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Anyone used an EZ wiring kit?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by rustynewyorker, Sep 30, 2005.

  1. I send everything Text and photos) out to Utah and Jim's cuttin' and pastin' it together, now.
     

  2. I sent the text and photos out to Utah a few months ago and Jim's putting the stuff together into "book" form. Just waiting for the proofs to come back so we can get it out on the streets and the royalty checks can start comin' in.
     
  3. kermit
    Joined: Feb 26, 2006
    Posts: 197

    kermit
    Member
    from WI

    I installed two EZ 21 circiut kits in the past 3 years and noted the following problems:

    My first kit in a 27 ford had a major power line installed by EZ wire in the wrong slot on the fuse block. Fortunately Route 66 Streetrod parts in St Louis, the seller, was able to help me out -NICE GUYS!!!. Three years and 22,000 miles later the kit is experiencing loose ends.

    The second EZ wire kit I soldered all the ends and shrink tubed them. I did this because I saw some loose strands of wire at the crimps. So far no problems.

    My '32 ford 5 window is getting a KWIK Wire kit. Gary is the best!!! Without question!!!. They know their shit. Period. I went to their shop in Wisconsin before I bought and they are first class. It is honestly made by humans in the USA, not some Shankisheck shit. No regrets.

    So let's see if I got this correct....You invest $20G's building a nice ride and now you want to gamble another $50-$80 dollars savings on the MOST important part of your ride - the wiring. I think NOT. Give Gary a call you will not be disappointed. Nuf said.

    Kermit:D
     
  4. Gator
    Joined: Dec 29, 2005
    Posts: 4,016

    Gator
    Member

    I've always done my own miring in the past. When I traded my Model A to 51Fordshoebox for his 46 Ford it had a 'it's a snap' harness bolted to he firewall. I think it's a lower priced unit, and is the 21 circuit unit with minifuses like you described.

    All the wiring was color coded and marked, and nicely split into sections (lights, chassis, dash) It was so easy I won't ever do another from scratch. Like you said, it would be hard to buy the stuff for what they sell for.
     
  5. 51fordshoebox
    Joined: Aug 17, 2004
    Posts: 927

    51fordshoebox
    Member

    yeah i think i paid like 125.oo for that harness, from its an snap..i will definately be doing another one in the coupe.
     
  6. tomslik
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 2,161

    tomslik
    Member



    skip, keep us posted ok?
    did i mention i HATE wiring?
     
  7. bcarlson
    Joined: Jul 21, 2005
    Posts: 935

    bcarlson
    Member

    What he said! :)

    Ben
     
  8. 32barnchevy
    Joined: Mar 2, 2020
    Posts: 1

    32barnchevy

    I got my EZ harness a while ago
    Most importantly -it does not say to create a separate structure under dash to keep wires from sagging down and allowing more options for running wires by car segment-front-back dash etc. made mine from 1/2 inch aluminum tubing
    I had to learn this the hard way. I like to keep colors visible under dash

    First -the manual was very poor
    second the wire markings all sloughed off
    Had to ask for a separate picture of the front of fuse panel
    front did not show wire color
    There was no chart showing fuse name-wire color-wire size- etc all in one place
    the old manual did not include enough supplemental information-like turn signals run through parking lights
    Too damn many wires that are just blank red
    too few wire colors
    Put fuse panel on Passenger side-no room on driver side-Then most wires are too short
    Don't mount the panel directly to the firewall- I created a standoff using a couple lengths of 1/4 inch threaded rod and stop nuts to adjust standoff-so I could run wires up toward top of dash and structure mentioned above
    DO FOLLOW THEIR INSTRUCTIONS TO SEPARATE WIRE INTO BUNDLES GOING TO SEPARATE LOCATIONS-TO BADDY BAD THAT FUSE PANEL DOES NOT CONFORM TO DESTINATION OF WIRES.
    The instructions say connect lots of wires to ignition switch-ignition switch connection is too short for all of those connections-what I did was create a separate set of six fuse connection plates and ran big wire to the series and then fuse connections to final connection
    BTW I'd advise locating ignition switch and headlight switch some place where no other wire connections run- i.e. not under gauges- also learned this the hard way
    Plan a separate location for a bunch of switches that require separate switches
    BTW I got a wired column-- about 1/2 of the wires did not actually work from column switch so had to put in separate switches
    WHY DOESN'T ANYONE TELL YOU THESE THINGS
     
  9. I told you guys way back in '05 to steer clear of these kits. They're a rip-off of what is now Kwik Wire but they're manufactured offshore and, unlike Kwik Wire, the quality sucks. From what I remember, one of Kwik Wire's distributors reverse engineered the fuse box and had it built offshore and sold it for a ridiculously low price when he got the product back on US soil.

    The old saying is true, you get what you pay for.

    As for the second wiring book, after Tex Smith died, the company folded and my second wiring book never got published
     
  10. goldmountain
    Joined: Jun 12, 2016
    Posts: 4,442

    goldmountain

    I used an EZ wiring kit. Worked great, but then, I have wired countless cars from scratch and Don't need the instruction sheet.

    Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  11. I used a Kwik Wire in my Ford, excellent all the way around. Wires easy to tell what was marked on them, great instructions.
     
  12. AngleDrive
    Joined: Mar 9, 2006
    Posts: 1,145

    AngleDrive
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Florida

    I have wired about 8 cars with EZ wiring. No problems. There are better options.
     
  13. I've installed a bunch of E-Z wire kits that customers have bought and I have yet to find one that didn't need extensive reworking in the fuse box. I don't recall a single one that didn't need to have at least one buss bar replaced because of faulty crimps on heavy gauge wires.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/92382895@N07/30073036971/in/album-72157673675385000/
    Brand new, right out of the box, E-Z wire fuse box
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/92382895@N07/29529128784/in/album-72157673675385000/
    Wire isn't even crimped tightly and strands are already popping out.
     
  14. atomickustom
    Joined: Aug 30, 2005
    Posts: 3,409

    atomickustom
    Member

    Seriously? Guess I was lucky then, I wired my '53 with an EZ wire kit (the one with the most circuits - car has power windows, power seats, electric fan, ac, etc.) and had no problems at all. Car has been on the road for about 13 years now with zero trouble. It was my first car wiring job. I used a lot of factory GM switches and such from a late-model donor car.
    No trouble with the fuse block at all.
     
  15. Click on either of the links in my previous post and, once you're there, go forward and backwards through the rest of the pictures in the folder. The pictures are of a pair of E-Z Wire fuse boxes. The one with the black wires was mounted in a pro-built car that I had to repair after it had gotten emergency repairs performed at the Nats East in York, PA. The one with the colored wires is right out of the box. In fact, it's still in the box. We never used it. The customer opted for an American Autowire box instead after I pointed out all of the poorly formed crimps.

    There are inadequately crimped terminals, terminals too small for the wires used, flagged crimps (crimps where the die punches up into the base of the crimp, thus, folding the edge over making it extremely weak) and wires stripped so far that not even the insulation crimp is holding anything. The insulation crimp prevents the wire from flexing right at the point where the conductor is crimped. If the wire flexes here, strands begin to break and the connection eventually fails.

    Many of the photos are captioned.
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2020
  16. FWIW, I am just now wrapping up the install of a Rebel Wire kit in my coupe.
    Quality seems great, customer service/tech support is fabulous.
    Will report back (or maybe create a new thread) when I am finished.
    20200217_203232.jpg 20200223_173129.jpg 20200223_171711.jpg
     
  17. Desoto is correct. You do get what you pay for. I’ve used 2 EZ Wire kits. Still kicking myself on the second one. Doing a Tri 5 now. American Autowire will be my choice on this one.


    Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
     
  18. American Autowire has a great exact duplicate harness for the tri-five Chevies. No splicing wires at the tail lights, headlights, heater, ignition switch, dome light, etc. It's a plug and play duplicate of the original. It's fond in their OEM Restoration line, not in their "factory upgrade" line.

    The factory upgrade line is a basic fuse box with short bundles onto which you plug harnesses developed for the application you purchase the kit for. It works great but it's a messy harness if you're concerned about hiding stuff because all of the plugs are impossible to hide. It also requires butt splices at every wire destination (tail lights, parking lights, headlights, etc.)

    56 Chev OEM
    https://www.americanautowire.com/sh...oem-restoration-harnesses?aw_vehicle_fits=365
     
  19. AngleDrive
    Joined: Mar 9, 2006
    Posts: 1,145

    AngleDrive
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Florida

    Me too
     
  20. mopacltd
    Joined: Nov 11, 2008
    Posts: 1,044

    mopacltd
    Member

    Wired the off topic Cuda and got one ready to install in the '55
     
  21. I've done 5 cars with EZ wiring..agreed there are better choices out there, but for me they got the job done with some in house adjustments (as is true with a lot of aftermarket parts for these Hot Rods).
     
  22. 51box
    Joined: Aug 31, 2005
    Posts: 1,099

    51box
    Member
    from MA

    I used E-Z on and old project and it was pretty straight forward like most kits but the quality is pretty low. On my current car I used a Rebel kit and it is much better quality and they have great customer support.
     
    Chappy444 likes this.

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