Complete rewire using American Auto Wire kit for 1960 to 1966 C10/20/30

[urmyboyblue]

Does this kit use or supply new firewall plugs? Or are the wires continuous unless you add the existing plugs?

[CRGRS 66]

Kit comes with new firewall grommets

[urmyboyblue]

Originally Posted by CRGRS 66

Kit comes with new firewall grommets

So the wiring passes thru the firewall with grommets and does not use any sort of plug at the firewall? Trying to understand, not throwing rocks here. Many years ago I used a wiring harness from JC Whitney in a car that did not use any plugs and sockets at the firewall- I figured this one either came with new plugs or instructed you to reuse the existing ones.

[PGSigns]

It comes with new plugs. Hard to find a nicer kit.
Jimmy

[CRGRS 66]

Originally Posted by urmyboyblue

So the wiring passes thru the firewall with grommets and does not use any sort of plug at the firewall? Trying to understand, not throwing rocks here. Many years ago I used a wiring harness from JC Whitney in a car that did not use any plugs and sockets at the firewall- I figured this one either came with new plugs or instructed you to reuse the existing ones.

Sent you a PM with greater detail, and a link to AAW so as not to litter up Mr. Haas' tutorial.

[Robert Haas]

Originally Posted by KIC

I really appreciate you taking the time to show this. I will be at this phase of my rebuild sometime this year and actually it intimidates the crap out off me. I do appreciate the " if original it is more plug and play as mine is original .. might lower my stress level .

Any additional insight on parts/accessories/tool to buy to help with the process would be appreciated.

A quality wire stripper and the correct crimping tool (American Auto Wire sell this crimping tool if you do not have one)



Pay close attention to the instructions and follow the sequences as they do have a reason to separate each harness into separate bags. Each bag contains its own instructions.

I understand that this type of job seems intimidating and I hear a lot of folks tell me they do not understand completely about electrical theory. To be honest that is not an issue on this project.

[Robert Haas]

Originally Posted by urmyboyblue

So the wiring passes thru the firewall with grommets and does not use any sort of plug at the firewall? Trying to understand, not throwing rocks here. Many years ago I used a wiring harness from JC Whitney in a car that did not use any plugs and sockets at the firewall- I figured this one either came with new plugs or instructed you to reuse the existing ones.

AAW does not send new rubber for the main forward firewall fitting nor the two medium size OEM GM bulkhead fittings however they sell those separately and you can include them with your order. Their harness does use the OEM style plugs that fit into those rubber grommets so if yours are still soft you do not have to replace them. This is why they are not included in the kit.

[Robert Haas]

So here is the summary of the install.

Total labor to do this by a two man team including (Two old, fat, but hard working men) clean up and installation of sound proofing was 2 days and change.

This is the sequence.

Un box and lay out the entire kit on a large flat surface or table near the truck.



Read the instructions from start to finish a couple times to program you with the sequences so you do not get ahead of your self.

Remove your seat and carpet (If you have carpet)

Remove the instrument panel unplugging the factory connections or cutting any aftermarket/owner installed components. take instrument panel to your work bench and leave it there.

Remove glove box (Not completely necessary but if you are going to install the included upgrade accy. lighting or have an aftermarket stereo do this)

If your truck has the deluxe heater controls now is a great time to pull it out and lube it all up as it will finally work as designed.

Now the fun part. Pull out the entire original and owner installed harness, if there are wires spliced in that you do not know where the heck they came from or go to, just note them with blue tape and a sharpie on the harness and continue. You want to have every wire in the cab that is under the dash out.

Important note here. Do not try to unplug the bulkhead fittings. just cut the wires a few inches in from the plug on the interior side of these plugs and leave them in the truck for now.

Do not pull the dome light wire nor the fuel gauge wire that goes to the sending unit, just cut them in the center of the door sill.

Once the cab has been sterilized you are ready to break open the main bag and install the fuse panel. since you have already memorized the instructions,...(Kidding) but you have read them you are now just going to start pulling the wires to their respective attachment and or exit points.

This kit has many circuits that will probably not be used on many of our trucks. I did not use the ACCY Fuel system harness that the folks with fuel injection will use, nor do I have an aftermarket AC unit. But the kit has these circuits in the loom complete with all the various plugs you would need for those. I may upgrade my truck in the future so every one of these extra circuits I neatly coiled up and zip tied them on to the loom for future use.

After the main loom is in place we get to those bulkhead fitting I mentioned above in red. one by one remove these and inspect them for color coding and quantity in relation to what you have compared to what the kit contains.

The main penetration is the plug next to the fuse panel that contains the head light, turn signals,horn. If you bought a new rubber grommet just drive the old plug back into the cab from the engine side with a large blunt drift. If you are reusing the original rubber grommet then you need to destroy the plug and do not attempt to push the stock plug through it, if you tear the grommet you will need to replace it and trust me, it will piss you off. So to get the old plug out of the fire wall here is a simple technique. Of course you already unplugged the two plugs on the engine side for the head lights, turn signals and horn. So using the largest flat blade throw away screw driver you have place it in the center of the plug on the engine side and hammer it through the plastic plug. pull the screw driver out and rotate it 90 degrees and do it again. the original plug should now be broken into 4 pieces. you can now spray some WD 40 in between the plastic plug and the rubber grommet and the pieces will push back int the cab not distorting or damaging the rubber grommet.

Use that technique on the main engine plug as well, remember that these plugs insert from the main harness from the cab interior.

The dome light and fuel gauge need a little trick too. pop the lens out of the dome light and you will see the two clips that make up the ends of the wires to the dome light. Carefully remove them from the light and pull them a few inches into the cab. now that both wires are dangling inside the cab, cut the clips that hold the bulb off these wires. Tape the new wires to the original securely but with out making a big knot or ball. Gently pull the original wire down from behind the gas neck if you still have the incab tank pulling the new wires down and out into the open. the new dome light harness already has the clips on them so just clip them into the light and snap in a fresh light bulb ( I upgraded to a higher wattage bulb to make it brighter in the cab) Bulb installed, snap the lens back on and continue. Do the same technique for the gauge but with less drama as you actually can touch that wire and do not need to tape it to the OEM wire you are replacing.

The underhood wiring is simplistic. You will be rewiring the starter and that is probably the physically hardest part of the job for us v8 guys with headers but every wire is ready to install including fuse-able links pre-installed on the two main battery leads.


The kit is set up for factory or after market gauges or factory warning lights depending on what you need. All wires are the same colors as the OEM harness so determine what was there can be confirmed by looking a at the included schematics. Also having every wire in the kit labeled every 6 inches comes in handy.

One nice thing about the hood harness is you get every thing, new bulb sockets and even the plastic clips the wires tie to along their route.

With the under hood complete moving back to the tail and replacing everything including the sockets takes less then 30 minutes and can be done on the ground with the truck on jackstands.

With everything complete I made the final connection to the battery and turned the new ignition with the supplied new key and my truck would not start

Turns out that I did not memorize the instructions either.


The large purple neutral safety wire needs to be hooked to a neutral safety switch (For us automatic transmission users) or wired to itself for the manual transmission people.


Truck started right up, all the lights worked and I am a happy camper.

My newly electrified shop truck is ready to play

[Macdaddy1]

You Rock! Hey what size are your rims and tires/

[Robert Haas]

Originally Posted by Macdaddy1

You Rock! Hey what size are your rims and tires/

17 x 10 out back 17 x 7 up front

big and littles on the rubber, don't remember sizes

[CRGRS 66]

Author, Author

[KIC]

Robert, Thank you for an excellent write up. I am now somewhere in between fearful and excited to get to mine later this year.....that's up from scared to death and wanting to run in the other direction.

THANKS AGAIN !1 You rock !

[jhrusk]

Nice Robert. I can attest to aaw quality. I used their hey 23 series on my truck and liked it very much.

[jhrusk]

Nice truck BTW

[Mike_The_Grad]

I just happened upon this post while looking for tips on painting the dash bezel. I am currently in the middle of this exact kit in my dad's 1964 LWB with a 250 i6 and 4 speed with a granny low. Thanks for the clear pictures. And yes I realized that 90% of this kit is literally plug and play. This is the second AAW kit I'm installing myself. The first being my 1972 C10 LWB with sbc350/th350. It took me about 40 hours to install the kit. But that's because I don't know jack about electrical, I didn't have the correct crimpers, and I also soldered and heat shrinked every connection. This time around my dad opted for the right crimpers, and my skillset has improved significantly since I installed my kit about 4 years ago. The AAW kit has probably been the best investment I've made in my 72 c10. I think these kits have only gotten better over time. This kit for the 64 is pretty awesome and includes so many features that it is a no brainer from a novices standpoint. After the first kit I am sold on AAW and recommend them to anyone considering undertaking a rewire on any classic vehicle.

[Vinceg]

Once again thanks Robert. I will also be following along. I have the same kit and I must be missing something. The ignition switch they provided should have been my first clue. Is it as easy as taking the key assembly out of my old switch and installing in the new one? Id like to keep the key the same as the door locks. I also was not able to plug in the wiper motor. I was thinking of taking the wires out of the new plugs/connectors and putting them in my old plugs. I still have my original harness. Looking forward to seeing how it all goes for you.

Vince

[Mike_The_Grad]

Vince,
Yes it should be as easy as you suggest for both the ignition lock cylinder and the wiper motor wiring as long as you ensure that the correct wires go to the correct terminals.

[Vinceg]

Thanks Mike. I plan on getting back at the wiring pretty quick. I was pretty sure I had it layed out to the right locations according to the instructions.

[Mike_The_Grad]

I know that I sometimes feel overwhelmed with the wiring. I was procrastinating the under dash wiring on my '72 for almost a month. But it was the last area left to do. So I forced myself to get in there and tackle it. I was under there for about 6 hours one day and I was a little sore when I was finished because of the awkward work space. But it was all worth it when I turned the key for the first time and the damn thing fired right up. Every single thing worked except my headlights. I was almost in a panic when I realized that I didn't sand the fresh paint from my core support where I was grounding each of the headlights. A little emory cloth and Bam! Headlights were shining. I still don't know jack about electrical anything, but I was able to get my truck rewired and working.

[roll_the_dice]

I have been procrastinating my wiring harness and removed my old harness today finally. Found this thread after I came in for the night...what a great read! Gives me confidence to finally get the harness put it so I can move forward with the rest of the build. Thanks!

[Johns 66]

Great write up. I have this same kit for my truck and will be attempting this install in the near future. It seem like a daunting task but your write up and review makes it easier to tackle.

[kdad]

Nice write up....

[Robert Haas]

This thread showed up on facebook again for like the 30th time.

Hope it drives traffic to both AAW and this forum.

[The Rocknrod]

Originally Posted by Robert Haas

This thread showed up on facebook again for like the 30th time.
Hope it drives traffic to both AAW and this forum.

Is there a facebook page for this forum?

[Robert Haas]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

Is there a facebook page for this forum?

No, not that I know of.

It pops up on several different C10 forums and friends send me links and PM's telling me about it.