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New Mopar Lover needs electrical help :D

Jakob

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Hi im new as a poster but ive been reading this forum since i got my charger. I have a 1973 dodge charger with a 400 in it and i just removed the engine for a mild rebuild but while its out i want to do a new wiring harness but i want to make it myself (i know im crazy). The old harness is deteriorated and the fuse block is a lvl 10 fire hazard so why not go custom? i was curious if someone has made or knows someone that has made a custom/more modern harness and if they have a diagram/tips/hints that could help me. Thank you in advance!!
Ps..try not to hate on me if i use wrong terms and such im new to classics
 
I've done it on my drag cars(eliminating many un-needed systems) and partially on my '66 Satellite. You do need the factory wiring diagram and spend a lot of time understanding it if you're not an electrical guy. Get diagram from a factory service manual(FSM). Make numerous copies of the different pages and cut & paste together. Then trace the different systems. Many of the wire runs to lighting etc may be just fine and you can pick a convenient place to splice in. The firewall bulkhead plug is a critical spot to replace or eliminate. I also used extra terminal strips for convenience.
 
Welcome from North Carolina. These wiring diagrams should help you out. Take your time and have patience and you should be fine. Good luck.

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1973/73CoronetChargerA.JPG

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1973/73CoronetChargerB.JPG

73CoronetChargerA.jpg
73CoronetChargerB.jpg
 
You can buy a 12 circuit harness HERE for under 100.00. I used one on a 71 Satellite. I will never take on that headache again it was a complete pain in the ***.
 
Welcome from Missouri!!
 
Welcome from Alabama, looks like these other guys have covered the subject.
 
Welcome from NY.
I prefer the factory replacement style. Unless you are doing some sort of custom modifications.
 
Welcome. Honestly, there is no way to do a quality custom wiring harness cheaply.
Doing a cheap harness on the cheap, is more like spending time to replace the old problem with a new one.
If your good with electronics, and have the tools and skills, then no problem.
The biggest issue is how much time it takes to re-wire the car. Getting all the wire correctly routed in the harnesses and the right wire lengths, then crimping on all the connectors is time consuming. Not to mention the various odd-ball connectors (mostly the molded bullet connectors.)
If your just replicating the stock harness, then you can use the original as a reference, but if everything is custom, then it gets more complicated.

Anyhow, if your just restoring the car and NOT looking to add a bunch of custom electronics, the M&H Reproduction wiring harnesses will save you time and trouble, but look expensive at first glance.

Just as an example, I just did a custom wiring harness for Mocajavas '69 Coronet which has nothing stock at all. Custom dash, Speed hut gauges, TCI6x transmission, Full Sniper EFI, electric cooling fans, Digi-lights tail lights, custom shifter and console, re-located battery, ect.
He started with a nice Ron francsis kit and the additions to the kit. Not sure how much he spent on just those parts, but likely close to $1,000?
We spent many weekends wiring the car with several stoppages where we had to order needed parts, supplies, tools, and additional wire that was not part of the kit(s). I was doing this as a friend, but Mike being the nice guy he is gave me some money, which I spent on more terminal crimping tools.
I had the MSD pro-crimp tool, and most of the dies to start with (about $250-300 investment), but got tired of having to swap dies, so got another MSD crimp tool ($96.) These were used mostly for the Packard 56 terminals and the spade lug terminals that connect to the Ron Francsis fuse block.
Then there were the Packard 59 terminals for the headlights. The kit came with pigtails, but I really didn't want to mess with splicing in pigtails when it's easier to just crimp on the terminal, but it takes a different crimper, so another $100+, Not to mention the battery cable cutters and large lug crimpers.
So, now we have a pretty big investment in tools and time, and the harness still needs to be wrapped. The Ron francsis kit did come with some braided wire covering, and smaller heat shrink for splices. In addition, we got a few more different sizes of the braided wire covering, and large heat shrink to terminate the covering ends, plus a few rolls of electrical tape, and then for under the dash, the split type covering with velcro. The TCI trans connector is close to the exhaust, so those wires got a high heat wire covering, along with the starter wiring.

Also, be careful of the quality of the terminals you buy. The metal on some cheap ones is super thin and soft, and won't hold a crimp.
All the crimps should pass a good pull test.
There were a few places we crimped and soldered the connection, but those were mainly where water could get to the connectors which are not a water proof type connector.
Being a custom harness, we used the Weather-pack sealed connectors in a few places too, which again is a different crimper die which I already had.
 
Bienvenido desde México !!! :drinks:
First of all:xscuseless:
Now for your question, besides the guys here answering your question, we have our own electrical guru, go to the proper forum and @nacho rt74 can help you.
 
You can buy a 12 circuit harness HERE for under 100.00. I used one on a 71 Satellite. I will never take on that headache again it was a complete pain in the ***.
you think that will have quality wire for the price? like it doesn't say if its the good ofc or Copper clad aluminum
 
Its pretty much the same thing I used.. But the one I had said A-Team on it. As for the quality it wasn't bad but it wasn't great. Its a huge pain in the *** to retrofit this harness and make everything work. There are a few things the harness doesn't account for. Dome lights rear back up lights. etc etc... The longer you mess with it the more you realize you have to make secondary harnesses to make some stuff functional.
 
Look for a kit that uses GXL (Cross-Linked Polyethylene) insulated copper stranded wire. Not PVC insulated wire. The Cross-Linked Polyethylene can handle higher (and lower) temperatures than the PVC wire. If you see TXL, it is a thinner insulation version of the TXL and pretty common on newer cars. The GXL thickness appears more like the stock wire in insulation thickness.

If you look around you will see the "21 circuit" wiring harness kits that uses a GM looking fuse block (you can get the unwired fuse block with terminals, fuses, and flasher relays for about $20.) I got a cheap 21 circuit wiring kit off Amazon just to check the quality, and maybe use it. This "kit" was like $99. The assembly and crimps were actually pretty good, and I may have used it if it had better wire quality.
The wires were the cheaper PCV insulated. They were copper stranded wire, but a course stiff larger strands of wire.
Also, from the looks of how the wires were cut and crimped, the assembler was using some pretty worn out tools.
Good thing Amazon has an easy return policy.
 
:welcome: aboard. Listen to to older people. Electrical is not for everybody. To do it correctly and end up with a safe outcome, takes time, specific electrical experience/understanding, proper tools , quality components, large, clean work area, diagrams...
 
I do a lot of wiring and generally enjoy it. That said, here are my words of advice for whatever it is worth

1. You need good tools, but you need to know what you need. There are lots of crimpers out there but some connectors and terminals need a special crimper and while you might think you can "make do", trust me it will not work out all that well. Speaking of tools, the first thing you need is a Power Probe, it is imperative for electrical work and will save you hours of headache.

2. You need to understand how electricity and systems work. Not saying you have to be an electrical engineer, just that you need to understand how electrical systems work. This is relatively easy as it is all available online complete with videos. This includes switches, relays, etc. The biggest issue is understanding power requirements which leads to the wire size requirement. Mopar wasn't very good when when came to wire size and there is a lot of information online. The more you understand the easier it becomes.

3. You need to break apart what you are looking to do into "systems" and understand what is doing what. Most look at a harness and scratch their head, but every wire in there does something for some purpose. Breaking it down into systems allows you to tackle them individually and makes it much easier.

4. You must plan and think ahead meaning you need to have a plan to make everything work correctly. Make yourself some simple drawings of whatever system you are looking at and think it through.

5. Use good resources, visit some of the online vendors like the Electrical outlet, Delcity, etc. and buy more than you need. I built a whole rack for my wire spools ranging from 22 gauge to 10 gauge in various colors. You do not need to buy "kits" and stuff from companies such as Painless, you can make the same thing for far less money.

6. Do not wrap or cover your wiring until you are sure everything is installed and everything works. Zip ties are your friend for keeping things organized. I also use electrical tape to bind the bundles temporarily, both are easy to remove if needed.

It isn't magic and can be frustrating but if you understand the principles you will figure it out. Every time I have had an issue where something didn't work, it was always a simple solution.
 
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