Rewire whole car

Anyone have a good link to a site that has a good explanation of rewiring a car or wiring up a fuse box? Im gonna gut the whole electrical system to run fresh wire and introduce relays into the system. I also converted to alternator. Just need some guidance. I helped my buddy wire his jet boat but that was a few years ago and I didnt like how we did it anyways....it was HIS boat.......

I was also trying to low buck this, not hill-billied, I can get wire from work and dont want to pay $115 for a new PAINLESS fuse-block with no wiring. I was thinking I could get any fuseblock from the junk yard and use it. I want to get rid of these glass fuses also. But if I have to I will start fresh with the original glass fuse block. I just think that the rats nest that is behind my dash could be eliminated and cleaned up. I just want to simplify as much as possible, exterior lights/signals, dome light, gages and dash lights, engine electrical system, starting system. I dont have a radio or plan on one for a while so just the bare essentials. I am starting my conversion into a mostly drag car. So i'll will need a few extra open fuse spots for stuff thats added later.

WOW... I think that with the statement "I just want to simplify as much as possible, exterior lights/signals, dome light, gages and dash lights, engine electrical system, starting system. I dont have a radio or plan on one for a while so just the bare essentials." That you are in over your head I mean the actual Radio Wiring system for most cars consists of only ONE wire...

Anyhow, I'm Guessing that you're working on the 64 Comet?

That harness alone is pretty dang basic as far as basic wiring goes...

Go get your wire from work, go get yourself a modern Labeled fuse box from a junk yard and cut those nazty wires off it, and make your new one

Here's a link to a MULTITUDE of diagrams for Falcons, which are 100% Identical to your Comet

Google Image Result for http://www.wiring-wizard.com/Diagrams/wiring.gif

Hope that helps bro!

FE

I did quiet a bit of wiring on my Falcon, but mostly replacing existing wires. I bought a fuse panel from Auto Zone for cheap and ran a wire from the head light switch to it and eliminated all the glass fuses. I added relays for the lights. I did not try to rewire the rats nest behind the dash. I will attempt that when I install new gauges and speedometer. There are many circuits that interact with each other and will need special attention.

My nephew bought a wiring harness for his 47 chevy and simplified matters quiet a bit. I think that is the route I would go. You can buy a basic harness and add to it.


You can color code wire with spray paint. Just spray the wire and drag it through a rag dampened with thinner while leaving a line on the wire. Worked for me.
Copper wire is getting to be very expensive, so I can see your point of doing it yourself.
The turn signal, parking light and brake circuit will be the most complicated but is very doable. Next is the head light circuit going through the dimmer switch. After that it should be a walk on the beach.

BTW, I was a radar technician for many years so reading schematics and wiring circuits becomes second nature for me.

Murff has rewired several hotrods so maybe he will jump in.

Thanks guys!!! I know there isnt too much on the car now as far as circuitry but it has been hacked and mangled by I dont know how many people so it looks like a lot under the dash. And who knows by the time I get all the unneeded wires unspliced or unplugged it may not look so bad under there anyways. plus I really hate the fusebox being attached to the lightswitch You cant even get to it to change a fuse barely. Well, tomorrow I start the dissasembly......

Good luck Slick!

I got a kit from E-bay to do mine for about half what a painless kit would have cost.

But even without the kit it shouldn't be too hard. The electrical systen on a Falcon or Comet is about as basic as you can get.

Originally Posted by SLCK64

Anyone have a good link to a site that has a good explanation of rewiring a car or wiring up a fuse box? Im gonna gut the whole electrical system to run fresh wire and introduce relays into the system. I also converted to alternator. Just need some guidance. I helped my buddy wire his jet boat but that was a few years ago and I didnt like how we did it anyways....it was HIS boat.......

I was also trying to low buck this, not hill-billied, I can get wire from work and dont want to pay $115 for a new PAINLESS fuse-block with no wiring. I was thinking I could get any fuseblock from the junk yard and use it. I want to get rid of these glass fuses also. But if I have to I will start fresh with the original glass fuse block. I just think that the rats nest that is behind my dash could be eliminated and cleaned up. I just want to simplify as much as possible, exterior lights/signals, dome light, gages and dash lights, engine electrical system, starting system. I dont have a radio or plan on one for a while so just the bare essentials. I am starting my conversion into a mostly drag car. So i'll will need a few extra open fuse spots for stuff thats added later.

Here are some wiring diagrams and other things for Falcons.

BigSam_012/Falcon Wiring Diagram - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

BigSam_012 - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

I got a 14 circit harness from kwik wire for $120.00 , It is very nice ,has a modern blade type fuse box with all the wires connected and labeled every 10" the whole lenth of the wire as to where it is suppose to go ,the wires are all one gage larger than stock ,there is even a kill switch on the fuse box .Good quaility at a good price , and it takes out most of the guess work ,hell it even comes with speaker wire. JD

Originally Posted by JDKRUZER1

I got a 14 circit harness from kwik wire for $120.00 , It is very nice ,has a modern blade type fuse box with all the wires connected and labeled every 10" the whole lenth of the wire as to where it is suppose to go ,the wires are all one gage larger than stock ,there is even a kill switch on the fuse box .Good quaility at a good price , and it takes out most of the guess work ,hell it even comes with speaker wire. JD

Hi JD,

Where did you get this harness and do they have a website?

Originally Posted by retyler

.....
Murff has rewired several hotrods so maybe he will jump in......

I missed this thread so I guess I'm a little late to the party.

Have you accomplished your rewire yet? Which way did you chose to go?

I am a little fussy about wiring so I understand about your comment about your buddies boat being HIS boat (so he had to do it HIS way). I'm like that too.

I have used the Painless harnesses with very good results and I cannot speak to the other kits that are available. Can't speak to vendor support either because I have never needed to use them. So far my wiring has been limited to street rods and basic race cars, no multi stage nitrous or turbo controllers. Looking forward to doing some of those tho'. They pay well!

I will say that not all wire is created equally. Part store or industrial primary wire is crap to me. Just too brittle for my liking, and the colors and tracers are too limited. Not to sound like a Painless commercial, but when I did the 2nd rewire of the Falcon (moved the fuse / relay block to the trunk) I had to 'stretch' some of my circuits. I bought individual Painless wires from Summit to do this. Their TXL stuff suits me.

As the others have pointed out rewiring a car like your Merc' is going to be a pretty straight forward affair whichever way you go. I am sure it is going to look exactly the way you want it to when you are finished and I hope you will post up some pics.

One of the things I like to do to clean things up is to hide as much underhood wiring as I possibly can. Ford factory underhood wiring looks like poo to me and anything you can do there will have the greatest visual impact.

Good luck and let me know if there is anything I can offer.

Oh yeah, here's a great source for all those connectors, zip ties, and distrbution blocs you might need: Del City - Wiring Products and Professional Electrical Supplies