Wiring Quandary

[Swailsd]

•Explorer 5.0 stroked 347ci
•Explorer Serpentine
•Painless Wiring Harness
•Holley Sniper 2 EFI
•Holley Hyperspark IGN
•Holley PDM
•Dakota Digital RTX
•Flaming River Tilt Column
•Vintage Air Gen V

I have the harness laid out in the bronco in position, all mechanical (engine, transmission, radiator, Holley EFI, distributor, front serpentine, etc installed. I would like to do one piece of the puzzle at the time as to not get to overwhelmed. So….. my questions are has anyone done this setup as stated? And where is the best place to start? Just trying to get my head wrapped around every piece of this puzzle before getting started. I’ve read countless threads and posts on this site and know y’all are the best in the business, so without further FIRE AWAY

I’m in south Ga
1975 Body Off Restoration

 

[DirtDonk]

I'll start it off. We've been conferring via PM, but have not discussed the location of the PDM (power distribution module) yet.
Do you know where you're going to mount it exactly? I think you said driver's side, but where exactly?

At least the EFI and the DD RTX gauges are "stand-alone" wiring harnesses, but they do need to integrate with the Painless to at least get power.

Did we ever talk about grounds? You're starting from scratch mostly, so keep this in mind.... Grounds, grounds, grounds. And then maybe a couple more grounds!
Battery to engine.
Battery to body (probably two places, the fender apron, and the core support)
Engine to body (firewall is convenient)
Engine to alternator (if your engine and alternator are not perfectly clean and free of paint and rust, this is not a bad thing to add)
Hood to body (RFI)
Windshield frame to body if your wipers act funky
Body to frame in a couple of spots. More for RFI than for anything to do with the electrical system. But it does let you ground more items to the frame if needed.
Body to dashboard. The same place you ground the engine to, is usually a nice convenient spot. You can use a through-bolt and get it done for both.

You could make your own using Black wire, or you could buy pre-made straps. Or you could "roll 'yer own" so to speak, and get a roll of braided wire strapping.
Both your EFI AND your RTX will thank you for this.

Paul

 

[Broncobowsher]

Not the exact mix. Probably nobody has done that exact mix of parts.
I did a hotrod painless kit, so lots of flexability in how it was run. I deleted the driver's air vent and the fuse box went on the inner kick panel.
Bundles roughed in the direction they should go. Figure how you are going to do firewall passthroughs? All that little stuff.
Any of the smaller stuff (I had an older Holley that had a remote control box, transmission controller, ignition box) find a home for all that. Don't worry about the actual harness getting to it right now.
Go back and make sure that the roughed in harness has the right wires going to where they are really needed. Now is the time to rework any routing. Ignition might be on the other side of the engine bay from first layout. Stuff like that.
Step back, is that how you really want it? How are you planning to loom all this?

When you are really ready, take one of the branches off the fuse panel and work your way down that branch. Then go back and take anothe branch off the fuse panel and work that one into place. One bite at a time.

 

[Swailsd]

•Explorer 5.0 stroked 347ci
•Explorer Serpentine
•Painless Wiring Harness
•Holley Sniper 2 EFI
•Holley Hyperspark IGN
•Holley PDM
•Dakota Digital RTX
•Flaming River Tilt Column
•Vintage Air Gen V

I have the harness laid out in the bronco in position, all mechanical (engine, transmission, radiator, Holley EFI, distributor, front serpentine, etc installed. I would like to do one piece of the puzzle at the time as to not get to overwhelmed. So….. my questions are has anyone done this setup as stated? And where is the best place to start? Just trying to get my head wrapped around every piece of this puzzle before getting started. I’ve read countless threads and posts on this site and know y’all are the best in the business, so without further FIRE AWAY

I’m in south Ga
1975 Body Off Restoration

I'll start it off. We've been conferring via PM, but have not discussed the location of the PDM (power distribution module) yet.
Do you know where you're going to mount it exactly? I think you said driver's side, but where exactly?

At least the EFI and the DD RTX gauges are "stand-alone" wiring harnesses, but they do need to integrate with the Painless to at least get power.

Did we ever talk about grounds? You're starting from scratch mostly, so keep this in mind.... Grounds, grounds, grounds. And then maybe a couple more grounds!
Battery to engine.
Battery to body (probably two places, the fender apron, and the core support)
Engine to body (firewall is convenient)
Engine to alternator (if your engine and alternator are not perfectly clean and free of paint and rust, this is not a bad thing to add)
Hood to body (RFI)
Windshield frame to body if your wipers act funky
Body to frame in a couple of spots. More for RFI than for anything to do with the electrical system. But it does let you ground more items to the frame if needed.
Body to dashboard. The same place you ground the engine to, is usually a nice convenient spot. You can use a through-bolt and get it done for both.

You could make your own using Black wire, or you could buy pre-made straps. Or you could "roll 'yer own" so to speak, and get a roll of braided wire strapping.
Both your EFI AND your RTX will thank you for this.

Paul

•Driver side on top of fender well easily accessible and convenient for me since the top of the pass side will be kinda taken up by the factory air cleaner. And also there’s not a very good place to hide the huge main Holley harness connection
•Starting off fresh and we did discuss grounds and I have a plan for those will be installing those hopefully this weekend

 

[Swailsd]

Not the exact mix. Probably nobody has done that exact mix of parts.
I did a hotrod painless kit, so lots of flexability in how it was run. I deleted the driver's air vent and the fuse box went on the inner kick panel.
Bundles roughed in the direction they should go. Figure how you are going to do firewall passthroughs? All that little stuff.
Any of the smaller stuff (I had an older Holley that had a remote control box, transmission controller, ignition box) find a home for all that. Don't worry about the actual harness getting to it right now.
Go back and make sure that the roughed in harness has the right wires going to where they are really needed. Now is the time to rework any routing. Ignition might be on the other side of the engine bay from first layout. Stuff like that.
Step back, is that how you really want it? How are you planning to loom all this?

When you are really ready, take one of the branches off the fuse panel and work your way down that branch. Then go back and take anothe branch off the fuse panel and work that one into place. One bite at a time.

•Driver side air box will be deleted, I plan on mounting the Dakota box and module on/near the brake pedal bracket.
•Trust me I’ve been stepping back and looking at this thing long enough I’m really ready

 

[Jdgephar]

If it were me, I would probably get the main Bronco chassis wiring all figured out and rough located first. After that, start adding in the modules. That way you know the modules won't interfere with where the other stuff has to be. It also defines where all of your wire feeds will be. Use those routes to add in the wires you need for all of the other stuff. It will keep your wiring nice and neat.

With explorer front dress, I assume 4G alternator? Figure out what you want to do with the main feed wires to the fuse box. I left the current sensor in the dash, but only one direction of current flow so that it does not carry the alternator current. You're going Dakota digital, so you'll only have volts and won't need both wires, or you can use a much smaller one.

Once you have the main harness in, I would probably then go on to the Holley stuff, then work inside on the dash/column.

 

[Swailsd]

If it were me, I would probably get the main Bronco chassis wiring all figured out and rough located first. After that, start adding in the modules. That way you know the modules won't interfere with where the other stuff has to be. It also defines where all of your wire feeds will be. Use those routes to add in the wires you need for all of the other stuff. It will keep your wiring nice and neat.

With explorer front dress, I assume 4G alternator? Figure out what you want to do with the main feed wires to the fuse box. I left the current sensor in the dash, but only one direction of current flow so that it does not carry the alternator current. You're going Dakota digital, so you'll only have volts and won't need both wires, or you can use a much smaller one.

Once you have the main harness in, I would probably then go on to the Holley stuff, then work inside on the dash/column.

Yes 4g alternator, the main harness is in and I would like to start on passenger side with all the alternator and power wires for the starter and starter solenoid and fuses that will be on the passenger fender well near the battery

 

[bronco italiano]

With sniper, you cannot put enough grounds on:
Battery to engine
Intake to trans
Trans to frame rail
Frame rails to front inner fenders
Front frame rail to grill
Put them all over so you have redundant grounds.
I always use, where I can, brass hardware, full copper tinned wire, and electrical grease
I know it is ridiculous, but early broncos need good grounds and Sniper needs lots of extra grounds

 

[davisjstone]

I have a similar setup and i'm nearing the end of my install.

New painless harness​

Explorer serp/4g​

Sniper 2 / PDM​

Electric fan (low speed running to PDM, high speed of a relay triggered by a PDM output)​

Hyperspark Ready to Run​

Mini PMGR starter​

Quick 4 trans controller.​

I have not fired it up yet, and as mentioned above, i'm troubleshooting some issues which I think are related to grounds (I'll start a separate thread for that). I'm learning as I go and had never done any wiring work before, much less wired an entire car, but with the help of this forum and lots of internet research I think im well on my way. Go slow and plan things out. Sit back, then look again, so you don't have to re-route, loom, etc..which you will anyway.

I was confused about the 4g wiring. These two threads helped a lot.
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/t...ess-bronco-harness.294098/page-4#post-3568916
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threads/painless-wire-question.325620/#post-3568520

Here are a few pictures of where I put the PDM. Still not 100% complete but it may give you an idea of one way to do it.

 

[DirtDonk]

One thing I see in yours davis, that I "might" change, would be the location of the Maxi-Fuse holder.
I like putting things under the battery, but the main power fuse to the main fuse box would be better left handy and convenient without having to remove the battery to access it.
It's tucked clean and out of the way down there, but if you ever have a full power outage, you'd need to pull the battery just to check the fuse. Much less replace it.
Or is it visible down there behind the battery, with it still in place? Can you reach it?

Oh, and don't forget to put the fuse in when you start testing!!! Hah!

 

[davisjstone]

One thing I see in yours davis, that I "might" change, would be the location of the Maxi-Fuse holder.
I like putting things under the battery, but the main power fuse to the main fuse box would be better left handy and convenient without having to remove the battery to access it.
It's tucked clean and out of the way down there, but if you ever have a full power outage, you'd need to pull the battery just to check the fuse. Much less replace it.
Or is it visible down there behind the battery, with it still in place? Can you reach it?

Oh, and don't forget to put the fuse in when you start testing!!! Hah!

Great point. I used an existing hole to mount as I try not to drill new ones if possible.

The picture is deceiving but with the battery in, I can remove the cover and pull the fuse. There's not a lot of room, but there’s enough.

 

[DirtDonk]

Good to go then.
If they make "blow-n-glow" fuses in the Maxi size, this would make diagnosing even easier. If the fuse is blown, a small LED lights up on top. You could easily see that and if not lighted, could save you the trouble of pulling the fuse.

Paul

 

[Swailsd]

I have a similar setup and i'm nearing the end of my install.

New painless harness​

Explorer serp/4g​

Sniper 2 / PDM​

Electric fan (low speed running to PDM, high speed of a relay triggered by a PDM output)​

Hyperspark Ready to Run​

Mini PMGR starter​

Quick 4 trans controller.​

I have not fired it up yet, and as mentioned above, i'm troubleshooting some issues which I think are related to grounds (I'll start a separate thread for that). I'm learning as I go and had never done any wiring work before, much less wired an entire car, but with the help of this forum and lots of internet research I think im well on my way. Go slow and plan things out. Sit back, then look again, so you don't have to re-route, loom, etc..which you will anyway.

I was confused about the 4g wiring. These two threads helped a lot.
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/t...ess-bronco-harness.294098/page-4#post-3568916
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threads/painless-wire-question.325620/#post-3568520

Here are a few pictures of where I put the PDM. Still not 100% complete but it may give you an idea of one way to do it.

View attachment 939226


View attachment 939227

View attachment 939228

That’s a clean setup and very neat, so you don’t have the smaller Holley ignition box it’s built in the distributor?

 

[Swailsd]

That’s a clean setup and very neat, so you don’t have the smaller Holley ignition box it’s built in the distributor?

Where did u get your (clean) switched 12v source for your PDM?

 

[Broncobowsher]

I hope those battery cable ends are just temporary. The rest of it looks so clean.

 

[DirtDonk]

Another comment about your fuse location, Davis. More in the “food for thought” category.
What size battery are you using, and what battery tray are you using?
Just thinking out loud here, but many of us, myself included, have gone to larger group size batteries in our Broncos. Granted, many modern batteries, pack the same punch in a smaller package. But if you ever put a bigger battery in, some of that access accessibility could go away.
Sounds like you’re OK for now. Again though, just food for thought.

 

[davisjstone]

Where did u get your (clean) switched 12v source for your PDM?

I don't have the box, but it's just about the same installation. I re-purposed the painless #954 white/black electric choke wire for the switched sniper source.

 

[davisjstone]

Another comment about your fuse location, Davis. More in the “food for thought” category.
What size battery are you using, and what battery tray are you using?
Just thinking out loud here, but many of us, myself included, have gone to larger group size batteries in our Broncos. Granted, many modern batteries, pack the same punch in a smaller package. But if you ever put a bigger battery in, some of that access accessibility could go away.
Sounds like you’re OK for now. Again though, just food for thought.

Thats a great point. The battery in the picture was one for another car that was on a charger and I just threw it in there to test fit and put power to test lights/blinkers, etc. I was planning on using a 34/78 dual post so that I can run the Sniper power and ground direct to a clean source. I need to buy a battery anyway and the Holley tech recommended that setup.

@Broncobowsher yeah those were a quick setup. I'll add that to my list to clean those up. Good catch.

 

[Swailsd]

I don't have the box, but it's just about the same installation. I re-purposed the painless #954 white/black electric choke wire for the switched sniper source.

Did you run it through a relay or straight to the pdm?

 

[davisjstone]

Did you run it through a relay or straight to the pdm?

Straight into PDM #16 spot. No relay needed.