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Old 01-10-2010, 10:39 PM
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Default Wiring

I guess I will be the first to ask a question here. I have started on the interior of my 70 chevelle and plan to start the wiring on it. Any suggestions on what wiring harnesses to purchase(I plan to replace all the old wiring). or additional reference material other then the basic assembly manual would be appreciated. For example I'm not sure were all the ground straps go in the engine bay and behind the dash, so having something that makes it a little more clear would help. I'm starting from scratch and also a rookie at this.

Ray
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Last edited by shadowgray396; 01-11-2010 at 11:28 AM.
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Old 01-11-2010, 09:56 AM
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You mentioned the interior then engine bay, so it sounds like you're doing everything.

There are 2 main harnesses in the engine bay.

The engine harness has wiring for starter, ignition coil, wipers, blower motor, TCS, temp and oil senders. No grounds with this harness as the engine is the ground and it's connected right to the negative battery post. The wiper relay is grounded to the firewall by the mounting screw.

The light or forward harness has wiring for all forward lights, horns, voltage reg, alt, temp and brake warning lights. This harness has grounds that attach to core support on each side near headlights.

The chassis is grounded through the pigtail off the negative battery cable attached to the passenger side front fender.

There are of course additional harnesses for options like cruise control and AC.

As for grounds in the engine bay what I mentioned is about it. Now if the car came with a radio then you'll have 2 braided straps off the valve covers to the firewall and one down lower on the passenger side of the engine. If it was an FM radio then I believe there was a 4th ground strap. These are not circuit grounds, they are not meant to carry current, only meant to help suppress ignition electrical noise. I would not add these until the car is finished and running properly. Then you know all the circuit grounds are good and the radio ground straps are not acting as circuit grounds.

Then there's the dash harness, the other main harness in the car. It's pretty obvious what it does, it has the fuse panel that connects to the bulkhead connector on the firewall, engine and light harnesses.

The headlight switch has a metal ring around it that is part of the ground circuit. It has a wire that attaches to the metal bracket for the wiper switch. The wiper switch bracket get's bolted to the metal dash frame. There should be 3 (?) ground wires in the dash harness, one goes to parking brake assembly. One to the metal bracket that goes to wiper switch, connects where the bracket is bolted to the metal dash frame. One to the back of the gauge cluster. The circuit board is grounded by the wire just mentioned and 5 screws that hold it to the gauge cluster.

Again there are additional harnesses, like console extension, rear light harness, actually 2 harnesses on a 70, and others. If you're replacing all harnesses you're talking major bucks. The dash harness is the most expensive and runs close to $500.

EDIT: I'm sure we can find some pic's to help out. If not my dash is coming out soon so I can restore it, I can take some pics then.
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Old 01-11-2010, 11:30 AM
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Thanks Hank, for the info. any pictures always help. When I got the car it was already torn apart otherwise I would taken them.
Ray
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Old 01-11-2010, 11:36 AM
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Where are you in the process? I won't be starting my dash for awhile. If you need dash area pics sooner we can find some.
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Old 01-11-2010, 12:26 PM
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Probably won't start the dash until next month. Need to get the parts in and plan to drop the head liner in first and get the insulation on the fire wall done.
Ray
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Old 01-11-2010, 05:05 PM
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Rewiring a car is fairly easy as long as you understand how to run circuits, crimp, solder, and can read a wiring schematic. But before you start be honest with yourself and ask yourself a question "Can I rewire a car on my own, or I'm I more of a plug and play type of person". If you are a do it yourself type then I would go with a Painless wiring kit and save allot of money; complete kits cost about $400, but it takes time to do. Think of it as it save money but it will cost me time; what is your time worth? To completely wire a car using a Painless kit takes about 30+ hours to do from layout to testing. Now if you're more of a plug and play type of person then go with a kit from M&H or one of the wiring companies that make complete assembled kits. All you have to do is remove one harness and plug in the new one. These kits show you everything in pictures and it's very easy to do but it works the other way meaning it saves you allot of time, but costs allot of money and don't be surprised if the cost exceeds $1200 if you have to replace everything. Some harnesses alone cost over $400 and that's just for one harness and most cars have four. As you can tell I went with the Painless kit because I didn't want to spend allot of money on a plug and play kits and I wanted an upgraded fuse block with new style fuses. Also I've done allot of wiring so it was kind of fun for me and I know I did it myself so if I need to add a circuit I can. Just remember to do one circuit at a time and don't rush is thekey. Either way getting new wiring gives me peace of mind knowing I'm not running forty year old wiring which is a big plus for me.
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Robert. A cool wife who understands is a wonderful thing! 67 Elky Global West suspension kit with coil over QA1's,435hp Edy Crate,700R4, Currie +9 3:75, Disc brakes front and rear, Dakota Digital gauge package, 12 circuit Painless wiring kit, Ididit tilt Colum, etc.

Last edited by rak1; 01-11-2010 at 05:24 PM.
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Old 01-11-2010, 06:13 PM
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The problem with the Painless kit is it's not made specifically for one car. So you do have to know how to crimp and solder. You can buy harnesses made specifically for your year Chevelle. Then it's matter of of plugging the connectors into the correct spots. They make harnesses that have the correct connectors and color coded wires for every year Chevelle, a reproduction of the original harness. Painless harnesses are a lot less expensive but they're more generic. Just depends on your abilities and what you want.
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Old 01-12-2010, 05:52 PM
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Not really true anymore they are making kits for early Mustangs and Mopar "B" bodies and I think they are just starting to do kits for some Chevy's too. I helped a friend install a kit into a '66 Mustang and it was a snap; it even had all the ends terminated, etc.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hank70SS View Post
The problem with the Painless kit is it's not made specifically for one car. So you do have to know how to crimp and solder. You can buy harnesses made specifically for your year Chevelle. Then it's matter of of plugging the connectors into the correct spots. They make harnesses that have the correct connectors and color coded wires for every year Chevelle, a reproduction of the original harness. Painless harnesses are a lot less expensive but they're more generic. Just depends on your abilities and what you want.
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Robert. A cool wife who understands is a wonderful thing! 67 Elky Global West suspension kit with coil over QA1's,435hp Edy Crate,700R4, Currie +9 3:75, Disc brakes front and rear, Dakota Digital gauge package, 12 circuit Painless wiring kit, Ididit tilt Colum, etc.

Last edited by rak1; 01-12-2010 at 05:56 PM.
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Old 01-12-2010, 06:40 PM
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If they have kits for the Chevelle then that would be a good option. I've only seen their 'generic' harnesses. They're good when doing a custom car/wiring.
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Old 01-12-2010, 06:44 PM
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I did notice an add on TC where you can get the original checked and rewired if needed for about $200, and all the wires are marked where they go. He only does the harness with the fuse box on it.
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