Aftermarket wiring kits. Anyone done it???

[hrforever]

I've finally got to the stage of running the 1UZFE wiring from the engine bay into the cabin for connection to the computer and came to the conclusion that my project car (Volvo 242) seems to have twice as many wires under the dash than is really needed. Example; each light (headlamp, indicator, parker, etc) has its own wire and each light goes to a central controller to inform of a malfunctioning light bulb. Also there's a handful of wires for the original fuel pumps, injection and relays.

Because the donor motor has its own wiring and there seems to be excess wiring in the vehicles own wiring harness I've been looking at the possibility of stripping the existing wiring out and putting in a new, simpler aftermarket system, ie painless or ez2wire, thus reducing the clutter and future problems.

Has anyone had experience with any commercial aftermarket systems and were the experiences good or bad.

 

[Aussie Drifter]

Dose any one no what brand the 1uz plugs are?? Or what any part numbers are?? If i can find the part numbers i should be able to get them from my supplier to get them for me! I would love to make a stand alone loom for my adaptronic in my track car. It would be nice to have a loom that hasent got heaps of joins and splices in it!

 

[mmliljoker]

i have installed many stand alone harness like the painless and ez wire. I found them very simple and easy to use. i can only say that the gauge of wire used in those harness is a lot bigger then in most imports. This isnt a problem but you might have some trouble with making connection at gauges unless you are doing some type of aftermarket gauges. i will be using one in my swap to run my lights and gauges. most of those harness are made to plug into a GM columne so adapting them to other columnes might be a task. Also the are almost always GM color coded there are some all black harnesss avalable.

 

[hrforever]

Well after a couple of weeks doing my homework and studying the Volvo wiring diagrams, I chose too bite the bullet and buy a 'Keep it Clean' universal wiring loom. I believe it's very similar to the 'ez wiring kit'.

mmliljoker, your're correct about the size of the wires, they are a lot bigger than standard but with the correct terminals and tools, no problems have been encountered. Biggest issue, however, has been that the loom is made for a fuse panel on the left for a left hand drive vehicle. The Volvo had the fuse panel on the left for a right hand drive vehicle, so the 'Keep It Clean' column and dash wires were short. The only way around this was to relocate the fuse panel to the centre of the vehicle so the wires reached.

Overall, I'm extremely happy with the result, given its my first time. Having all the wires clearly marked and pre-grouped has helped, but it will be a lot easier next time. Having cleaned out the Volvos 'double' wiring has helped make room for the ECU and its wiring loom as well as making it simpler to follow an electrical path for any given item.

Would definitely do it again. No special talents required, just time, planning, good tools and patience.