After Market Harness Opinions

[budharris]

My cruiser is in need of a re-wire, and I am weighing my options of building a harness myself or going with a painless. I want my harness to be as close to original as possible and would like to in the future put in a more original harness, color code matching. This may be years down the road so I have looked at the painless harnesses but wanted to know what peoples thoughts and opinions or experiences have been. Thank You for any help!

 

[reddingcruiser]

Stay with the OEM harness. It's not that difficult to unwrap and rebuild a harness. If you're missing stock connectors I believe several 'mud vendors have them. Or, pick up a used harness or two for spare parts. Map out any non-stock electrical items you have and add them to the harness. A layout board will help keep lengths correct and beats a pile of spaghetti on the bench.
If you have an engine swap (i.e. LS) my personal preference is to keep the engine and chassis electrical separate. It makes troubleshooting easier.

 

[DSRTRDR]

"Coolerman" here on MUD used to build and repair harnesses, maybe he will get into it again

I rewired my truck with a Painless harness, but that required a lot of adaptations . . . (in other words, not painless)

 

[budharris]

thanks you both have been a big help. i think i will just unwrap and rebuild my harness afterall

 

[DSRTRDR]

and if you go to a junkyard, pilfer wiring from newer Toyotas - you'll find some of the same wiring colors

 

[BretwithoneT]

@Coolerman is the best source for a harness. I believe he has the correct factory colors for wiring and end connectors if you're going to undertake a rebuild yourself. Plus, he's a great source of advice.

 

[ColoradoFJ40]

X3 for Coolerman.

 

[Heirloom]

thanks you both have been a big help. i think i will just unwrap and rebuild my harness afterall

I did this. I had to re-solder a few joints and add wire to a few parts of the harness that were worse-for-wear. One trick that works wonderfully for a cheapskate: splice (use solder!) lengths of wire into the portions of the harness that will be wrapped, so all of your wire ends still match the factory color map. Use waterproof heat shrink tubing to protect any splices you make.

As for factory connectors, I didn't stick to factory religiously. A lot of the end-point connectors at the various lights were just bullet connectors from the factory, so I just used bullet connectors from a parts store. I stripped off the plastic insulators, installed the bullet connectors with electrical solder, and used heat shrink tubing and vacuum hose to re-insulate. Looks pretty good and only a hardcore Land Cruiser purist would spot the differences.

 

[Coolerman]

budharris,
You are fortunate in that I can actually build an all NEW complete harness set for your 1970 FJ40.

OR
I can refurbish your existing main cowl harness if it has not been in a fire (not worth the trouble) , had a main charge circuit melt down (this usually dmages many other wires), or is coated in heavy grease, paint, or undercoating (takes to long too clean it up). Rear chassis harnesses are built new as they are never in good enough shape to refurbish.

OR

I can sell you the correct colored/striped wire, and the correct OEM connectors and terminals so you can repair it yourself.

Send me a PM if you are interested in any of those options.