Remake wiring harness? Good idea or not?

[Matt74]

Has anyone remade their own wiring harness using the original to copy from?

Remanufactured harnesses are very expensive so I thought maybe I could buy new cable and connectors and make my own.

Is it worth it after buying all the materials and spending many hours making it or should I just forget it and shell out for a new one?

[Pete]

I made a complete Challenger R/T Dash loom from the bulkhead plug back when it caught fire... It was an A/C Car with lots of options, so a lot of fabrication and testing... I used the original Loom as a template.

[ScottyDave]

I remade my Charger's loom completely front to rear using what was left of the original and the factory diagram.
Easy enough when you break it into its sections, rear lights, A post to rear, A post & dashboard to bulkhead. Then I did the under hood wiring in situ as that was completely knackered.
Be prepared for it to take a while though, I expect even a premade loom will take some time to fit as well.

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[Matt74]

I made a complete Challenger R/T Dash loom from the bulkhead plug back when it caught fire... It was an A/C Car with lots of options, so a lot of fabrication and testing... I used the original Loom as a template.

Would you say that it was worth while Pete or would you buy a ready made one in the future?

[Pete]

I would make my own, but wiring is my background.

[Matt74]

I remade my Charger's loom completely front to rear using what was left of the original and the factory diagram.
Easy enough when you break it into its sections, rear lights, A post to rear, A post & dashboard to bulkhead. Then I did the under hood wiring in situ as that was completely knackered.
Be prepared for it to take a while though, I expect even a premade loom will take some time to fit as well.

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20200705_150919.jpg

Thanks Dave,
You did an excellent job there
I didn't give the amount of space required much thought and I'd probably need to make the harness indoors.
The major issue there is that I have four dogs that will be walking all over it.

I think I need to give this idea a bit more thought!

I could go the painless wiring route but would prefer it to look factory original or close to it!

[Matt74]

I would make my own, but wiring is my background.

Mechanical is my background and I wasn't much good at that.

I did a TDi conversion once on a T4. It was a lot of work but I figured it out in the end and it took me a long time if I remember correctly!

I think I need to decide what's more important. Time or money

[Pete]

Dave has shown an excellent example o how to go about it.

I put the Challenger dash in a separate room with lots of space and even had a 12v Battery there with a test clip to prove each individual circuit off as I terminated it...Slow and Steady....

[Matt74]

Dave has shown an excellent example o how to go about it.

I put the Challenger dash in a separate room with lots of space and even had a 12v Battery there with a test clip to prove each individual circuit off as I terminated it...Slow and Steady....

He has indeed Pete and it shows how very involved it is.

I think it would be very rewarding and satisfying to make it myself but I'm beginning to realise that I'll be spending a lot of time on this!

Good tip on testing each circuit as it's terminated

[Dave999]

unless the car has suffred a short circuit which has melted large sections of the loom together into a big mess.... you might find that its really only the connectors and the last few inches of many wires that need attention

i unrapped most of the under dash loom on mine when trying to trace a fault and was happy to discover, despite the cars life in HOT Australia, that most of it was flexible and the insulation was as vibrant and new looking as the day it was installed.
sections that exited the wrapping, to connect to switches and electrical devices were variable, the wires that casuse you problems are those exposed to under bonnet temperatures oil and moisture


i ended up doing that last 6 inches on most that weere engine related
i did a length through the screen pillar for the dome light

new connector for igntion switch

put in a better headlamp switch and built, using orginal wires and some new female spades, the headlight switch connector, and then re did the ends and connector on the dip switch

i rebuilt my ammeter, put in better instualtion on the studs. new spikey washers, loktite etc and put it all back as it was

few bits in the boot for the rear lights
new connector at the transmission for reverse switch

that was it really

i'm going to have to do the water temp sender wire as its instlation is rock hard having sat between cylinder head edge and the thermostat hosuing for ten years...

Dave

[Matt74]

Thanks Dave,

When I got the car it had a modern type fuse box and was just a basic setup. The car was either used or going to be used as a race car but I still have the complete wiring harness from my first charger that I bought in 2003.

The dash harness had melted so I went the Painless wiring route.
I'll take a look at it and assess the condition of the rest of the harness. Maybe some of it is ok but I'm sure the dash harness is only good to use as a template.

Thanks for the advice. I'll report back soon!

[Dave999]

that a pain
the complicated bit is the broken bit

the rest is easier to deal with

Dave

[sublimemike]

There was a guy at the southern swap meet who had an original 70 -74 challenger looked complete. He had it there the year before and was looking for £50 I think. I think he went home with it again this year. No guarantee he will back again in April and you might not want to wait on the chance he's back again.

[Matt74]

So it turns out that what I thought was from my first Charger was actually from the one I have now and consists of the dash harness and rear harness.

The harness from my first Charger could be in the loft but there's not much chance of finding that anytime soon even if it is in there. Maybe l did chuck it in the boot before the new owner picked it up. It was 16 yrs ago!

So this is what I have to with. I think I could do it but is it worth it?

[Matt74]

A couple more plus the rear harness.