Wiring labels

[rbonnett]

My big spring project is going to be new wiring for my SIII. What I have is the typical mish-mash of original wires plus PO hacks (plus a hack or two of my own to get around breaks).

If I can still afford it when the time comes, I'm going to get OE harnesses from our hosts; if $$$ get too tight I'll try to save by building my own. Either way I want to match the wiring diagrams to save hassles down the road.

The big thing I have to work around is my color blindness. Since red and green are the same to me, I can't really distinguish a lot of wires from each other - esp. once they get dirty and faded with age. My plan is to label both ends of each wire; that way I can get help identifying them once and hopefully not have a problem going forward.

What have you used that worked well? I've looked at the shrink tubing label makers - but don't want to shell out $100+ for something I will not be using many times. Are there alternatives that will stand up to the dirt, grease, etc. over time and still be legible? In a pinch I will go with the shrink labeler and then unload it on eBay when I get the wiring done.

Thanks as always

[KevinNY]

Labels would work with numbers that relate to corresponding LR wire colors, white=1 etc.

[scott]

how about tiny zip ties. so many = certain colors

[stomper]

I would just pick up a digital labeler at staples, officemax etc. A basic one for around $40 should do the trick. They sell a reflective label tape in yellow, that the black print stands out nicely on. You can then wrap the label onto the wires lengthwise, almost like a shrink wrap. There are many other uses you will find for this type of machine. much more so than the shrink wrap type labels. Relableing your house breakerbox comes to mind.;)

[LaneRover]

I would just pick up a digital labeler at staples, officemax etc. A basic one for around $40 should do the trick. They sell a reflective label tape in yellow, that the black print stands out nicely on. You can then wrap the label onto the wires lengthwise, almost like a shrink wrap. There are many other uses you will find for this type of machine. much more so than the shrink wrap type labels. Relableing your house breakerbox comes to mind.;)

I was going to suggest the digital labeler item but think that the tiny zip ties would also work. Get white and black and then build your way up from a single black and a single white up to 3 or 4 zip ties of both colors (ie.. brake lights are black, black, white, black while the driving lights are black white white black). That way you won't have one run that has 14 zip ties on it. The downside is you need to keep a record of what you did!

Brent

[rbonnett]

Thanks! I like the mini-zip tie idea; wish I'd thought of it. It feels like they would be more durable than labels that can come unstuck. By my count there are 27 different wire colors on a SIII diagram - if you include the fog lamps (which I don't have).

I will have added circuits for a work/reverse light and the fuel pump which is already on the truck. So if my binary math is working, I'll need up to 5 ties per wire. Then laminate my zip-tie-to-wire-color x-reference to the back of the wiring diagram - plus a dozen other copies stashed around for when I lose one. Should be all set!

[scott]

Thanks! I like the mini-zip tie idea; wish I'd thought of it. It feels like they would be more durable than labels that can come unstuck. By my count there are 27 different wire colors on a SIII diagram ...

how many of the 27 are red/green combos? heck i'm not color blind but still have a hard time differentiating the green with black, blue and purple tracers from each other.

[rbonnett]

how many of the 27 are red/green combos? heck i'm not color blind but still have a hard time differentiating the green with black, blue and purple tracers from each other.

15 or so of them. Red/Green/Brown all being the same to me, plus their variations such as Light Green, plus Blue and Purple. Purple == Blue + that color other people call Red.

[SafeAirOne]

how many of the 27 are red/green combos? heck i'm not color blind but still have a hard time differentiating the green with black, blue and purple tracers from each other.


I don't have the endurance required to see EVERYTHING in Teri Ann's site all in one sitting, but I came across this while browsing a section the other day:

http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/Lucaswirecode.htm

[stomper]

I still think the labeler would work better, but hey, it's your vehicle. The reflective tape is a metalic durable tape, that has held up on my power tools for over 8 years, and you can still easilly read it. That is with all the scraping, scratching, etc that a hand held drill goes through. We actually used this tape to label wiring in an industrial manufacturing plant that we did the converyor system over on. It is essentially the same stuff they label DOT road signs with.

My concern with wire ties is if you need to pull a wire out, the wire ties will bind, and hinder the process. Plus you don't EVER want to loose that keycode card. Maybe laminate one to the divider behind the driver seat.

[TSR53]

fyi...

http://www.cablemarkers.com/labels.htm

[Nium]

Brady, Ideal, and some others make pre printed wire marking label books used in the electrical industry and available from Home Depot, Lowes, and especially an electrical supply house. Come in either number books or letter books or combinations thereof. For your perusal...

http://www.bradyid.com.sg/web/SiteBuilder/ISST-SISBv1r0.nsf/FLV/Preprinted+Wire+&+Cable+Marker+Books

So you could get a letter book and put "R" on red "G" on green for example or the such. There not to bad at around $15.00 a book.

[navydevildoc]

I just made a custom harness for my IIA not too long ago, and I used a Rhino label maker that has heat shrink and also the flexible Nylon labels.

I labeled every single wire with what it was, and where it was headed on the line underneath; for example:

Headlamp Switch
Headlamp Relay Control

It looks great, and if someone were ever to inherit this truck, it isn't a guessing game on what wires are what.

If you go the label route, DO NOT use the "regular" polyester labels, I have had more than a few peel off of the wires as they are not flexible enough, so then you have to make them long and tape onto themselves, creating a "flag" that just gets in the way. The Nylon labels are very flexible, and can just be stuck on the wire.

[alaskajosh]

I had good luck using clear heat shrink (available in different diameters and up to 4ft lengths) and slipping labels inside prior to shrinking it down. It's extremely durable and readable. The 3:1 shrink ratio should allow you to slip it over any end connectors prior to shrinking.
Kind regards, Josh

[amcordo]

Great question!

Back when I worked for a company that ran lots of wiring in large buildings they would label each end of the wire with a numbered tape. Then you can write down the numbers on a key and keep it. Check this out:
http://cableorganizer.com/wire-marker/

[brucejohn]

Wow, a number of good options. I also have recently been working on wiring and as I could not afford to order striped wire I used wire the stripe color for some consistency. I will be adding labeling too now. :thumb-up:

[Nium]

Wow, a number of good options. I also have recently been working on wiring and as I could not afford to order striped wire I used wire the stripe color for some consistency. I will be adding labeling too now. :thumb-up:

There are marking paint pens available, from the electrical supply house, to add a stripe to wire if ya wanted. The tip is shaped like a crescent.

[SafeAirOne]

I just made a custom harness for my IIA not too long ago, and I used a Rhino label maker that has heat shrink and also the flexible Nylon labels.


Interesting...This is certainly the "cleanest", most professional-looking 1-step approach to wire labeling. Too bad they don't sell the heat shrink tubing tape (http://www.rhinolabeling.com/8Labels.shtm) for my crappy Brother label maker. The Rhino 1000 label maker (http://www.amazon.com/Rhinopro-Industrial-Label-Maker-Telco/dp/B000PHVVI8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1262376655&sr=8-1)is only $41 with free shipping on Amazon--A pretty good deal for the capablility to make awesome, simple wire labels.

[TSR53]

fyi...

http://www.cablemarkers.com/labels.htm
My grandfather started this company in 1960 :thumb-up:, best in the business as far as I'm concerned :).

[SafeAirOne]

I just made a custom harness for my IIA not too long ago, and I used a Rhino label maker that has heat shrink...

Thanks for turning my on to this idea--I am on the verge of re-wiring/ customizing the wiring in my engine bay and picked up a brand-new Rhino 1000 in its original package on e-bay for $14. This wiring is going to be nice with those heat shrink labels on the ends of each wire! :thumb-up:

Too bad the heat-shrink labels cost twice what I paid for the label maker... Oh well, can't have everything!