Custom vs. Centech/Painless Harness

[jdominguez]

So it looks like for a centech or painless harness you could spend anywhere from $500 to just over $1,000 for the harness, then your time for the install. What are your thoughts on these two options compared to having a shop perform a full custom wiring setup? How much more would you expect to pay to have it done custom? What factors to consider?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

[ransil]

Most shops do crappy work.. IMO

Do it your self and you will learn something and be able to trouble shoot it later.. its not rocket science just install "one wire at a time"

I just looked at a remote starter install in a co-workers truck ( he was having issues) I expected to see scotch locks all over the place... nope all they did was wrap the wire and tape it.. as with all half ass jobs it will work for a few years then weird shit will start happening.

 

[Sporto]

Ditto on what Ransil said. It makes a huge difference once a new harness is installed. He did mine, and I learned a lot by just watching. I have done two Painless kits since. Not on Broncos though, and I was the king of Scotch Loc connections prior to that...It is not that difficult, just time consuming to do it right.

There are cheaper alternatives to the Centech and Painless. Check West Coast Broncos, I think that they have a cheaper one that looks pretty nice.

Good luck...

Rich

 

[xcntrk]

Go through the Painless manual (online) and review it page by page. The manual covers the installation instructions and overall layout of work required to rewire. You should be able to gauge if it's something you can do yourself.

http://www.painlessperformance.com/Manuals/10114.pdf

 

[ransil]

I was the king of Scotch Loc connections prior to that.

Rich

I still have it.
it will hang on my trophy wall

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[Justafordguy]

X4, just do it your self, a Bronco has a very simple wiring harness. If you don't want to buy a pre-made harness just build your own.

 

[76 bronco J]

>>> have y'all seen Jeff's new harness made by American Autowire.....it looks pretty good.....​

[youtube]qYMy79UqQ8I[/youtube]

 

[gearhead74]

Centech harness took two days, that's removing the old harness as well. Wasn't difficult at all. 10 years later no wiring problems yet.

 

[Sporto]

I still have it.
it will hang on my trophy wall

Uh oh...My street cred may be in jeopardy if that thing is still around.

 

[DuctTape]

I bought the painless and it was nice but not painless.

If I rewire a bronc again i will do it myself. As others have said it really isn't that complicated, and being able to put everything exactly where you want it is a bonus.

The one cool thing about the painless harness was that nearly every wire had a wire # and desc printed on it - that is nice. The manual for the harness I put in was complete crap, but I hear they have improved it since then.

 

[707Bronk]

I chose to use the EZ wire harness. For under $200 bucks its a good deal. I was expecting a crappy fuse block and crappy wire, but both were of good quality. Mine ended up being closer to $325 with all the wire wrap, some new switches and weatherpack connectors (and special crimper). It turned out great, plus I have several extra circuits to use. An EZ wire harness could easily be as good as a painless harness or as bad my old hacked up harness. The difference is all in the planning and connections IMO.

The only thing is you have to terminate everything yourself, which may or may not be a problem. I could never see buying a painless for nearly $1000, but if money is not an option...by all means go for it. Even the Centech would have ended up being ~$200 more than the EZ harness.

 

[chuck]

Any job is much like a test. If you have everything you need and know what the test is about any test is not too hard but if you know nothing about what the test is about it's going to be tuff. Same with wiring, it's not too tuff for most of you but if you have never wired anything and don't know how to do "simple" little things like solder and you don't know about wire sizes and loads and or how to pull wire or how to put wire through steel or how to keep wire neat and organized the whole job is going to be a bitch and you will end up with what looks much like what you already had but new. And most likely will have problems after you finish. So if you have not wired and do not have the tools or skill required don't try it on your own. Find someone that is willing to help/direct your efforts. None of the above skills are hard after you know them but knowing things like not leaving the tit on a solder connection can save you hrs of testing. I am all for DIY and you will never learn if you don't try but a guy coming by a few times to point out what you might be doing wrong would be very helpful.
The kits like centech and painless are layed out according to where it goes and all the wires are marked to where they go and most of the ends are ready to just plug in. Some of the kits are basicly a fuse block and rolls of wire, some or better.

 

[jdominguez]

Thanks Chuck. As much as I would like to learn about doing it myself, I have very little time and even less skill. So I think I will find someone down here in San Diego who I can pay to wire my rig up for me. Hopefully if its done right I won't have the need to trouble shoot it later.

Any recommendations for someone in the San Diego area? Someone gave me the name of Evan Sickels but they didn't have a number for him.

Thanks again guys for all your opinions.

 

[leucbronc]

Bronco Ben -- 73Stallion

I live in SD and had Ben (73stallion here on CB) install a centech harness for me along with a bunch of other parts. The harness was great and Ben did a great job on the install (he has a lot of attention to detail). Best of all he will travel to your place to do it, at least he used to. I suggest reaching out to him via PM.

BTW, this was around 5 years ago and i have had zero issues with it since. Always comforting to have a reliable electrical system.

--Steve

 

[MyOriginal66]

I just bought the American Wire harness from JBG. I won't get around to installing it myself for another month or two, but I plan on trying it myself. The last car I wired was about 20 years ago and a friend helped. I have not had any personal experience with Ben, but I have heard nothing but great things about him as a Bronco mechanic and fellow gearhead/bronco aficionado.

Mark at beach city broncos in San Diego (MarkAtherton on here) has a guy that wires NASCAR cars. I've seen his work and it's REALLY nice. I believe he prefers the centech but he can also customize any harness for you.

 

[u10072]

Ron Francis or just go through it and resolder the previous 5 owners mistakes.