Yes, if your not good at wiring or should I say understand how it all works. A new harness does not insure against a melt done if you don't what your doing.
Get a simple 13 circuit kit. They come with good instructions, hard to screw it up. If that's not an option,I'll wire your car if you'll clean my septic tank.
I see ! So because you can't get it done or don't understand its the worst way for YOU. Now the hell did they wire hot rods before kits? There's a multi million dollar industry in aftermarket wiring harnesses. Why? Too hard to figure out how to get 12 volts from a to b, too hard to Repin a switch? You know what's hard, crochee with yarn. Its so hard I can't even spell it. Every knot , every twist perfect. My grandma could do it but its hard. If this shit was easy everyone would be doing it ORgetting rich off of doing it for those who "think" some bassackwards way.
Sounds like maybe you just want the project of building the board(and thats cool kind of sounds like fun! But I'm a wierdo I like wiring). Just remember to get your steel frame to where your light sockets will go so you can ground them. I've spent whole days trying to figure out a tail light or turn signal only to find out my light socket wasn't grounded through the bondo! When I have re-wired cars in the past I like to do as others have said and run one wire at a time, starting with just enough to make the car start, then run, then charge, then head lights, dash lights, brake lights, running lights, then turn signals. By the time you get to the brake lights you'll just about have it whipped! Always remember to leave your self an extra switched accessory circuit for radios, cigarette lighters, etc.
Wiring scares some people to death and there really is no reason to fear it. You are not working with 220 volts, just 12, and if you do one circuit at a time and follow the instructions you can't mess up too badly. It also requires very few basic tools and is so much cleaner than most of the jobs we do on our projects. Some people like using a volt ohm meter to check the circuits, but I prefer a test light, like the $ 5 up ones that look like an ice pick with a wire sticking out of them. It is so easy to just keep checking for voltage as you go along when you see the test light illuminating. Although I like Rebel kits personally, I think the easiest one to install is from American Autowire because you install one wire at a time to the fuse block rather than having a bunch of confusing preinstalled wires hanging off of the block. It can become a little disconcerting when you have all this spagetti laying in your lap, sort of like looking at a forest or wires. With the AA kit you mount the fuse block then just start with one wire at a time.........a child could almost do it. Don
As far as tools go - in my wiring box Test light Jumpers with alligator clips Just alligator clips A digital multi meter A set of dental picks Good strippers Good crimp pliers Soldering kit Some clothes line Some fishing line Colored tape Zip ties Twisty garbage bag ties Some sheets of printer address labels Some tags with string already on. Set of colored pencils My secret weapon, fluke meter with audible continuity
I've tried several of them but for the money and simplicity REBEL WIRE and EASY WIRE are both great and would save you time and money over laying it out yourself and you'll still learn alot! A good krimping tool and shrink tubing are a must for a trouble free job. Hope this helps, BUCKD
Notice your first statement here is a blanket statement made from some kind of self proclaimed expert point of view equivalent to " the world is flat" which by the way is also wrong. Your second statement that I've quoted is quite different and is an expression of preferences or opinions. The next part of that statement totally discredited your credibility to make the first incorrect blanket statement. Now if I remember correctly you needed help with wiring a reversing switch on another thread. Nothing wrong with asking for help but you really aren't in a position to advise anyone with a statement such as your first. Ive told you before that you are wrong 50% of the time. I think your credibility would go up if you stick to the 50% you can help with. Can you tell I'm growing tired of the crap you spew and littering up the hamb with it ?
Bob, can i just wire it for you? or should i say your grandson? or if he is a chip off the old block one of my nephews kids could wire it for his son? i/we could wire it with new wire, an old harness or a kit. pick one and i [or one of my future kin] will make it right. wow! i might not be joking.
Well I made the first step and called Speedy Bill and have one on its way. I just Pray that it was writen for someone with a 5th grade knowledge of electricity. AGAIN my goal it to make all my lights work on this test board, with all the needed gizmos blocks turn switch hi-lopw whatever,then draw a skematic of the wires after I know they will stay lit for what 6/12/24 hours? If that works someday I can run wires in the car. It's Christmas time I NEVER EVER want to see a wire on the finished car. If you wire after the car is finished and it looks like your Christmas tree, fine, glad you are happy. Think of it as plumbing, it runs INSIDE the walls of your house for a reason, it looks like shit. If I have 4 inches of exposed wire under the dash running to a gauge I'll feel like the job was done correctly. NHRA apprved kill switch in my next item on the buy list. Bob
BTW, here is a little tip I learned that saves a lot of money. I use a zillion wire ties when doing a wiring job, not only for the final job but along the way to temporarily hold the wire bundle tight as I add more wires. If you put the wire tie together in the normal way it will click into the teeth and not be removable, but, if you flip it inside out and put it together the wrong way the smooth part of the wire tie will be against the teeth and you can later on slide it apart and reuse it. It will still cinch down tight enough to temporarily hold the bundle together but easily comes back apart to allow you to add more wires to that bundle. Then, when you have all the wires in the bundle you simply turn the wire tie inside out again so the teeth will engage, and clip off the excess with side cuts once it is tight. Saves a lot of wasted, cut off wire ties laying on the floor. Another thing I find that is very handy is to put a garbage can right next to where I am working so I can toss cut off pieces of wire and wire ties directly into it as I go along. Otherwise you are laying on all kinds of scrap pieces and have a big clean up job when you are done. Don
I understand what you are saying Don, but I plan to have every wire run through conduit in the chassis. The test table will tell me how many wires go were ever and I can figure out were the tubes go and how big they have to be. What is the safest gauge wire to use on all the lights? Bob
If I order new pigtails for the '53 Buick tail lights will the Ron Francis Bright Bulbs fit in them, or do I need special sockets? I know a normal bulb will work fine for testing but why but the pig tails trice. Bob
Loved the wire and looms from Sacramento Vintage Ford. Braided wire and old style looking looms in lots of dia. and many colors for the wire makes color coding easy.
The 37 Kid and all others looking to slightly understand the basics of electricity, I understand your fears about turning your hot rod into a Smokey The Bear poster child. Wiring and electricity is actually closer to plumbing than anything else. If you can piss in the toilet and watch it flush (I know there are some out there who are challenged with this!) you can understand the basics. Stand back and look at the entire plumbing system from the city/well to the sewer/septic. The well pump creates the h2o psi to deliver it inside your "garage-mahal" in pipes- the alternator is like the electricity pump, the pipes are the wiring(larger diameters for larger "flow") The water pressure is the voltage (electrical pressure) and the water flow is the current/amperage. The light switch is like the water faucet that controls the flow, that little p.o.s screen that gets clogged up at the end of the faucet is the resistor or circuit load (think light bulb) and once the water is through the resistor it flows freely back into the ground/sewer. So you're saying "Wait a minute every time I throw that boxing glove size wad of tp in there it plugs up, what gives?!" Well that's right, you just threw another resistor in the circuit- hence you've gotta give it more psi with the plunger (i.e. run more voltage for the circuit).... So there are a few more subjects that closely relate between plumbing and DC electricity.... Your battery is the "electric reservoir" that is a branch off of the "main line" from the pump- it fills & empties where the "pump" is unable to keep up. There are series, parallel and series parallel circuits- think sprinkler system layout for these. If you have a "leak" anywhere in your plumbing system, the water always seems finds it's way to ground! This is that controlled lightning/voltage "leaking" from the wires to chassis ground. With that the sewer lines/ground side of the circuit is very important- that shit's gotta flow! So with that a few tips/tricks I've picked up along the way of solving electrical issues along the way. *When possible, put the switches on the ground side/after the resistor/load in the circuit. The switches and relays will last longer. *Wire the grounds to a bus bar/terminal strip then one or two larger gauge wires to the battery ground. (if most of the electronics ground to the chassis there is a huge potential for back feed-electrical little demons) *Have the fuse placed at the beginning of the circuit (think water meter) *Ohm's Law of electricity. V= I x R Voltage=Amperage times Resistance-google it *Power is as easy as PIE P=IxE Power(watts) = Amps times Voltage-google it. (I might have just lost 98% on the last two however that's what google is for!) I hope this is as simple as possible as slightly educational and chuckle worthy.
^^^^^^^^^^ You lost me, I haven't got a clue what you were trying to say. This is my point about making the stuff work on a piece of plywood. MAYBE I can get an idea were things are going, if it looks like a Lionel train setup. Boob
Yeah, if you're not scoopin' what I'm poopin' about plumbing, you made the right decision to pay someone to do it for you.
Don't feel bad, whenever there is a glimmer of light of me gaining a bit of understanding of electricity someone craps on me. All want to do is connect a 12 volt battery to two head and tail lights and have them light without a fire, I not building a spaceshuttle. Bob
Dont go kicking yourself...just because you dont understand that electrical theory doesnt mean you went from being Bob to being Boob. If you already have a kit, the theory has mostly figured out for you (we hope). In simple terms, big loads ( power) use high current and need big wires ( lower resistance) . Dont get all hung up on that. I like your idea of hooking it all up on a board, just to see how it works. Maybe not worth the time for some people, we all waste time differently. Its a lot easier to take a diagram and wire something up, than it is to take a working sytem and draw the diagram, but I hope your grandson appreciates the work you did for him someday. Good Luck!
Rex, Has anyone made a skematic for a 1930 Ford roadster with TWO headlights, TWO tailights with Turn SIGNALS? One that I could understand? I don't think so. I'm not in the Elerctricians Club NEVER WIIL BE. Pile of parts goes to my Grandson. Sorry I started the thread now. Bob
I'm glad you started the thread, I learned some things. An electrical diagram will be a one line sketch of the positive side of the circuit, with the other half just going to ground, with a symbol, and wont be Model A specific. Try looking at one for a 49-51 Ford, and ignore the stuff for the heater and the gauges you dont have. I've never read the book Traditions Racing suggested, but it may have a basic diagram in it. If it does it would be 8 bucks well spent IMHO.
How to wire your street rod Will help quite a bit if not completely. The diagrams are in there. Analogies about flow can be very confusing so don't get discouraged. Check out the " how stuff works' web site.
It's all Ron Francis' fault before him we had no choice. We learned what makes a car work. It was not an option. If you wanted a hot rod you built one. If you couldn't learn you were SOL
Here is what I did for my roadster. It is simple No air, radio, cd, power seats, power top, mpd, xwc##pd. You get the picture BASIC
I try to read all the books I can find on wiring because I am definately weak in that area... One I am reading right now is called "The boat builders 12 volt battery bible" (something like that, I dont have it sitting in front of me but that name is close) obviously some of the boat specific stuff isnt relevant but I have been pleasantly surprised, it has lots of good info in it, some of you may be interested in checking it out...
A kit, especially like American Autowire is so easy and the instructions are so complete that a 12 yo can figure it out. Any of the harnesses on the attached link come with super simple instructions. And as mentioned by another poster, by the time you buy all the wire it will cost you more. The AAW kits come complete with everything including headlight, dimmer switch, most kits also include the ignition switch. Plus they are made in the USA http://cappshotrods.com/product-category/electrical/customstreet-rod-harnesses/
A lot of people struggle with electrical issues because they can't see the electricity (unlike a broken off bolt, flat tire, etc.). A 12 volt test light allows you to see where it is and where it isn't, an inexpensive must have tool.
The Jalopy Journal
