The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 58-59 Wiring harness

Has anyone tried to build their own wiring harness? If so are there any web sites that list wire size, colors, lenths of each wire and type of fittings?

I am not as much interested in factory accuracy for judging. I am more interested in correctness and functionallity.

Yah, I am retired and have toooooooooo much time on my hands.

Bob

Hy JD Bob, I'm a retired mechanic, not a computer guy, but I have never seen, or heard of a website that gives the lengths of each wire and the type of terminals used. As for the colours, they are in the shop manual. As to the colours, I had to make a harness from scratch for a big Diamond T, and when I went to order wire I found out you can't buy all the colours you want over the counter, hope that helps.

I'd get a shop manual and look at the wiring diagram. It should show wire colors, and guages. As to the length and type of connector, that's going to be pretty obvious as you look at where it goes and what it connects to.

Bob,

I wired my '51 but I didn't build a harness in the strict sense of the word. It sounds like you want to layout a harness on a piece of plywood or something, string and wrap the wires, attach the terminals and stick the whole enchilada into the truck.

Wiring the truck one piece at a time, in situ, is also practical and can give very professional looking results plus it's easier than you might think.

Every wire has a 'from' location and a 'to' destination and there really aren't that many when you sit down and look at a wiring diagram. If you are trying to be factory correct then this might not be for you.

All wire sizes are available in modern insulation's and crimp on terminal ends are abundant. A factory wiring diagram will give you proper wire gauge or you can figure it out from the rated load of the circuit. If you take this task a single bite at a time it isn't daunting at all. Good luck.

Stuart

Thanks to all.

Stuart: My guess is that over the years my truck has had electrical and wiring work done to it. The fuse block is labeled with duck tape. when I bought the truck it had a 350 engine. I am putting back in a 235. The truck also has some under dash gauges, so there is wiring for them. I plan to use the original dash gauges.

Question: In taking your approach would you pull out everything and start from scratch using the manual and wiring diagram? Or would you take one wire, trace its path, dermine if it is original and replace accoding to manual and diagram?

Thanks in advance.

Bob

Bob,

Your restoration idea sounds admirable. Personally, I would tear out all the wiring and tack on gauges, install any new or refurbished gauges and start from scratch. If you aren't comfortable with wiring, this may not be your best bet.

With a clear wiring diagram in hand, a new wire can be run FROM a gauge or device TO another location. You can make your own diagram complete with proper wire size, start and end points of that wire and check each one off as you complete it.

You might have some questions but if you take this one wire at a time and follow a plan you will be down to the last wire before you know it.

Does the stock fuse block have wire terminations on the back that are replaceable...I thought they were factory staked in place. These are the things you will need to figure out first.

There are lots of people on the forum that have used aftermarket factory correct harnesses you purchase and stick in so this wouldn't be out of the question. It all boils down to your comfort zone, finances and the urge to DIY. Good luck.

Stuart

Bob,
On EBAY (ClassicCarWiring.com), I found these great laminated large color coded wiring diagrams that are precise, easy to read and useful when working on the wiring. When I got my brand new reproduction stock harness for my 59 it matches the colors on the laminated diagram. Measures 11x17. I bought one for my truck, my old Pontiac and my old MGB. They are inexpensive and work great for me.

The stock harness in my 59 is fairly simple and I could see how a handy, patient, organized person could put one together with the right color and sized wires, but I would be hospitalized if I tried......

Ralph

Stuart and Ralph: Thanks for input. I will look into both before deciding. (Yes I like the idea of saving money for other unknows in this project. I am also a sick-o that likes to put myself to a challange. My carrer background is sales but I taught myself hydraulics to the point I was an instructor for a JD. But electricity make absolutely no sense to me, especially electronics. With the 58 being electrical maybe I can learn a little something.)

Stuart: In your last reply you asked "...Does the stock fuse block have wire terminations on the back that are replaceable..."

1. Where was the stock fuse block originally located? My current fuse block is mounted to the fire wall under the dash above left foot. It looks like a recent replacement because it is much cleaner than area around it and wires identified with duct tape tabs.

2. Please exlpain '...wire terminations...'. Are you just talking about the ends of the wires coming into the back of the fuse block vs. on the front and held in place with screw clamps?

That made me chuckle as I easily get confused working with electricity! I've always refered to hydraulics to help me see the big picture of what I'm doing. The battery being the hydraulic pump, and ground wires all of the return lines to the hydraulic reservoir.

Bob,

I could be all wet here as I'm not real familiar with a '58 and may have the wrong picture in my head. I visualized the wires being factory staked with rivet type deals onto the back of the fuse block. I thought all the wires exited from the rear and only the fuses and fuse holders were visible from the front.

My point was that if it isn't a device where you can attach new wires conveniently to the fuse holders, then you have to clip the factory attached wires and splice your new wires onto those! This gets things cluttered and isn't clean looking.

This might be much ado about nothing. If you have screw attachments or push on connectors, you're home free. Sorry for confusing the issue.

Stuart

TF fuse panel ... note spade connectors for each fuse position ... not always present depending on optional equipment installed, but it IS mounted above the drivers left foot when present, in a cutout in the dash pad

Bill

Bob,

There you go! Bill's picture is better than my speculations. Thanks Bill.

Stuart

Bill and Stuart. Thanks for picture. This shows me that the fuse block on my 58 is an aftermarket installation. It also confirms my thoughts to just re-wire the truck from scratch rather than try to straighten out the snake pit of wires from 50 years of use and modifications.

Bob

Bob - you can get the correct fuse panel from the vendors, like American Classic, yours was likely one of the many that didn't originally have one, can't fault someone for adding one!! .... but it's always worth a total re-wire on a truck that's been hashed

Bill

razman57

looks like a cooool setup on the diagram. 3 complaints in 3183 orders (ebay feedback)means he is doing something right. I put it in my favorites for mid 2010 time line to expect to need wiring.

Thanks
Brad

Ralph,
Where did you get you stock reproduction 59 wiring harness and have you installed it yet. I need to buy one but want one that is very close to original. I'm hoping to get my cab back from body shop in the next two weeks and want to start putting things back together.
Thanks
Brian M

If you are not worried about judging correctness, then you can use all white wire. There is a machine out there that will number your white wire at 1" interavals. You can then make your own wiring diag. using numbers instead of colors. This is how they wire motorhomes at the local Foretravel factory.