So it turns out that my wiring harness may need replacing, but I really don't have 800 bones to drop on a new one. Any suggestions?

 

The simple answer is to repair it......look where the problems are and replace connector terminals, patch up the insulation, or replace complete wires where needed. You can even build your own new harness from scratch if you want.

There's really nothing magical about making up a wiring harness. You don't need to be an electrical engineer....Ford's already done all that for you. You just need to follow the schematics exactly as they are drawn, and/or copy the existing harness exactly. There aren't even that many special tools needed. It just takes a bunch of time and patience and mental concentration. I've never counted them up, but one of these old trucks probably has about 150 wires. Each one has to be a particular gauge, has a number and color, and runs from one point to another point. You make them up one at a time, cutting the wire to the right length and crimping a terminal on each end that snaps into a connector shell or bolts to something. Then you bundle them up and wrap them with tape. I know that sounds simplified, but that's really about all there is to building a wiring harness.

I always get a little suspicious when I hear someone say that they "need to replace the wiring harness". To me, that's like listening to a rough running engine and concluding that you need to replace the engine. If you're having electrical problems, trace them down and fix them! Unless the harness is really burnt up or horribly corroded or has sections clipped out, you can fix it.

 

i agree with xstrange, i just got done replacing cab with a non rusted one its harness was chopped up , so i took my harness out an made the necessary repairs an added a few new circuits ,an yes its very tedious an can get frustrating but go slow an use the wiring diagrams an a test light so i say repair it

 

Just a thought that I will stick up for your opinions.
I built up a '34 P/U several years ago and had to rewire everything from scratch. An outfit called Painless sold me a kit with 18 circuits that had everything I needed. I think the cost was $300 or so. I went slowly, circuit by circuit, checking each one out before I went forward. The fusebox they provided worked fine. It took about two days.

Are these kits of any value to someone who wants to gut the electrical system out of our trucks? I am thinking of rewiring my '67.

Semper Fi

 

My mechanic fed me some bull line about it being "half melted" and for "liability" reasons they had to replace it before they could work on my starter and ring gear (one of which is stripped and thus my starter won't engage). Now, my switches and my gauges all work, so i think they are full of it. Thanks for your feedback guys and gals!

 

your welcome

 

I too want to echo the repair approach. My kid had an underhood fire on his '79 and all the wiring under there fried. I went to the local pick a part and took out the necessary harness and spliced it in. Took about a full 8 hrs and that was just being careful and checking each step. It was a rewarding project and the truck has had no problems!