Old wiring
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Mt. Home, ID
Old wiring
I got my 51' Magic Aire heater apart this weekend. Found out the blower motor still works! The insulation on the wires is very brittle though. A friend suggested stripping the old insulation off and recovering the wires with heat shrink. On the surface this sounds like something I would have done in high school, before I even started drinking. Would this work?
Mike
Mike
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Joined: Jan 2001
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From: SE Wisc. (the Rust Belt)
As long as the copper wire is in good shape you should be OK. If you can replace the wire with modern wire that's the best route.
I have found the old wire usually is dark with tarnish throughout and should be replaced for best performance.
I have found the old wire usually is dark with tarnish throughout and should be replaced for best performance.
Posting Guru
Joined: Feb 2007
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From: Las Vegas, NV
I'M still running the original wires, and its a constant battle....making repairs once a week. replacing wires when they are'nt repairable....I cant wait untill I can afford to buy my new harness.
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 423
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From: Winters Ca
So many times in the past I have started building vehicals with bolt on parts, then mod a few things, get them running and start tracing down wiring problems. This time with our 51F1 the first thing I did was bought a 20 circut EZ wire kit to do this truck right from start to finish.
As you start looking at the old wiring keep in mind that the corosion likes to start on the inside and once it starts you might not see it so replace the wires when you can. I know alot of guys here want to keep their trucks stock and if that is your thing then I think it is great but please don't not re-wire just because you don't want to change out the original wire. I would hate to here about a truck fire or some kind or a wreck you got in all because of keeping things stock. Think safe first then stock second. Our F1 my wife and I are building for our son so I have put more thought (maybe even too much) into safty and whould I want him driving it this way or that way before I start doing anything. So please just be safe in all you do and enjoy it with a loved one when ever posible.
Kevin
LFD inc.
As you start looking at the old wiring keep in mind that the corosion likes to start on the inside and once it starts you might not see it so replace the wires when you can. I know alot of guys here want to keep their trucks stock and if that is your thing then I think it is great but please don't not re-wire just because you don't want to change out the original wire. I would hate to here about a truck fire or some kind or a wreck you got in all because of keeping things stock. Think safe first then stock second. Our F1 my wife and I are building for our son so I have put more thought (maybe even too much) into safty and whould I want him driving it this way or that way before I start doing anything. So please just be safe in all you do and enjoy it with a loved one when ever posible.
Kevin
LFD inc.
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From: SE Wisc. (the Rust Belt)
Slightly off topic, I bought a reproduction wire harness for my F-2 about twenty years ago, I wouldn't go that route again unless I was building a show points truck. The reproduction harness is fraying and bare wire is starting to show at some connectors just like the original harness. In my panel I build my own wire harness, following the wire colors and gauges in the shop manual, using modern wire and wire ends. This should last many more years than the stock type cloth covered junk.
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Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Durham NC
IMHO unless you don't plan on adding many electrical acessories or updates building your own harness can be major expensive by the time you buy a spool of each color and gauge size you need. Finding that many colors in the proper gauges in smaller than 1000' spools can waste a lot of time and energy. I'd highly recommend one of the aftermarket harnesses from a company that doesn't think they are using gold wire (somebody has to pay for all that advertising and giveaway sets the magazines use.) like EZ Wire or It's a Snap. They have done all the work of finding the right wire for you. No having to store 10-20 partial spools that you are not likely to ever use or coming up a foot short on the last wire you need to run.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
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From: NM
Heat shrink tubing doesn't have the dielectric strength of insulation, or the chemical/mechanical abrasion and puncture resistance. I wouldn't use just heat shrink without good insulation, no matter what the condition of the copper.
The other caveat against buying a repro harness is that as soon as you switch to an alternator, you're going to have to do major re-wiring anyway. Electric fuel pump, different ignition, etc all need different wiring. I also would not want to count on those two old circuit breakers, I wanted a modern fusebox ( just 4 circuits was enough).
I used about 5 colors of wire and made my own wiring diagram. I don't have power windows, A/C, door poppers, etc. so it is really pretty simple. I have never had any problems later with a system I did myself. If you do it right, it will be trouble free for eternity. If you have to live with an old system for a while, at least replace a section of the main BATT feed with fusible link (50 amp). Cheap insurance (cheaper than a fire!)
The other caveat against buying a repro harness is that as soon as you switch to an alternator, you're going to have to do major re-wiring anyway. Electric fuel pump, different ignition, etc all need different wiring. I also would not want to count on those two old circuit breakers, I wanted a modern fusebox ( just 4 circuits was enough).
I used about 5 colors of wire and made my own wiring diagram. I don't have power windows, A/C, door poppers, etc. so it is really pretty simple. I have never had any problems later with a system I did myself. If you do it right, it will be trouble free for eternity. If you have to live with an old system for a while, at least replace a section of the main BATT feed with fusible link (50 amp). Cheap insurance (cheaper than a fire!)
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Mt. Home, ID
I haven't stripped the insulation yet. This past weekend I did pull the motor itself apart to see how hard it would be to replace the entire wire. I couldn't find the ends of the wires to see how they are connected. They seem to be molded (for lack of a better term) to the windings?
I'll spend the money to buy a new motor before I take a chance of burning down my truck. Most of my wiring harness was burned away long ago. I had planned on making my own but Ax made a great point about the expense of extra wire just sitting on a shelf. I'm building a daily driver out of this truck. It's getting a 302, AOD automatic, a 9" and everything on the inside will be new. I just want it to look stock from the outside. I'll take the motor to someone who knows more than I do about it to have the wires checked.
Mike
I'll spend the money to buy a new motor before I take a chance of burning down my truck. Most of my wiring harness was burned away long ago. I had planned on making my own but Ax made a great point about the expense of extra wire just sitting on a shelf. I'm building a daily driver out of this truck. It's getting a 302, AOD automatic, a 9" and everything on the inside will be new. I just want it to look stock from the outside. I'll take the motor to someone who knows more than I do about it to have the wires checked.
Mike
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 16,887
Likes: 3,129
From: SE Wisc. (the Rust Belt)
I wire industrial control systems for a living, my own business, so I have a lot of wire at my disposal. Most of the systems I wire would make the circuitry in our old trucks look like a walk in the park but wiring an old truck still presents it's challenges. If a person wants to build their own harness they don't need to buy numerous colors of wire. All they need is a few different gauges and a label maker like a Brothers label maker. Instead of colors just mark the ends. If you're worried about authenticity you wouldn't use modern type wire so just marking the wire ends shouldn't make a difference. There are two benefits to wiring your truck yourself, one the feeling of doing it all yourself and second, you get a label maker that you can use for numerous other things. It's always good to buy another tool.
It still might be cheaper to buy the harness but some of us like to try to do everything ourselves, others might not, it's all what you prefer.
It still might be cheaper to buy the harness but some of us like to try to do everything ourselves, others might not, it's all what you prefer.
