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so those wiring kits work pretty good?

hopefully ill be getting one to do my baja, are they worth it?

I got good results with a wiring kit, but the open loom type, not hte one shrink wrapped already. I wanted to add more wires as I went.

anyways I have heard it is a bad idea to use solder to do electrical connections on a car as all the vibrations will break the connection over time. Hence no factory solder jobs on any joints. I like to crimp and then solder afterwards for good luck, but only if i have the time/energy to drag out the gun. otherwise a fancy crimper is enough for me.

The kit's ok, but honestly you're just as good off if you buy all your own materials. The fuse block was cheesy and the wiring diagram was awful. Get a fuse block from DelCity, use Dale's diagrams.

I hadn't heard about the solder breaking in cars. My Camaro had some soldered joints on the original wiring. I'm just soldering my crimped connections anyway.

Kyle

The issue with soldered joints is when the solder flows out of the crimped area and up the wire. It makes the wire stiffer and not as able to deal with vibration. I soldered all of the terminals on the glass buggy's harness. I had one of them fail in 15+ years. It did leave me stranded for about 5 mins....

I doubt that I'll solder anything in the Baja. High quality crimp tool and good connectors are the plan.

I have soldered a wire or two in a car before but I have been told repeatedly not to do it. Here are a couple of posts from the electrical side of the house (forum) that I fouind interesting;

(http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=106121).

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic ... 4&t=128195

Cool, thanks for the info. I'll stick to crimping from here on out.

Kyle

I've been busy lately! I hadn't really worked on the car since before Thanksgiving. I then started a new position at work, going from 4 10 hour shifts to salaried, which means a bit less free time (I love the job, though). Then it started snowing, so I've been out playing in that.

Today however, I continued on the wiring odyssey. I got a blade style fuse block, made a relay block for signals, dimmer, high/low beams, and did a bunch of crimping. I think it looks pretty good so far, and I'm hopeful I can finish it up next weekend. I really wanted to keep the stock switches cause they look so cool, but I wish I hadn't. The Germans had some odd ways of designing circuits!

I also wrestled for a couple hours with the thermostat and flaps. What a pain. The thermo works, but I cannot for the life of me get the flaps to operate smoothly. I think the rod gets hung up between the cylinders. I may just skip it, cause I'm dying to get this car back on the road. I'd rather have a bit longer of a warm up period on this old engine than an overheating mishap.



Kyle

Your making progress nice work. Where did you get the fuse box from and how much was it? How did you make the relay board? Or what did you use to make it out of?

Fuse block:

http://www.delcity.net/store/8!way-fuse ... _10823.a_1 $7.00, super cheap.

I got my connectors there as well. They do charge shipping, so it's best to order a bunch of stuff.

The relay block I made from part of the original VW fuse block.

Honestly, though, I think next time I'll just grab a fuse/relay block from a late 70's Chevy pickup at the junkyard. You'll get basically the same thing as the Painless 12-circuit block:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PRF-30001/

...for a fraction of the price.

Kyle

I have a five day vacation going on and am determined to get this car on the road by the time I have to go back to work.

More wiring:



Fuse block and column connections:



My sweet new WallyWorld stereo:



I learn more everyday. My second car should be a breeze:
- Run conduit larger than you think you'll need
- Design first, then build. Don't try to mash up three different circuit diagrams in your head.
- No solder!
- Don't leave anything out you may want later...like five minutes later
- Forget the stock wiring and most switches unless you're sentimental
- No cheap wiring kits
- Use different color wire for Batt +12V and Ignition +12V. There's way too much red going on there!

Tomorrow, I'm thinking it'll be done except for the clean up. The engine, starter, coil, etc. are all done. Just need to do my taillights, a few more underdash connections and I'm there!

After that, I play with the Zenith to see how my hairbrained preheat setup is going to work.

Anyway, I'm having fun!

Kyle

....almost done, just need to install the weather proof connectors for the rear cage (taillights, etc.), wire up the front turn signals, run speaker wire, and zip-tie everything up nice and tidy! More pics to come tomorrow.

Kyle

Still haven't finished the cage wiring, but short of vacuuming and wrapping it all in plastic loom, the underhood stuff is done!





It's not beautiful, but is a definite improvement over the rats nest that was there before.

Kyle

One more piece of the wiring...weather proof electrical connections. I have these on the rear cage and for the turn signals on the front fenders. No more epileptic light shows when it's raining or snowing!



This week I get the Zenith back on and do some tuning. I have one month until the first trip of the year, and five weeks until Rally Cross!

Kyle

looking good kyle cant wait to see you car at 5-mile.

I very much appreciate the kind words, guys. This is my first real build beyond my muscle cars, on which I did mostly cosmetic, electrical, and top end engine work. With the help of STF, I'm gaining the confidence to really tear into these cars.

I can't wait to get this car back on the road and out to the desert!

Kyle