That would be my guess.

 

I suspect you may have a broken wire at the buss connection, or the buss bar itself is cracked given the intermittent nature of the problem and the fact that moving the fuse box restores power. It's also possible the main fuse is not making a proper connection or is faulty. Intermittents are always the worst electrical problem to diagnose. Yes, your problem should be shared, but I wouldn't condemn Easy wiring just yet. Given how many of us have used their harness and not experienced any problems with it that I have to give them the benefit of the doubt. They don't cut corners in their harness, it's always possible that a bad component comes along once in a while tho. Do keep us updated with what you find and how much help you get from Easy Wiring.
I just don't see the justification for Painless or Francis to charge 3 X as much for their harnesses, it isn't like they are using mil spec components or gold plated wire or anything else that justifies the higher price, a harness is pretty basic, when all is said and done the major difference is in the profit margin.

 

EZ wire,American Autowire,Rebel and even now Speedway..The Speedway kits a few years ago were absolute garbage but i installed one recently on my F3 and was pleasantly suprised with it.

 

OT, but I wondered the first time I saw your name where I had heard it before. Then I saw the movie "Unforgiven" again last week, and now I remember...

 

I put a Speedway harness in my 52 F1 this spring, nice complete kit, works well. Great price.

 

Interesting problem...good thing you're a EE. I have an EZ wiring kit here in the box so I checked the backside of the fuse block to see how the input power is bussed. What I find is that there is no single bus like in a residential power distribution panel, however there are at least 5 bus bars connecting various "+" side fuses. I don't have the schematic here in front of me but from what I can see in the wiring of the fuse block there are many input voltage source lines coming into it. The first place that I would look is the junction between the "+" battery cable and the lines that feed the fuse block. Intermittent problems are a PITA, good luck with your troubleshooting!

 

Just finished a EZ wire on a '53 panel. No issues, nice kit. I was even able to talk with someone in Tech support with a question. I looked at the Painless (in person) but couldn't justify the cost difference.

 

Hey Ax, which EZ wire kits are the ones that you can pop the wires out of the back of the fuse block? Is it the full size or the mini kits? That's one feature I've wanted and figured I'd have to pop for the more expensive kits with screw I terminals like RF or American.

Thanks
Ralph

 

I haven't looked at one of their large size fuse blocks, but since they are OEM they probably work the same way. There is a small spring tab on the connector where it goes into the block that snaps into a notch. If you use a very small screwdriver or even a paper clip from the fuse side you can release the tab and the wire and connector can be pulled out (assuming you have taken the fuse out first. LOL!). Take care not to bend the tab and it can be pushed back into place, replace the fuse and run the wire to whatever you want to power. No coils of wires hanging under the dash.

 

I apologize for hijacking this thread...but my wiring problem is somewhat related to the original question.

I pulled the fuse block loose from the firewall again and inspected it. The only thing that I can see that might be a problem is the fact that the main power wire coming from the battery is crimped and not soldered at the connection at the bus bar. That being said, I still can't reproduce the problem at will. I've tried shaking, twisting, and contorting it in every way possible but I can't reproduce the failure.

Would any of you guys happen to have a wiring diagram for the EZ Wiring 21 circuit harness? If not, I can try to reach them after the holiday.

I want to start tracing out some of the circuits to see if I can find a problem.

Peace,
-DV

 

which one do you have, the std or the mini? I don't think the diagram included the internals of the fuse block, just the wiring, but I'll look. Mine is the mini 21.

 

I scanned in my manual...I have the 21 circuit harness. I didn't see any copyright info on the document so I am assuming that it is legit to scan.

 

Axracer: I have the Std kit.

CharlieLed: Thank you! This is helpful. I'm also going to see if the EZ Wiring folks have a diagram of the fuse block itself (I can see why that wouldn't be included with the kit... we shouldn't need it).

-DV

 

I like the harness from Rebel Wire. Very good support and a good product. Excellent wire and it includes fusible links as well as a blade type fuse block. Labels every 6 inches. Wires grouped logically.

 

I could not find a diagram of the fuse block in the manual but here are a few photos of mine. You are right, you should not need this diagram...IMO your problem lies outside the fuseblock. I would disconnect the battery and run a continuity check from the battery terminal to the fuse block input lead...somewhere between the two is a splice that is flakey. Move the wiring bundle as you watch the meter, look for a dip when the open occurs. As for the crimped connection, that is very common for any electrical connection where higher current is expected to be flowing...solder has a tendency to melt and so it is not employed under these conditions.