Wiring for dummies

[broncosam]

There have been quite a few threads and posts here about wiring harnesses and discussions of which harness is best to use,there is one now discussing the pros and cons on the "Centech vs. Painless " debate. I have read and reread all of these and can't seem to come to a conclusion as to what would best suit my needs. I am in need of a rewire on my Bronco. What I want is something that is a plug in and go harness as my automotive electrical skills are nil. I am planning on running stock instrumentation,along with factory type switches for the ign. and lights. Will not be running a heater. Wipers and sound system at a later date. This Bronco will mainly be pleasure driven on weekends,just a cruiser. I know from your posts that many of you are very electrical savvy and was looking for help. Again I am lookin for simplicity of installation ,but at the same time I want quality parts without breaking the bank if possible.Any help will be appreciated.

 

[Sporto]

I am working with the Centech harness right now. It is okay, but from what I know now, the Painless is a lot more geared towards stock Broncos. Especially the switches which is where Centech tends to be weaker. My Bronco will be used much the same as yours...

If I had to do it again, I would spend the extra coin and get the Painless.

Rich

 

[fordguy]

take a look at the ron francis before you make your decision

 

[cougarmandan]

Doesn't Dennis Carpenter or someone else reproduce stock harnesses?

 

[eric0o1]

The harness I designed was made with guys like you in mind. Guys who have little to no previous experience but want to tackle an entire re-wire on their own. Most guys with extensive electrical knowledge usually tend to want to buy a universal harness (one of our universal harnesses, Ron Francis, EZ wire, etc.) to do all the connecting and splicing themselves. our new harness takes all of that and the parts chasing for various small terminals and miscellaneous parts and put it into one package.

It utilizes all factory switches, one kit (10113) even includes a new headlight switch, dimmer switch and Ignition switch. If you are capable of removing your factory harness, then you certainly install the Painless harness. The majority of the harness is pre-terminated and is simply plugged in, plus there are a lot of extra circuits for things that can and will be added later down the road.

Sorry if that seems like a sales pitch, I was simply trying to state the general features the harness offers and mention things that are sometimes not included into the thought process of why to go with one harness or another. Check out the instruction manual before you make your final decision, and if you have any questions ask away.

http://www.painlessperformance.com/Manuals/10113.pdf

Just an FYI: Do not judge the price of the harness based on the price on our website, it can be had cheaper through Wild Horses and other distributors.

 

[viperchief]

After some research, I picked up the Painless from WH when they had the $100 refund last month. I'm an F-16 grease monkey by trade with zero electrical knowledge. After looking at the kit and the included instructions, I believe I will be able to do it. They really did a great job as everything is labeled (the wires are each labeled on the insulation as to what they go to!!) and neatly done. I also picked up the WH loom kit and that should make for a clean install. It will be my winter project so we'll see how it goes!!

 

[sprdv1]

After looking at the kit and the included instructions, I believe I will be able to do it. They really did a great job as everything is labeled (the wires are each labeled on the insulation as to what they go to!!) and neatly done.

They did a great job putting it together to be bronco specific..

 

[ep67bro]

The Painless harness is the way to go if you want to reuse the stock stuff and want the best quality parts. The other work well but are not Painless!!

 

[deltarat]

The Painless is great.

 

[markperry]

I thought the Centech was pretty Painless...the only issue I had was the instructions could have been better....It looked too be pretty Bronco specific to me!

 

[DirtDonk]

Yeah, Centech's instructions leave a lot to be desired. The Painless "book" on the other hand, is very professionally written (by Eric as a matter of fact) and goes into great detail.
Probably helps wiring-beginners get more comfortable with what they're about to do.

Paul

 

[cougarmandan]

I was tring to get a peak at that manual but the link seams to be down right now.

 

[eric0o1]

http://www.painlessperformance.com/Manuals/10113.pdf

try that one

If that doesn't work, go to our home page and type in 10113 and hit "SEARCH". this will bring up 2 parts (the harness & the lom kit), click on the blue "MANUAL" icon for the harness. This will bring up the PDF for the manual, it may take a little while to load it's 82 pages.