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Complete Rewire of Comp Truck - TIPS & TRICKS Please
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 6:29 pm
by leehamescort
G'day all,
I'm having electrical dramas with my project 4by as it has a mass of hideous wiring, glass fuses, all aftermarket guages and dash etc. The wiring has been added onto too many times by the previous owner and is now a total mess with several issues. Whats left of the original wiring is 37 years old so is pretty well passed it.
REWIRE ENTIRE CAR - is the new plan.
Any tips and tricks to making the new setup ultra reliable.
Recomendations:
Fuseboxes?
Switches?
Relays?
Wiring tricks?
Waterproofing?
Connectors?
Wiring (labeling/colours etc for easier fault finding?)
I've wired a couple of rallycars basically from scratch (standard loom for indicators, dash etc) so am confident to do it myself.
Anyone used a universal loom like these? Thoughts?
https://www.americanautos.com.au/cgi-bi ... tion=10110
Thanks for any help.
cheers
Leeham
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:13 am
by stuee
The only problem with the painless wiring looms is that they appear to be suited towards a street car and not an off road car. There doesn't seem to be any waterproofing or protection against the elements.
If you've done rewiring before then you should be able to tackle it easily. Just make diagrams up as you go of what wires are what so if you ever have to fix it or sell it on people know whats going on. I guess common sense applies to waterproofing and protection of wiring. Keep them high up and out the way. For my engine bay fuse box that I made up I sourced an IP-65 rated instrument box to house the fuses and relays so its pretty much waterproof.
Take it nice and slow too. I've not seen one rush wiring job that looks good. I'm pushing a mate to rewire his HQ completely too. We did the headlights and thermos but the rest of the wiring inside the car is a joke (glass fuses and a real spaghetti loom). But a painless wiring kit is much more suitable for his purposes than yours.
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 11:22 am
by -Nemesis-
stuee wrote:
Take it nice and slow too. I've not seen one rush wiring job that looks good.
I can vouch for that! Am about to 'tidy' mine for the 3rd time, but this time do it properly.
Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 2:42 pm
by chimpboy
I am using an engine bay fuse panel from a VN-VP commo, which is easy to get from a pick-a-part. It holds fuses, fusible links, and relays. I feel it is better than any of the aftermarket stuff I've seen. I started by mounting this close to the battery.
I think you would kinda want to grab a whole loom from some wreck to have a lot of different coloured wires to work with; I have one from a Discovery that I'm chopping up to use along with the original wiring.
As said, you MUST make a good drawing of all your work.
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:56 pm
by MART
I used carling switches on all my accessories , $11 dollars each , Cheers Paul.
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:38 pm
by AndrewT
I'm half way thru wiring a winch challenge truck from the ground up and i'm startin to with I never started. The main thing to remember is our trucks get smacked into trees, driven on rough surfaces so all your connections have to be A1. Keep all the unessential stuff like wipers, blinkers hazards etc from the orignal loom. I dont like spade lug/terminals like a lot of the automotive fuse blocks use. The lugs loose their tension after a while and can cause burnt connections on high amperage circuits and give intermittant connections if supplying ECU power. Solder connections where possible and use nylock nuts on bolted lugs etc Avoid voltage drop by using correct size cable, go bigger if not sure. Make sure you draw up circuit diagrams and include as much info as possible, saves headaches later. IP 56 rated electrical enclosures (NHP or clipsal)are the easiest to mount gear in and you can get mounting plates to suit.Hella gear is the best ive found.
cheers a.t
Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:09 am
by +dj_hansen+
Narva make some nice waterproof connectors, 2 pole only i think, and there are the super expensive deutsch plugs.
I dare say jay-dee auto cables would be a good place to have a browse.
http://www.hotfrog.com.au/Companies/Jay-Dee-Auto-Cables
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 3:00 pm
by Jeff80
x2. These guys are great. Ive bought a fair bit over the years from them, and reasonably priced too...
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 5:12 pm
by nicbeer
Cass Jones new Comp rig as just competed in west oz challenge
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 6:17 pm
by outback_pootrol
perfect example of not what you know but which scruiteneer you buy grog for, no dash at all, thats way way overkill i think, but friggin awsome in a way
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 7:15 pm
by money_killer
ugly but its only a comp truck i guess
Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 5:21 pm
by outback_pootrol
have you got a link or something to view more pics of cass's truck
Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 1:03 pm
by nicbeer
outback_pootrol wrote:have you got a link or something to view more pics of cass's truck
Nah i dont.
theres a couple pics of it in events under west oz challenge
6ltr turbo intercooled
kings tripple bypass in front
double kings in rear
midmount winch
37s on walker evans
hellas all round
Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 5:17 pm
by Dirty
Is that a can of nylon ties attached to the drivers door roll cage bar, in front of the seat?
- David.
Posted: Sat May 02, 2009 3:00 pm
by nicbeer
Dirty wrote:Is that a can of nylon ties attached to the drivers door roll cage bar, in front of the seat?
- David.
ha ha nah they were wiring the roof lights when i was doing the pics.