has anyone used american autowire update kit ?

[jprather]

has anyone ever used this kit ?

thinking of upgrading mine.. but , i'm an idiot when it comes to wiring..

1971-74 Mopar B Body Classic Update Kit​

1971-74 Mopar B Body Classic Update Kit

 

[PlymCrazy]

I haven't, but I'll be watching this thread as a new harness may be in my near future.

 

[jprather]

it acutally looks pretty simple, but like i need the wiring for dummy's book

 

[topside]

I've used a few of their kits - did a 12V neg ground alternator conversion on a '53 Ford pickup, and a few LS swaps into FJ40s & a Jeep - and used the AAW kits that are more hot-rod oriented. They're a lot less $ but had everything we needed. They make a nice product: good instructions, everything's labeled, & about as easy as a re-wire could be. It was actually fun. I'm not an electrical specialist, but have a decent understanding, and didn't have any problems. The plug-and-play versions are most likely even easier. If you're not intimately familiar with the Mopar routing/layout, take photos or better yet, get a FSM in book form. Best to lay the new harness out on a big table to organize the harness and group the wires according to their destinations.

 

[PeteyDaMan]

I used that kit on my 71 rebuild.
It's very complete, good instructions and along with their crimpers went together very well.
The only things I had to resuse were my wiper switch and tail light sub-harness
The kit comes with the non-AC blower sub harness so if you need the one for AC it will be an additional item to purchase
It comes with a new headlight switch, hi/lo beam switch, all connectors, all wires are labeled very clearly and nothing mis-labeled

 

[jprather]

I used that kit on my 71 rebuild.
It's very complete, good instructions and along with their crimpers went together very well.
The only things I had to resuse were my wiper switch and tail light sub-harness
The kit comes with the non-AC blower sub harness so if you need the one for AC it will be an additional item to purchase
It comes with a new headlight switch, hi/lo beam switch, all connectors, all wires are labeled very clearly and nothing mis-labeled

do you know if it works with concealed headlights ?

 

[funknut]

FWIW, I used their kit on my '68 and it was pretty easy for someone that hadn't done much of any wiring before. Instructions were great, new connectors for everything except the wiper motor.

 

[jprather]

well, i just spoke to their tech guy, he says it is not compatable with concealled headlights, i would have to make something ( an overlay) to make them work

 

[ykf7b0]

I am going to order an AAW kit for my 55 Bel Air. It is recommended to get their crimpers too.

 

[jprather]

this kit actually comes with 2 sets of their crimpers

 

[Runcharger]

It's the way to go on a GM for sure. It's GM based as far as switches and connectors go as I remember.

 

[71charger_fan]

It's easy to incorporate concealed headlamps into that harness. You can decide if you want the relay under the dash as original or if you want to relocate it. I'll have to dig out my instructions where I annotated the changes/additions I did to add the headlight door motor wiring.

 

[jprather]

It's easy to incorporate concealed headlamps into that harness. You can decide if you want the relay under the dash as original or if you want to relocate it. I'll have to dig out my instructions where I annotated the changes/additions I did to add the headlight door motor wiring.

Man that would be awesome

 

[71charger_fan]

You just need ignition-on power to the circuit breaker (5 amp) and a headlights-on signal to the relay. I think I ran a wire from an unused accessory circuit for the ignition power and doubled up on a connector to the high beam switch for the headlights-on signal. I'll find my diagram and double check. For something I did, I needed a single Packard 59 terminal. I couldn't find any locally and had to buy a bunch of them. Let me know if you find you need one and I'll send you one.

headlight motor relay upgrade for 1970 & up

 

[71charger_fan]

On page 8 of the instructions (at least the version I have) it shows the accessory connector. Tan is for electric fuel pump, orange for power seats, red for power locks, and pink for power windows. I didn't have any of these things, so I could have taken headlight power from any of them. When I called American Autowire, they suggested using the pink power window circuit, so I did. If I'd had power windows, I probably would have taken headlight door power from the orange power seat circuit.

I tapped into the yellow wire at the dimmer switch connection to provide the headlights-on signal to the relay.

I had an almost brand new forward light harness in the factory color codes so I swapped those leads into the AAW bulkhead connector.

I used the tan fuel pump circuit for the rear defogger.

I recommend having one of these. It makes it so much easier to release a terminal from a connector if you break a wire or need to double up something and crimp on a new connector than digging around in the connector with small screwdriver. Aptiv 12094430 Metri-Pack Terminal Removal Tool | Waytek

 

[71charger_fan]

Here's how I tapped into the dimmer switch for the headlights-on signal.