Topic: Engine Harness Selection - Your opinions needed

[rkellerjr]

I am going to be buying a new engine harness this week and possibly trying to install it this coming weekend.  I'm looking for a company who produces excellent instructions and a fantastic product.  I'm probably leaning towards a factory built harness (not an actual original harness) that gives me all the options, as I'll be adding options like rear defrost, power door locks and maybe some extras.  So, what are your opinions oh TA guru's?  I have exposure to just two sources...

Lectric Limited: http://www.lectriclimited.com/wiring-pontiac.htm

Painless Wiring: http://www.painlessperformance.com/index.php

I hear that Painless isn't a factory harness so I've been leaning towards Lectric but what do I know?

[Rick]

... but what do I know?

You know enough to ask the right questions from people who DO know...

[Banditboy21]

over the winter i completley rewired my car with a painleess muscle car wiring harness 18 circuit soup to nuts. i am very satisfied with the outcome easy to do just VERY time consuming if your anal like me about everything. its obviousley not factory looking but well worth not having shorts and toasty wires like my original.

[bad76]

I installed a painless complete harness with an updated fuse box and it is a great product.  

[rkellerjr]

Thanks guys but I don't have the time at the moment to re-wire the entire car.  Nor do I have the room to dissemble it to the level of re-wiring the whole thing.  That was one of the downfalls of Painless that I was considering.  They are an all or nothing harness ... basically.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate your opinions!  I'm just not in the market to re-wire the entire car.  I'm going to need to do it piece meal or better said, one harness at at time.

[brian c]

I've used M&H (www.wiringharness.com) for all my firewall forward harnesses thus far and I've very happy with them. Tech support is responsive as well. And they'll do what you want - ie replace the harness one piece at a time.

[Rick]

Well, Rich -- you know if you bit the bullet and did it you'd fix all your electrical problems in one swoop, right?

(Well get him to tear it all down yet...LOL!)

[rkellerjr]

Rick, if we lived close enough I'd do just that and I'd have your funny self right beside me helping!  You nut, I'm only one guy with just a forum to help me!  And I like to drive my car! 

[Ta2dbandit]

Rich,

What is your plan on this? Are you to replace the fuse block 1st or under the hood then the dash? Can you outline it for me? I have a couple of ideas but i can't see the big picture yet.

Brock

[Rick]

Rick, if we lived close enough I'd do just that and I'd have your funny self right beside me helping! 

Well, Rich -- you WERE wanting to move...and out here, Milly's within driving distance too!

[rkellerjr]

Brock..

*  Replace engine harness only (it needs it badly and may be contributing to some of my power loss and other troubles)
*  Replace distributor (or the guts)
*  Replace suspension (front and rear)
*  Tackle the interior (which will include a new dash harness)

That's the big picture, the small picture is trying to get this engine to run right, then the suspensions, then the interior.  Basically.

Rick,
The wife won't like moving that far north again, she's not much into snow anymore after living in CT most of her life.  So while it's appealing to me, the wife's not going to go for it

[fb_rider]

Ok, I'm going to thow a monkey wrench in here.  What is wrong with the way your engine is running.  I can't really think of anything on the wiring harness that could cause your engine to run badly.  Maybe not run at all, or maybe intermittently not run, but not make it run badly.  A good wiring harness is about $150 to my best knowledge and I just don't think it would make your engine run bad. 

I think maybe you should move the distributor project up to #1 if you know something's wrong with it.  Send it off to someone that's good with distributors and have them rebuild it.

Just my opinion for what it's worth.

[Rick]

The wife won't like moving that far north again, she's not much into snow anymore after living in CT most of her life.  So while it's appealing to me, the wife's not going to go for it

Hey, it's called "Global Warming"...or "Climate Change" if you like -- I've only had to clear the driveway of snow twice total in the past 3 years.

Seriously, back between the mid-70s and the early 80s we had some horrible winters up here, but since then it's really not bad.  Nobody around here has snowmobiles anymore because there's not enough snow in the winter to use them.  It doesn't stay cold long enough.

[AmFan]

I've used M&H (www.wiringharness.com) for all my firewall forward harnesses thus far and I've very happy with them. Tech support is responsive as well. And they'll do what you want - ie replace the harness one piece at a time.

I used the same engine harness and I am completely satisfied.  Installation was a breeze, and it solves some of the gremlins that I had.  Just remember to buy the tach wire, as it is NOT part of the engine harness kit from M&H.

tom

[brian c]

Actually I think Rich has it in the right order as you could replace/repair/tweak the distributor but end up with an engine fire due to a short in the harness at which point you're further behind instead of being a bit ahead knowing the harness is not the culprit.


If you want a hand Rich let me know and I'll be happy to drive down for a couple days of work - just feed me and I'm a happy camper.