My ‘76 and looking for “easy,” solutions on wiring.

[Pruneda]

I’ll start this by saying I won’t be doing this anytime soon, but I’m curious.

I own a ‘76 in California. Was getting it ready for smog and realized the Temp Gauge was pegged. Realized if I manipulated the harness under the dash certain ways they gauge would
begins to read vs being pegged. Didn’t really fix it other than getting in the “sweet spot,” for now.

So…I’ve considered a wiring harness like painless. Question is…is it smog compatible or does it even matter since it avoid the smog “stuff,” all together so it wouldn’t be a bad idea if I’m willing to invest the time and heartache into replacing said harness? (Realized there’s a lot of random wires jumped/hacked.) Imma let it ride for now but curious if they make a harness for smog trucks or if most already are since well..it doesn’t ever mess with those components to start with?

 

[Madgyver]

sender wire grounded on something or bad temp sender

 

[ba123]

your wiring has nothing to do with smog.

I'm still waiting for someone to say they had a painless experience with a painless harness.

like @Madgyver said... I'd start with tracing the wire that runs from the gauge to the sending unit or just replacing it and leaving it where it is.

 

[904Bronco]

Aftermarket wiring harnesses may or may not support late smog equipment. Most smog pieces are vacuum controlled, but there are a few that have electronic controls.
Then depending on what 76 emissions you may have, (Federal, Ca State, High altitude to name a few) , will determine if the harness will work by how many of the controls are electrically controlled.

Dura Spark Ignition - AAW for example requires the purchase of a sub-harness to hook that up. Not sure about Painless...

I will say I believe that it is doable to install a new harness and ensure the smog equipment that is there is functional in the eyes of the state of Kalifornia. A little research will be needed to see what is there on your rig.

 

[Pruneda]

your wiring has nothing to do with smog.

I'm still waiting for someone to say they had a painless experience with a painless harness.

like @Madgyver said... I'd start with tracing the wire that runs from the gauge to the sending unit or just replacing it and leaving it where it is.

Ive thought about rewiring said lines..like all of them, but then the concern lays in finding the proper 'pigtails,' that connect to the back of the cluster & senders themselves.

Another reason for the inspiration here and long-term consideration of swapping the harness is when I recently repaired the ignition switch it appeard there were jumper wires/extra wires connected to it and didnt match up to diagrams and some wires just skipped..although truck starts fine with those all connected so im not immediately complaining. Just didnt "like" the unknown hackjob underneath the dash.

 

[Pruneda]

Aftermarket wiring harnesses may or may not support late smog equipment. Most smog pieces are vacuum controlled, but there are a few that have electronic controls.
Then depending on what 76 emissions you may have, (Federal, Ca State, High altitude to name a few) , will determine if the harness will work by how many of the controls are electrically controlled.

Dura Spark Ignition - AAW for example requires the purchase of a sub-harness to hook that up. Not sure about Painless...

I will say I believe that it is doable to install a new harness and ensure the smog equipment that is there is functional in the eyes of the state of Kalifornia. A little research will be needed to see what is there on your rig.

Yea..maybe just replaced it all and "know" its all new under the dash for my mental sake would be the ideal goal. Didnt really consider the fact most of it would be vacuumed controlled but makes total sense.

Would love to rip it all out one day but its the price I pay for where I live.

 

[ba123]

Where are you in CA?

If you're near us... I think I remember Doug (@904Bronco ) saying this past Saturday he loves doing wiring and offers to do it all the time for anyone he can. Ok, maybe he didn't say those exact words but maybe for a reasonable price.

I'm good at wiring but not so good at finding all the time I need in a day and still need to fully wrap up my own stuff.

 

[Pruneda]

Where are you in CA?

If you're near us... I think I remember Doug (@904Bronco ) saying this past Saturday he loves doing wiring and offers to do it all the time for anyone he can. Ok, maybe he didn't say those exact words but maybe for a reasonable price.

I'm good at wiring but not so good at finding all the time I need in a day and still need to fully wrap up my own stuff.

Im in Central California, near Fresno.

Id like peace of mind especially since theres a few gremlins and jankyness underneath the dash id like to just be "gone."

This truck is special to me (as most are to their owners,) but its staying with me until the end since it was my dads dream to own one and with his rapidly declining health, its my ambitions to have it road worthy/reliable for trips while im still young enough to enjoy trips and such with it!