Author Topic: where to buy wiring to make my own harness?  (Read 1226 times)

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Offline uwjberg

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where to buy wiring to make my own harness?
« on: January 22, 2009, 08:55:35 AM »
so i've decided i'm going to take a crack at making my own wiring harness. i'm planning on getting the connections from www.vintageconnection.com, but i'm wondering where to get a good deal on the wiring that i need. i don't care about maintaining the stock color wires, i just want to make it work. i've seen the wiring available at the auto parts stores, but that seems pretty spendy. harbor freight has 50ft rolls for $10 - good deal? quality?

also - what gauge wire do i need?


ThomasTedder

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Re: where to buy wiring to make my own harness?
« Reply #1 on: January 22, 2009, 10:10:34 AM »
I once rewired a 64 olds engine bay using trailer wire, hen taped it up. I bought a trailer hook up kit. It was something like 25 ft, but it was really four times that because there is four wires. It ended up being cheaper than anything I could find at the moment. It's also a descent gauge.

ThomasTedder

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Re: where to buy wiring to make my own harness?
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2009, 10:14:22 AM »

Offline hymodyne

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Re: where to buy wiring to make my own harness?
« Reply #3 on: January 22, 2009, 10:22:51 AM »
this has been covered. according to some, as long as the wire insulation is intact, due to the better quality of wire Mr. Honda used compared to what you can get today, you'd be better off just replacing connectors and using the old wire.

2cents,

hym
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Offline super pasty white guy

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Re: where to buy wiring to make my own harness?
« Reply #4 on: January 22, 2009, 11:02:58 AM »
z1 enterprises has wire available in OEM colors.

Others have also posted that you can pick up looms from auto junkyards not not much $ and use that.

spwg
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Offline mystic_1

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My build thread:  http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=68952.0

eldar

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Re: where to buy wiring to make my own harness?
« Reply #6 on: January 22, 2009, 12:17:34 PM »
bottom line. Electrical supply shop. You will find the good low oxygen copper wire there in a variety of colors. Then if you need connectors, make sure you get quality ones such as dean's pins which are used on R/C apps where they try to keep voltage drop to an absolute minimum. I have some old deans pins and they work like the day I bought them. there is more lose thru 1 inch of 12 gauge wire than these pins. they are also gold plated for VERY good corrosion resistance.

Why is gold used? It is the #3 conductor in the world behind #1 silver and #2 copper plus it has awesome resistance to corrosion.

Offline gecko672

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Re: where to buy wiring to make my own harness?
« Reply #7 on: January 22, 2009, 02:58:07 PM »
I found this guy on ebay
http://stores.ebay.com/Kojaycat-Vehicle-Wiring_W0QQssPageNameZstrkQ3amefsxQ3asstQQtZkm
he sells bundles and you can get pretty close to the correct colours.
Hit on one of his kits and he has a note about available colours, solid and tracers.
Dont know about the wire quality, was thinking about doing it myself and found this while looking around.

Love to hear how you get on.
CB750 1971 K1

Offline uwjberg

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Re: where to buy wiring to make my own harness?
« Reply #8 on: January 22, 2009, 03:30:01 PM »
not a bad find, gecko. i'll have to look around this weekend to see what's out here locally. thaks for all the suggestions...

Offline CrisPDuk

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Re: where to buy wiring to make my own harness?
« Reply #9 on: January 22, 2009, 03:43:35 PM »
I built a new loom for my bike using new wire bought from my local auto-electrician, but in the past I have built whole and partial looms for competition cars using wire salvaged from nearly new cars that were insurance write-offs.

I don't know how it works in the US, but in the UK, auto-breakers don't generally consider the wiring loom of cars to be a high value item, so it is possible to acquire hundreds of yards of high quality wire, in a variety of sizes, and a myriad of colour combinations,for about the price of couple of beers ;D
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