late '50s.

[j-f]

, especially as I’m running 5 additional gauges, and numerous electrical systems!! 

I use electrical trailer cable to wire my additional gauges. They are 7 wires that are color coded.Easy and reliable.

With this type of connector to the engine.


Maybe not show car level, but very practical. 

[DWL_Puavo]

We use exactly the same wire and connectors than j-f in our race car. Ugly-practical-reliable. Although one 7-wire loom is not enough already, have to wire up another one now that we're moving away from carbs. Supposedly the new wiring is made with different connector, just to be sure no-one can cross-connect them.

The engine part of the wiring is made more neatly with shrink tubings and hockey stick blade adhesive tape for the modern stock looks.

[Deanodynosaurs]

Thank you all for the information on this, really appreciated.

Ant - I had always intended to wrap it, but it took me a fair while to wire in all the systems, as i put them in as i went along, and in places it got a bit messy. I wish in hind sight i had drawn the whole diagram, then wired it in one go. However, i did have a go at tidying one part behind the dash last night, and managed to get it a bit neater. Hopefully i can get the rest a bit better too.

Scott P and Donny B - Chain lacing with wax string and or using Dacron tape looks pretty cool, and deffo retro for a older car. If i end up redoing the loom i might actually do this. However, sadly at present i dont think the wires run straight enough not to be hid by wrapping. Its deffo something i will use when i redo the loom on my other bug.

DWL_Puavo & j-f - In hiundsight i wish i had used multi colour wires, fault are so difficult to trace!!   However, i'm stuck at present with the all black wiring. I might though as you suggest put multi connectors for each gauge, so that its simply a case of unplugging them for each.

Anyway to show you what i'm up against, here's the loom as it is at present:



I tried to tidy this bit up a bit last night, and am hoping once its wrapped it will look ok:



However, this bits pretty bird nesty at present and i'm hoping i can straighten it out a bit and add multi point connectors for the gagues:





I'll see how i looks once its been tidied up/ wrapped. I might just redo it all again once the bodies painted if i'm not happy.

Dude  

[AntLockyer]

I've seen people pay for a lot worse. 

[rick m]

Just curious why the wiring was not color coded or done so it was easier to trouble shoot in the future?

RM

[Deanodynosaurs]

Just curious why the wiring was not color coded or done so it was easier to trouble shoot in the future?

RM

I did it originally because i thought a single colour of wiring would look neater.

However, in hindsight, i wish i had done it in a diffrent colours, as it really is difficult to trace when theres a fault. I didnt really appreciate all the systems i'd be adding, and all the additional wiring they'd require, which contributed to it looking a bit messy as it developed.

I've now drawn a complete wiring diagram of the whole car, and theres about 3 times the wiring than would be in a standard 58!! 

Dude 

[Deanodynosaurs]

Here the standard wiring compared to what i've fitted!!



Dude 

[Donny B.]

Yeah, when I did my '66 I thought all black wiring would really be cool.  What an idiot.  That was over 15 years ago and now I don't have a clue.  I am getting ready do redo the whole thing with a modern harness.  At least I will be able to figure it out when I have an issue.  

[Deanodynosaurs]

Yeah, when I did my '66 I thought all black wiring would really be cool.  What an idiot.  That was over 15 years ago and now I don't have a clue.  I am getting ready do redo the whole thing with a modern harness.  At least I will be able to figure it out when I have an issue.  

If i re-did my loom i'd do the same.

Additionally i'd also draw my entire wiring diagram before, mark all the colours of the wires, and work out the route its going to run through the car so that it could be easily installed/ removed.

Oh, and something i've actualy done, but I'd also add additional 'spare' wires from front to back, for the systems your going to add in the future, but havent thought of yet!! 

Dude 

[richie]

Neil
 
I use a "braided" style cover and it would work well on your wiring,it is split along its length and you can pull it open,slide it over  and it closes back on itself with its own tension,it comes in 3 different diameters, so were you have a group of wires going in a different direction you can split it off there with the smaller size,where possible I use a small piece of heatshrink to seal the end 

cheers richie

[Deanodynosaurs]

Neil
 
I use a "braided" style cover and it would work well on your wiring,it is split along its length and you can pull it open,slide it over  and it closes back on itself with its own tension,it comes in 3 different diameters, so were you have a group of wires going in a different direction you can split it off there with the smaller size,where possible I use a small piece of heatshrink to seal the end 

cheers richie

Hi Richie,

That stuff look great if i'm honest, and it might be a very easy solution to covering my wiring in situ.

Even found a source for it here in the UK. http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/VWP-onlinestore/sleeving/sleeving.php#twistwrap

Cheers,

Dude 

[Kaferdog]

And Painless has this handy tool...!


http://www.jegs.com/i/Painless+Performance+Products/764/70941/10002/-1

[hotrodsurplus]

IF you want a good performing system that will accommodate your needs and grow as they change and IF you don't need to preserve the stock appearances then invest in a high-quality harness that uses wire insulated with cross-linked jacketing.

Old-standard wire jacketing is vinyl, specifically PVC. The industry refers to wire jacketed with PVC as GPT.

The better jacketing is actually made from cross-linked polyethylene. It is commonly referred to by three names depending on jacket thickness: TXL has the thinnest jacket, SXL has a medium-thickness jacket, and GXL has the thickest jacket. There's another called SGX but that's largely for big cables and not common in kits.

XL wire has a bunch of advantages. GPT is sort of pliable when new yet hardens with age. XL wire is very soft and stays that way for life. GPT is rather thick; some XL wire is considerably smaller depending on jacket style. GPT melts even if briefly exposed to 105C; XL can handle 125C all day long. GPT chafes easily; XL is very abrasion resistant. Since GPT is an 'economy' wire it typically has very coarse strands which are stiffer. Most XL-series wires have finer, more pliable strands. It's also easier to get an air-tight crimp when using thinner strands.

Convince yourself to spend a bit more money than you expected on a wiring system. It will be with the car for life and it's quite labor intensive to install properly. Always get a panel with more circuits than you think you need. Otherwise you will have to add a sub panel to install accessories down the road.

I have installed Painless, Ron Francis, American Autowire, Haywire, and EZ Wiring. They all use XL wire and it's all about the same. The critical difference is in the panels. The EZ Wire kit was very inexpensive but the panel was a bit cheesy. It did the job but it didn't inspire confidence. The wires were also pre-terminated at the panel making it slightly tougher to install. Painless is consistently good and the customer support is excellent. Painless prices are also competitive The panels range from tiny to standard size, and while they come pre-terminated they're pretty solid. The Haywire kit that I have uses a GM-style panel inside a custom-made metal box. It's high quality and very affordable but also quite large. The cool thing is that the whole panel disconnects from the harness for service if necessary. The American Autowire panels are really good but I only installed a very large system so I can't vouch for the smaller ones.

My favorites are Centech and Ron Francis. The Centech panel that I have in my roadster is quite small yet it has the flasher, hazard, and horn circuit built right in. The wires attach at screw terminals along the sides. You attach only the wires you need. The wires attach the same way on the Ron Francis kits but the one I had the wires entered on like three sides. This was close to 20 years ago, though, so things have probably changed.

In another life I shrink-wrapped every branch. Now I use the split loom that Richie showed and shrink the ends. I love it.

Oh yeah, most of the manufacturers follow the GM color code to make troubleshooting easier. They also print the circuit function along the wire. Some are better printed than others so order samples to make an informed decision. Also, choose a vendor who will make the engine-function wires extra long. Also go ahead and buy the wires you'll need to run gauges even if you don't need them right now. 

[Fritter]

Why not just call Wiring Works and buy a stock reproduction harness?   

[Bendik]

Slightly off topic; I am going to rewire my 53 Oval which is an empty shell at the moment. I bought a reproduction harness from Aircooled. net. I wont be running a heck of a lot of extra stuff, but of course I have my oil pressure, oil temp and rev counter extra. Would I be better off adding to what I have or should I get an aftermarket one from the suppliers hotrod surplus is mentioning? And what about fuse panel, will i be better of using a more modern one?

I will be adding a connector for the engine wires like the ones shown in pictures in this thread.