Joris Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 My Dodge has had electrical problems since I bought it almost 5 years ago so I've decided to replace the wiring entirely. I'm thinking of getting a ready made harness from Vintage Power Wagons to make it a little less difficult. Questions: - Does anybody used a repro harness from VPW? Was it good / worth the money? - How hard is it to replace all the wires? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 (edited) The good thing is the wiring is simple. Might be an oppertunity to put a discreet fuse box in the circuit. Are you doing front or back? Not had the problem, yet. You can make up a wiring harness quite easily, depends how 'original' you want it to look. One trick, if you don't know it. Label the original wires at the junction box and other ends. Then cut the old one out leaving the tags in place. Much easier than working from a bit of paper. PS tie a bit of string to any end you pull through a bulkhead or hole, BEFORE you pull old one out. Saves a lot of the Ozone layer from invective emissions! Edited February 9, 2010 by Tony B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon_M Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Let's see now. Your WC should have SEVERAL wiring harnesses. There should be one under the dash down to the big round connector, and that is the one that will give you most grief. Headlight and engine wiring should be no big deal, and the chassis wiring harness runs from the big round connector to all other parts of the chassis. VPW, Vintage Wiring of Maine, or make your own. They even turn up now and again NOS on E-Pay, and I got my Carryall wiring harness from Steve Rivers. Whatever you do you'll salvage much of the chassis wiring as it is usually covered in oil. Dodges tend to be 6v ( I seem to remember yours was a late, 12v unit? ) so wiring gauge and connector quality will normally be a big deal. My personal technique is to strip all the wiring out and assess it. Some leads have great cores and connectors, but lousy or patchy insulation - they tend to get new heatshrunk insualtion and get put straight back. Other leads with damaged conductors or wrong / missing ends just get cut back to the usable bit and put on the parts pile. You can actually buy the cloth-covered wire of the right gauge and even colour, so it would be entirely possible to replace your harness one piece at a time till it was new. If you do go for new harness, you should specify if you want twin stop lights and turn signal wires built in, as some suppliers will do that. Gordon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Grief Gordon? Do you mean, cricked neck, back ache scraped knuckles, not to mention the embarisment of having to yell for help when you get trapped round the gear lever? Ah the joy of working under a Dodge dashboard! Still their not really yours till they have claimed some blood. :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon_M Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Grief Gordon? Do you mean, cricked neck, back ache scraped knuckles, not to mention the embarisment of having to yell for help when you get trapped round the gear lever? Ah the joy of working under a Dodge dashboard! :-D Yes, that's it. Not the easiest of places to work on. It's basically easier to rip the wiring out one wire at a time and replace it than do the lot in one go. Gordon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joris Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share Posted February 10, 2010 Thanks lads! The wiring now is not original as one of the previous owners has tried to mend it, badly. Under the dash it's mayhem now but the rest is a mess too. All black wires taped together with no labels at all. Will look at Vintage Wiring, thanks for the tip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Grief Gordon? Do you mean, cricked neck, back ache scraped knuckles, not to mention the embarisment of having to yell for help when you get trapped round the gear lever? Ah the joy of working under a Dodge dashboard! Still their not really yours till they have claimed some blood. :-D Ah, no problem working under the dash of a Dodge... :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodge Deep Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Ah, no problem working under the dash of a Dodge... :-D I knew Dodge gloveboxes were big but...:-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Nah, it's because he a short skinny little wimp. :-D We of a more 'Distingushed' figure......:nut: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodge Deep Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Nah, it's because he a short skinny little wimp. :-D We of a more 'Distingushed' figure......:nut: Well quite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Im not short...:n00b: You're just jealous of my Divine body... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Yes, the Dodge does look in good nick. :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodge Deep Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Im not short...:n00b:You're just jealous of my Divine body... Divining body, was that? :angel: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Divining body, was that? :angel: Heard those things all my life. I know I am skinny, no need to rub it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodge Deep Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 maybe we could trade for a bit... or stand around together and reenact the number 10 :cool2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 maybe we could trade for a bit... or stand around together and reenact the number 10 :cool2: Together we may be the perfect weight.:angel: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy harleston eng Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 we use vintage wiring of maine. there wiring kits really are the business. all correct fittings and seperately packed in clearly marked bags .with a concise laminated booklet with all the diagrams easily laid out and pictured, which is just about idiot proof,thankfully. no complaints at all, a really great product. heres a small pic in the box of one of the jeep ones we recieved a few days ago. regards jimmy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joris Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 That looks very good indeed! They are expensive though but if you want it done properly you have to invest.... Thinking really hard to buy a kit from them.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis3006 Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 dumb question lol. is it possible to replace the entire wiring harness without taking apart the truck ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 dumb question lol. is it possible to replace the entire wiring harness without taking apart the truck ? I think so but it may be a hell of a job with a lot of fiddling about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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