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Painless To Ididit Turn Signal harness

JeepGuy

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Aug 24, 2006
Messages
1,210
It seems too straight forward which gives me a bit of pause. I've listed the connections below, but something tells me I'm missing something related to mating this to the painless harness. Plan is to cut the Ford Style connector off, install new connectors in the GM style connector, and put them together. Trying not to cut into the actual painless harness so the adapter will work perfect.

I think the Yellow wire and the White/Red wire (opposite adapters) are screwing with my visual understanding here. On paper it looks okay until you count the number of wires involved. The Painless Harness only has 8 wires labled and installed into the "Turn Signal" adapter but there are 9 listed in the description below...🤔
Painless to Ididit 1.jpg
Ididit.jpg
 

Johnnyb

Contributor
Sr. Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2001
Messages
775
Loc.
Flagstaff
My painless harness plugged right into my I did it column. I didn't need that funky adapter at all.
I'm not saying it works, I haven't connected the battery yet 😉
 

DirtDonk

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Messages
47,345
So I'm not quite seeing what you're doing. Yet...
Is your new column a generic fit type using a GM turn signal switch, or is it a direct-fit type using a Ford Bronco switch?
From the pictures, it looks like you have a GM type column. In the wording however, it sounds like you have a Ford switch, but the GM connector in your second pic would seem to be coming from a GM model.
You mention cutting off the Ford connector, so that's why I was thinking your turn signal switch is Ford.

The pictured adapter is from the Painless kit? Looks like an Early-to-Late adapter, but not sure.
Maybe I'm just forgetting some basics, but needed to ask questions to clear it up.

Thanks

Paul
 

Matt@Wildhorses

Sponsor/Vendor
Newbie
Joined
Nov 27, 2013
Messages
56
@JeepGuy, I believe the extra wire in the Painless harness would be for the 66-73 stock column. The 66-73 column used a 2 post horn circuit at the signal switch. 74-77 and the aftermarket columns have one wire/post at the signal switch typically, and require 1 less wire.

Matt
 
OP
OP
JeepGuy

JeepGuy

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Aug 24, 2006
Messages
1,210
So I'm not quite seeing what you're doing. Yet...
Is your new column a generic fit type using a GM turn signal switch, or is it a direct-fit type using a Ford Bronco switch?
From the pictures, it looks like you have a GM type column. In the wording however, it sounds like you have a Ford switch, but the GM connector in your second pic would seem to be coming from a GM model.
You mention cutting off the Ford connector, so that's why I was thinking your turn signal switch is Ford.

The pictured adapter is from the Painless kit? Looks like an Early-to-Late adapter, but not sure.
Maybe I'm just forgetting some basics, but needed to ask questions to clear it up.

Thanks

Paul
@JeepGuy, I believe the extra wire in the Painless harness would be for the 66-73 stock column. The 66-73 column used a 2 post horn circuit at the signal switch. 74-77 and the aftermarket columns have one wire/post at the signal switch typically, and require 1 less wire.

Matt
So the Column was purchased about 6 or 7 years ago (if not more when I started this project) from Jeff's Bronco graveyard listed as a 66-77 Bronco. It is an Ididt Tilt Steel Column. The GM style plug shown is what is coming out of the column. All the wires seem pretty straight forward, but as you can see, on the adaptor from the Painless Harness, there is a Yellow wire which is listed as a "Horn Switch Ground". Those wire in the picture are shown run into the 1/4 moon shaped adaptor which instead of a Yellow wire, has the White/Red for the Hazard switch. This is one of the confusing parts for me.

If the Yellow wire comes from the Painless harness, but it not needed, that is fine. I will just terminate it at the adaptor and make sure it's not going to connect with metal anywhere.

I think I figured it out. Looks like the White/Red will be connected into the painless harness pigtail that would have been used for dash switch, and the Yellow Hazard ground out of the 8 pin pigtail will simply not be hooked up to anything.

So Basically, I guess I'm just looking for conformation at this point that the Letters and Colors I have listed up top look right to all the experts out there. :)
Painless Turn Signal Wiring Instructions.jpg
 

DirtDonk

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Nov 3, 2003
Messages
47,345
Not sure why you're still wanting to use the adapter from the Painless kit. Are you just trying to keep your options open in the future for something?
It's to adapt their harness to a Ford turn signal switch, but you have a GM turn signal switch. So just eliminating it altogether gets my vote.
If the harness comes pre-terminated with a matching connector to that white/translucent connector at one end of the adapter, then the simplest method I believe would simply be to remove the connector entirely. Either by cutting (less desirable maybe) or de-pinning the connector and leaving the pins. Not that this would do you any good for the next step I would not think...

I think you mentioned in your first post about creating your own connectors at some point? I say go for it.
Rather than keeping the GM connector on the column side, which won't connect directly to anything you have on the chassis side, and rather than keeping the white square connector on the chassis side, which will never adapt to anything else even if you go back to a Ford switch (because you were just going to cut the Ford part of the connector off anyway) then just cutting them all and terminating them with GM Weatherpacks, Deutsch(sp?) Connectors, or whatever your preferred type is, seems the way to go to me.

If you want to keep the Painless connector just in case you ever decide to change your steering column again, I think that's false economy.
You'd have to really want to buy a new column in order to get rid of a perfectly good GM based one you have now.
You'd be paying extra for a new replacement Painless adapter if you wanted to go that route. Assuming they even still offer them thirty years from now when you change the column.
The only way I see a savings (in money anyway) is if you have to change the turn signal switch in the future (the GM switches arguably last longer than the Ford versions in many cases) you can then just add the new switch and you're ready with the connector.
But a new switch is easy enough to swap over to a Weatherpack, etc. once again. Not cheaper, but pretty easy.

Sorry if all that meant I was missing the point of your decision to cut the adapter and match it all to GM stuff.
Making your own adapter so to speak.

Paul
 
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JeepGuy

JeepGuy

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Aug 24, 2006
Messages
1,210
I have to cut it either way. My thought process was only cut and repin one side and leave the extra length, plus if I screw it up, it's only the adaptor and not the harness.:ROFLMAO:
 

DirtDonk

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Nov 3, 2003
Messages
47,345
Great news! Now on to the "next big thing" on the to-do list.

paul
 
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