Painless harness to Ididit steering column wiring

[73azbronco]

Thought I'd throw up a post on this topic for those going Ididit steering column route to put the info in one spot.

My issue is the ididit column came with the flat connector no the 4x4 square connector so I have to splice. I went with this plug to make it easier:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JC6X41W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you have a painless wire harness, or even stock harness with square plug from body harness, here is how you hook them up:

Go to Wild Horses website and open the tilt steering column webpage.

Upper left side is a link to PDF document for wire harnesses.

In that document you will see a painless wiring section, and a GM/Flaming river column section.

Apparently Ididit uses flaming river/GM wiring.

So all you need to do is match the painless colors to the GM colors and Ididit column will work.

Verified through techs at Painless/Ididit, WH.

One note, you must ensure the steering column body grounds to EB body/negative side of battery. Should be no problem with an aluminum or chrome like mine, but a powder coated or painted may not ground through the mounting bracket to the body to the battery. If you don't have a ground the horn and turn signals won't work.

While you could just crimp and heat shrink, I crimped, soldered and heat shrunk then wrapped with loom covering. Sort of looks OEM.

 

[DirtDonk]

Thanks for the heads up!
Good call on the ground. Maybe a quick scrape of paint between the two surfaces (and a little electric or di-electric grease to keep corrosion at bay) will be a good practice.

And just to be clear, if you have the Bronco-specific "Direct-Fit" column, it does use a Bronco/Ford turn signal switch and wiring. But glad you mentioned the other Ididit with the GM turn signal switch.

Thanks again. Sounds like it's up and running?
Electrically speaking at least.;D

Paul

 

[hankjr]

https://www.wildhorses4x4.com/category/Bronco_Tilt_Columns

for those looking for a hyperlink..

thanks for the write up. i will check mine tonight

Hank

 

[eric0o1]

 

[jmhend]

Good call. I have an ididit column still in the box that I also need to look at. Thanks for the heads up

 

[73azbronco]

Eric, excellent picture where is that located?

 

[eric0o1]

It's a drawing I did for someone here at some point. It'll be in the updated version of the bronco harness manual. I've been working on changes for a while now as time allows. I'm finishing another project up now and should be able to get back to finalizing some changes and putting the new paper work and manual into production in the next few months.

 

[73azbronco]

My issue with the ididit may only be because its from so long ago, they now have direct fit plugs.

 

[bharper13]

Quick question, wiring the painless harness to an aftermarket GM tilt steering, where does the yellow horn switch ground wire attach? The blue/yellow attaches to the black on the column.

 

[eric0o1]

you will not need it, the horn button grounds itself through the column on a GM style switch

 

[WPS 73 Bronco]

Back to this thread, but now doing Ididit GM harness to stock 73 wiring. From what I‘m reading here, the yellow ford wire (horn power) is now out of the circuit, but what do we do with the Ididit Brown hazard flasher?

 

[DirtDonk]

Just to be sure, the Ididit column has the integrated hazard switch?
That might take a bit of figuring, and some extra wire to connect to the existing hazard circuit(s) under the dash.
I have not done this myself, so don’t know all the ins and outs.

Back to the horn though, are you going to add your own relay to the circuit?
Did that particular column come with one?

 

[WPS 73 Bronco]

I have another thread started, but I guess it doesn’t matter. The WH Ididit colum has the integrated hazard switch. I wasn’t going to use it. I planned to stick with the dash hazards.

The external horn does have a relay with a button/switch on the dash to make it honk. that switch has a ground and a wire to the relay. My plan was to hook that wire to the column, replacing the ford BL-Y wire that goes to the prior horn.

 

[Moddz67]

I have another question. I’m repinning the Painless performance turn signal adapter pigtale. To work with the Flaming River GM adapter FR20301. It seems pretty straightforward except with the yellow wire (#2 on the FR20301 pin-out) it’s connected to the hot side of the relay with a jumper wire to the ground terminal. If you look at the horn relay connector number 86 and 30. I’m left with only one slot to put this pin in but that’s a ground (#963 on the painless diagram) I’m confused.
Also can I ignore the brown “K” hazard kit wire since I’m using the OEM Bronco hazard switch and circuit?

 

[DirtDonk]

Mixing and matching brands always seems to cause electrical confusion. This one appears to be no different.
You’ve got the yellow and blue wires spliced together already. Are you sure that they both go to the pin 30 and pin 86 as indicated in the diagram?
Pin 87 is simply out to the horn, and pin 85 is up to the horn button. We’re at grounds to the body when you push the horn button.
Presumably this Ididit steering column is a single wire/horn contact? Is it a universal Ididit, or Ford specific “Direct Fit” type?

 

[DirtDonk]

Just so you know, depending on whose instructions you read, the relay manufacturers often list pin 85 as the ground, while others list pin 86 as the ground.
Hella is the one that typically lists 85 as ground and 86 as switched power.
Where 30 is the power feed from the battery, 86 is the switched power, and 85 is switched ground.
Since this horn setup is expected to switch the ground side, 86 is actually power, and for simplicity does not need to be switched.

 

[DirtDonk]

Does your steering column have the four-way flasher switch on it as well?

 

[Moddz67]

Does your steering column have the four-way flasher switch on it as well?

I don’t think so. Even if it does I’d rather use the original Bronco switch.

 

[Moddz67]

Just so you know, depending on whose instructions you read, the relay manufacturers often list pin 85 as the ground, while others list pin 86 as the ground.
Hella is the one that typically lists 85 as ground and 86 as switched power.
Where 30 is the power feed from the battery, 86 is the switched power, and 85 is switched ground.
Since this horn setup is expected to switch the ground side, 86 is actually power, and for simplicity does not need to be switched.

So your saying I’m ok adding that last pin as a ground like it says in the painless diagram?

 

[DirtDonk]

Depends. And I’m not sure since none of the colors in your picture match color is on the Painless diagram.

Certainly not if it’s connected directly to power. But if it’s connected to the horn button, and pin 85 (or 86) of the relay, then it’s OK
You don’t connect any wires associated with either pin 30 or it’s splice to the relay.

The diagrams are hard to coordinate between each other. You may have to go with what works, rather than what is indicated in two different manufacturers diagrams.

Even though the Ididit diagram is simple and clear, I think you have to go by the Painless diagram because that’s the wiring harness you’re using and they include a horn relay in their harness.

Bottom line is to test it.
Or wait for someone with a clearer head to point the direction.