Smoked My Harness

[69Early]

Fired her up in the garage today , let her warm up and smoke under the hood. Light came on, horn blowing and starter cranking.
Had to hose it down and disconnect the battery. The harness on the firewall is smoked and have some wire insulation on the floor board on drivers side. Where do I start and what should I expect????
New harness, any recomendations?
I am wondering about by 1 year old power master 160 amp alternater and what else should I be concerned. Thanks in advance for your insight......

 

[SaddleUp]

Since your asking this question I would suggest getting a new harness and installing it. (My assumption is that you lack the experience and knowledge to properly repair/build your own) If I have assumed wrong then wiring diagrams can be found here with a bit of searching that will assist in repairing or building your harness. At the very least you will need to determine the source of the problem. (Double check the wiring on that alternator to be sure it was done right)

 

[MI-Bronco]

Please re-wire the whole harness!!

I smoked a wire behind my dash and it wasn't until I (this week) replaced the harness that I realized how extensive the damage actually was - wires were burnt from the dash all the way to the back of the truck.

I installed the Centech harness - however I would not recommend it. I am not well qualified in automotive electronics, but yet I was able to replace it with Centech (haven't turned it on yet, so I don't know if I did it right). So, from an ease of replacement Centech is good, but I had to do more custom wiring than I expected for a mostly stock truck.

 

[DirtDonk]

If you've got melted wires in the engine compartment AND the cab, I'd say replace the whole thing. You CAN definitely replace just the affected wires, but like was said, with these old wires, you won't know what else took a hard hit until it fails sometime down the not to distant road.
Look on the back of your fuse panel (if you can contort enough to see under there!) and see if anything is melted there as well.
AS for your high-output alternator, did you hook it up or someone else? Do you know whether or not it's hooked up in the stock wiring configuration of the charge wire going all the way through the system before coming out to the starter solenoid? Or is it hooked up right to the solenoid?
If stock, it may have had something to do with the problem, but if directly to the solenoid's battery side, then you probably had some other kind of short circuit.
Good luck. You're not that far from me either. If you want a second set of eyes to help out, I get up that way occasionally anyway. Might have some extra time after my trip to Martinez this coming week.
Let me know.

Paul

 

[Flash69]

I recommend the centech.I did it and it was simple and looks real clean.Wasnt hard.Just read the directions close

 

[69Early]

If you've got melted wires in the engine compartment AND the cab, I'd say replace the whole thing. You CAN definitely replace just the affected wires, but like was said, with these old wires, you won't know what else took a hard hit until it fails sometime down the not to distant road.
Look on the back of your fuse panel (if you can contort enough to see under there!) and see if anything is melted there as well.
AS for your high-output alternator, did you hook it up or someone else? Do you know whether or not it's hooked up in the stock wiring configuration of the charge wire going all the way through the system before coming out to the starter solenoid? Or is it hooked up right to the solenoid?
If stock, it may have had something to do with the problem, but if directly to the solenoid's battery side, then you probably had some other kind of short circuit.
Good luck. You're not that far from me either. If you want a second set of eyes to help out, I get up that way occasionally anyway. Might have some extra time after my trip to Martinez this coming week.
Let me know.

Paul

As Saddleup assumed correctly in his post above, I have no skills when it comes to automotive repair, dianosis etc. I had the alternator installed by a local auto electric shop (small fortune). It was a GM I purchased from Summitt which entailed a single wire hook up and required some changes from stock. I then had some othe work done by this guy that works on early bronco's out of Sacto of which one was a powermaster starter. He said he had some difficulty but got it hooked up. Both have been in the Bronco for about 8 months so I dont know. It would be really great if you could stop by and take a look to see if something was hooked up incorrectly that would be really great. I commute to downtown San Jose each day i usually get home around 7 pm but could make it home earlier if you have not already made the trip to Martinez. I forgot to check the email reply when I posted my disaster, I thought no one replied to my post. Thought i would go in this evening to see if anyone read it and did have some responses. Do you know of any local shops that could do the whole harness possibly centech?? How many hours labor does something like this take?? Thanks for your comments Paul.

 

[DirtDonk]

How many hours labor does something like this take??

LOTS! Lol. I'm sure any competent auto electrical shop could do it for you, but it would be expensive as it's mostly labor and you know what they charged you just to put in and re-wire an alternator! And they may or may not pay as much attention to detail as you or I would ourselves, since time is money for a shop. And then again too, the kit's aren't exactly inexpensive either.
I charged $500 to do a Land Cruiser recently (labor only) and felt like I under bid it by a bunch. But then I like to take my time and do a super neat job (as if it was my own truck) and you just can't charge for every minute when you're working like that. Bid on a couple of Broncos too, but when all is said and done, most people don't want to spend $1000+ to re-wire their trucks.

Too bad you're not still able to drive the Bronco. Since I live in San Jose it would be easy to meet you here. And my trip to Martinez got postponed because the customer decided to do the San Jose store first! Hah! Lucky me. Now I don't have to travel but also won't be as easy to stop by. But I'll try to work something out. My brother lives in Danville, but I don't know when I'll be up that way yet. Let you know.

Paul

 

[69Early]

smoked my harness

LOTS! Lol. I'm sure any competent auto electrical shop could do it for you, but it would be expensive as it's mostly labor and you know what they charged you just to put in and re-wire an alternator! And they may or may not pay as much attention to detail as you or I would ourselves, since time is money for a shop. And then again too, the kit's aren't exactly inexpensive either.
I charged $500 to do a Land Cruiser recently (labor only) and felt like I under bid it by a bunch. But then I like to take my time and do a super neat job (as if it was my own truck) and you just can't charge for every minute when you're working like that. Bid on a couple of Broncos too, but when all is said and done, most people don't want to spend $1000+ to re-wire their trucks.

Too bad you're not still able to drive the Bronco. Since I live in San Jose it would be easy to meet you here. And my trip to Martinez got postponed because the customer decided to do the San Jose store first! Hah! Lucky me. Now I don't have to travel but also won't be as easy to stop by. But I'll try to work
something out. My brother lives in Danville, but I don't know when I'll be up that way yet. Let you know.

Hi Paul,

What would be the approximate cost for the harness/ Can i get one from Duff's, BC Wildhorses? Would you be interested in doing it for me? Could it be done over a weekend?

Paul

 

[SaddleUp]

http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/10.asp

Your choice $480 or $550.

Unless Paul is lot better than most it will take considerably more than a weekend. I would guess 3 to 4 full days to get it done right. Possibly more if a lot of modification to the harness is needed.

 

[DirtDonk]

SaddleUp's right. To do it right would be more than a weekend unless we got REAL lucky. I'm sure you could throw one together and have everything work pretty quickly with today's complete harness' available from several vendors, but I'd hate to rush it. It really is fairly straightforward on an old truck like this, but there is ALWAYS something that requires special attention or doesn't go perfectly according to plan. And soldering connections when necessary instead of just crimping, solidly tying things up, takes extra time. Not to mention of course the highlight of the project, contorting yourself up under the dashboard while heating the heat-shrink tubing with double-jointed arms!
But hey, it may be worth a try.
I'd be happy to do it though. Either way it would be nice to see another Bronco back on the road.
Do you have a good work area at your home or would we need to tow it to my place?

Paul

 

[Unregistered]

one main thing when istalling high amp alt. is to unhook the factory AMP meter.

 

[HotWheels]

also put the inline safety fuse on it to keep from frying your harness. the stock harness was never meant to handle 160v.

painless or centech if you are doing it yourseld and are in a hurry.

I am using a Ron Francis harness the highest quality harness you can get. The only drawback is it take stime to run every wire, terminate and solder.

hth,

Mick

 

[SaddleUp]

And soldering connections when necessary instead of just crimping, solidly tying things up, takes extra time. Not to mention of course the highlight of the project, contorting yourself up under the dashboard while heating the heat-shrink tubing with double-jointed arms!

Paul

I'll second that. Solderless connectors are great for trail fixes but they should be repaired later by soldering. For this I wouldn't even consider using anthing other than solder and good shrink wrap. (There are cheap types of shrink wrap which is what most auto parts stores sell) I get mine from a local home improvement store.

 

[edjolly]

LOTS! Lol.

...I charged $500 to do a Land Cruiser recently (labor only) and felt like I under bid it by a bunch. But then I like to take my time and do a super neat job (as if it was my own truck) and you just can't charge for every minute when you're working like that. Bid on a couple of Broncos too, but when all is said and done, most people don't want to spend $1000+ to re-wire their trucks.


Paul

The 4X4 shop down the street from me, which specializes in Bronco's, charges about 30 hours to install a Centech. Total cost would have run me just under 3 grand.

I did it myself having the right tools, and a good garage, and some wiring experience. It took me about 60 hours, I figure, over the course of 5 weeks.

I'd allocate at least 50 hours to do this job, unless you've done a few already. Were I a mechanic, even if I felt generous, I wouldn't charge less than 25.

Ed

 

[69Early]

Smoked my Harness

WOW, 25 hours minimum! NOT GOOD for someone that cant do their own work. Then I have the Powermaster Alt & Starter to worry about. Oh. forgot a new altima battery as i pulled the post out in a panic trying to disconnect the hot while arching........it seems i could have had the engine rebuilt for what this is going to cost1
How mant 'Legs" are there to the Centech/Painless complete harness. The main off the firewall into the engine compartment, then a short leg on the otherside into/under the dash. Is that it? I checked both out on the wildhorses site , Painless and Centech. The painless has the new style fuses and what seems to be weather resistent box anyother differences both positive and negative!! Seem the majority of my BRONCO colleagues prefer the Centech which is little less expensive. Your thoughts are welcome. This post has been a tremendous help!:'(

 

[MI-Bronco]

After installing the Centech, I looked hard at the Painless and really can't see many differences other than the fuses.

On installation timing, I probably have ~25 hours in on mine, and I am not a mechanic or an electrician.

There are two main legs (one passenger side and one drivers side). Passenger side picks up the engine. You may have a harness feeding engine in the middle of firewall this will be feed from the pass side.

Here are some other tips on the Centech:
o Windshield wiper switch. This switch shaft was 1/16
bigger than my stock one, so the dash had to be opened
slightly and I rounded down the retaining nut to fit in the bezel.
o wiper wiring - i wired my wiper motor under dash using
their diagram and it worked fine. You have a choice of
pulling the wires up through the windshield frame. I
didn't for fear that I would lose my pull cord (wire)
and I would never get the wires back through.
o Ignition switch - I bought the adapter for this as I
had a dash protector I wanted to keep - also, you
will need to drill out the dash hole if you wish to use their
switch.
o Centech uses ring connectors rather than the boot
conectors Ford used - get yourself some nuts that fit
your engine items (temp, oil pressure etc).
o Firewall rubber gromets - these are too small in Centech
and you will need to put some goop on them to seal.
I used some weather strip glue I had.
o I also bought a new plastic glovebox and I recommend
this. Seems to make the fuse box a bit stronger.
o Buy some extra ring connectors for ground wires.
The ones in the kit are too small (IMHO)
o Turn signal connectors - I ended up with an extra wire that
doesn't connect to the Centech harness. I _think_ this is
for the auto trans light (PRNDL)
o Dash lights - stripe lights) do not come with a connector
that fits and must be retro-fitted.
o Washerpump - does not come with a connector
that fits and must be retro-fitted.
o Radio - does not come with a connector
that fits and must be retro-fitted.


Other than this, as already said - read the directions carefully. Centech directions are rather scattered and you must look in a number of sections to get the full picture.

I hope this helps,

Tom

 

[DirtDonk]

Did you get the PM I sent you, 69Early? Tried e-mailing you direct but it was blocked. Undoubtedly to keep disreputable types like me out.

Paul

 

[69Early]

Tom,

Thanks so much for all the tips. I will likely order the plastyic glove box. I believe the one I have in there now is card board. Right now my fuse panel in mounted just above the gas pedal pre glove box. it seems like this will ultimately help when I get around to installing some light and a strong stereo. I talked to DirtDonk/Paul and I believe he is going to help me get this thing back on the road. I had no idea what this entailed but when you think about the lights, gas, temp, wipers etc it is alot.
If you think of anything else let me know. One post mentioned an inline fuse did you utilize one??

 

[MI-Bronco]

Tom,

Thanks so much for all the tips. If you think of anything else let me know. One post mentioned an inline fuse did you utilize one??

You are welcome - I hope I gave some good advice and didn't scare you about doing this. I am _really_ happy I did this mod!!!

Yes, I did use the inline fuse. The Centech package has an inline fuse wire you attach to the + post of the soleniod.

One other thought - I am now blowing the fuse for the dash lights and I'm not sure why - I think it's because of the draw. I'm going to use the LED lights from Chuck and see if that makes a difference. Another thought I just had is that there is a dash light wire (the one for the strip lights) and it might be shorting out....

And final though on this note - buy some good shrink wrap and use it...

 

[69Early]

Smoked My Harness, going centech question??

Hi Tom, Hi Toque & My EB posters

Dirt Donk/Paul is going to help me out on the Centec install. We were talking today about the location of the fuse box. Currently my 69 box is located on the floor board just above the gas pedal. Should we install it there or take it up to the glove box like the later models? We are guessing the Centech will accomodate both locations//
Feeling a little better but still a couple weeks out before we can start....never fails, this stuff has to happen why in the middle of summer!!
Thanks for all the insights. Good tips to Toque on the wrap (nip-tuck) on the hazard wires.