AJFink

Full frame off restoration.


I have all the wire harnesses out and was wondering should they be replaced, rewired, or not worry. Yes the wire is getting hard but not breaking. Can a person obtain the correct wire and connectors to restore them.


For a motorcycle I restored I did just that and it turned out better, fixing all the known problems as I went.


Is all the correct wire and colors available?
I have most of the connecters but will have to replace the spades and pins.
Grommet's and thru-bulkhead's, will need to found.


What have you folks done?

MDchanic

Some folks will tell you to just replace it with a reproduction, which, these days, are actually pretty darned accurate, especially if you have the car completely disassembled.

My personal belief is that, if the current harness is fine, meaning that the insulation is still soft and any corrosion on the connectors can be easily cleared with DeOxIt or a bit of a spin with a fine wire brush (so that you have ZERO resistance), you should stick with the known good quantity, rather than introduce potential new problems.

You say yours is "getting hard."
Can you bend a wire completely in half without getting any cracking?
How hard is it getting, anyway?
If the insulation is getting at all questionable, it is probably best to replace it, since the job will be MUCH harder in ten or twenty years, with the car fully assembled.

- Eric

AJFink

Stiff is a better term for condition, but will do the bend test to determine. thanks for the tip Eric.
As far as corrosion very little as I remember taking things apart, I have it all in storage. I'll be taking it out because this is a good project to do during the winter. The wife is going to love this project again. When I did the motorcycle I had the complete harness over the living room floor. With all the legs taped to there respective sections.

oldcutlass

If your wiring is in good shape you can reuse it.

joe_padavano

I always prefer to keep the original harness if at all possible. I personally enjoy wiring, and I have correct crimping tools to install correct terminals, so it's no big deal to replace a few bad wires. On the other hand, there are a lot of folks who approach wiring with the same enthusiasm as they do dental work, so for those people, it might be easier or less stressful to just replace. With only a handful of specialized exceptions, terminals and plastic connector bodies for the Packard 56 and 59 terminals are readily available from a number of vendors. FYI, the headlight terminals are the larger Packard 59 style due to the higher current.

There is a wide variety in quality of terminals. I've found American Auto Wire to be one source of good quality Packard 56 and 59 components. Their terminals are the same material and thickness as factory and crimp very nicely with the ratchet crimper that I use.

MDchanic

Just remember that corrosion does not need to be bad or visible - insignificant amounts of slight oxidation to the surfaces of connectors can add up as the current passes through one, then another, then another, etc., and create measurable voltage drops.

- Eric

joe_padavano

This is especially true on the starter circuit, that has lots of connections from the battery to the horn relay to the firewall connector to the ignition switch to the NSS to the firewall connector to the starter solenoid. Increased resistance in each of these joints is a common cause of hot start problems on GM starters. As Eric noted, gentle cleaning of the terminals (especially if the harness is out) does wonders. I use a contact cleaner spray also.

jensenracing77

I always reuse the originals if I can. I had to get a repop harness for the forward lights for my W-30 because I did not have a good one and they had two wires plugged in wrong where it hooks to the firewall. Of course I did not find it till the car was almost together and hooked the battery up the first time. After finding the problem it took me longer to get to it than it did to fix it once I got there. It also had a terminal at the parking light that was not stripped before they crimped it. I would trust the original before buying a repop because of this. I could not imagine how PI$$ED I would be if I has an issues with a repop dash harness and having to pull it all apart to figure it out after a new clean install.

RandyS

When I did the restoration on my 66, I used all of the original parts that I could, and when I had all of the wiring and connectors correct I re-wrapped them all with a black plastic tape that is designed for that purpose. They turned out great and look brand new.

As for finding the exact correct wires, the solid colors should be fairly easy, but you probably won't be able to find any replacement if it has stripes on it.

AJFink

GREAT! sounds like I'll be saving some money. I can spend some time doing it right with what I have and fix what only needs to be fixed. I have complete harnesses with just a few missing or broken parts. After thinking about it, once its installed it doesn't move and the ends are the most important. I can use some of my savings and buy the right tools and component's and turn the living room floor into a wiring jig again.

budg

If just a few wires are getting brittle , you could replace just those wires. If it's quite a few then you might want to consider replacing the harness. Oxidization at connections are your worst enemy though. Check all your connections and see how they look. You may only need to spray them with a good electrical cleaner.

oldcutlass

Your either single or have a very understanding wife.

MDchanic

Aside from corrosion at the terminals, the other thing to look out for is overheating of the heavy orange wire that brings current to the cigarette lighter.

The cigarette lighters tended to stick in the On position, causing the wire to overheat, melt its insulation, and then melt into the insulation of whatever wire(s) is/were next to it, causing all sorts of problems.
If the orange wire is fine, the rest should be okay, too.

- Eric

AJFink

She is very understanding, not necessarily compliant all the time. As the saying goes......"Choose wisely" when asking.

oldcutlass

I ask for forgiveness instead of permission...

1968_Post

Emphasis has to be on having the correct crimping tools for the Packard terminals. I purchased a few different crimpers that were purported to be for the 56 style and no matter how I tried, i could not get a clean crimp, especially on the larger 12 Ga terminals. I admittedly have not had the experience with this process others have had, but don't believe I'm the only one on this site that has had a tough time doing a decent job.

RandyS

You can also solder the terminals on the wire. The joint will be hidden when you slide the terminal back in to the holder. I always solder all of my terminals.......

442Fred

I am going to be the one guy who throws a wrench into this thread. I always replace the harnesses under the hood, the dash harness gets repaired if needed but under the hood I leave anything to chance. This especially applies to frame up restorations for me.
I have done several cars this way and have not had the issue Eric had with crossed wires.

Just my .02 cents