The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Best and Easiest Wiring Harness

Does anyone have any suggestions on what brand wiring harness to buy? I'm ready to install a 12 volt conversion on my 1953 1/2 ton. I'm looking for something with very good and easy instructions since I have never done this before. That is more important than the price. I am looking at Painless, American Autowire, and others but not sure which one has the best quality and ease of installation. I realize those may not go hand in hand. Thanks for your help.

Painless gets my vote. Good quality, easy to follow instructions, and great customer service guys when you get stuck on something.

I agree. Painless. There are others though. You can get a good price through Summit Racing. I'm putting a Painless harness in my 54 in about four months from now. The kit is Part Number 10104 and is a 12 Circuit Pickup Harness with a non GM Keyed Column. If you are going totally stock check with Summit and they will tell you if another harness will be more fitting for you.

I used Hot Rod Wires 12 circuit harness in my '56 and I bought another to put in my '54 pickup.

A lot cheaper than Painless and bigger wires where it counts. Very good instructions.

I bought a Painless harness from a guy who had given up on his project. I considered using it on my pickup but after looking it over, I sold it at a swap meet and bought another Hot Rod Wires Harness.

i used "Ron Francis wiring"...great kit and super customer support

I purchased a 8 circuit generic kit from Rebel Wire. It is marked every 6" which should make easier to install. No I haven't installed yet. Glenn, the owner, was very customer friendly and gives a discount to Bolters. Have fun and good luck
Dan

Thanks guys, I'll check them out.

I just bought one of these form EZ Wire at a swapmeet for $160. I also havn't put it in yet, but it looks to be well made and has a nice fat instruction manual and adapters for various fittings etc. By far one of teh cheapest ones I found, but seems to be well made.

http://www.ezwiring.com/wiring_harness.html

Theres a tech article by a guy that put one in his truck here:

http://alanhorvath.com/54chevy/ezwire_day1.php

This article is agreat step by step and actually gave me teh nerve to do this myself....

Hope that helps.

Keep an eye on E Bay for a name brand kit - can usually save some decent $$ there.

Hey guys, you need to at least check out the 'Black Box' panel from Enos Custom Components, first cabin quality and only $150.
I got to know these guys from our big Jan. swap meet some years ago. What really impressed me is that they custom design each panel/kit to the customer's vehicle. They had me fill out this complete questionare about my car, then the system arrived with pages of drawings and instructions just for my installation. Also they keep a file of their panels and customers so when you call with a question they can pull up your file and know exactly what's involved with your system. Check them out.
http://www.enoscustom.com/blackbox.html

I used a Ron Francis Kit. It couldn't have been easier, with very good instructions and a super tech support if there are problems. By the way, I had never done any wiring before and everything works!

Has anyone tried a harness from kwikwire?

Please Start a new post and ask about harnesses. This old post may not be viable.