Painless Harness Number?

[Winooski]

I recently burnt a dashboard switch when my high beams (Hella Vision plus) were on for a prolonged period. Not wanting to have the truck smolder then erupt into flames, I have read all about relays in relation to this issue. Some have recommended a Painless wiring harnesses as a solution, and they seem to be ideal for the task. What catalogue number have people used? 30815? Realizing that time = money, should I just build my own? It sounds pretty easy, but I've gotten into trouble with saying that in the past.

PS- the wiring in the truck seems to be in good working order, so I don't believe I need to re-wire the whole truck with a new harness.

Thanks,

Patrick

[superstator]

If it were me, I think I'd just build something myself. It really is pretty simple, and I'd think you could do it for a tenth what the kit would cost.

[jac04]

I would try RallyLights:

http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=1247

[mongoswede]

The painless kits are all over ebay and can be ordered out of the Jegs or Summit Racing catalog. While I agree that you could probably build your own harness from scratch for a little less money the Painless kits are very nice and easy to put into place. I think you could use one of the 12 or 18 circuit generic hot rod kits for a land rover given that you need:

headlights
brake lights
running lights
turn signals heater
wipers
horn
heated wind screen?
fuel gage
panel lights
interior lights
driving lights.

I recommend going to your local welding supply shop and buying 15 or 20 feet of #2 gauge welding cable, a heavy duty crimp tool, and the #2 crimp eyelet connectors. These cables make fantastic battery cables, alternator cables, and starter cables. They have minimal resistance....even putting them on an old truck you will see a difference in your lighting out put.


here is the painless webpage:

http://www.painlessperformance.com/

Part Number 10102 would probably work well....costs about $450. a friend built his full harness for his rally car....I can get the name of the catalog that he ordered a lot of the good quality connectors and wiring from if you want to try and fab your own. Electrical stuff is pretty easy once you do it a little....but it seems very daunting if its entirely new.


HA! just checked summit racing and you can get the same kit (10102) from them for $335: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PRF-10102/

[Eric W S]

For that kind of cash you can get a rover loom from our hosts. Simple, easy and prolly fix all of your issues.

EwS

[mongoswede]

For that kind of cash you can get a rover loom from our hosts. Simple, easy and prolly fix all of your issues.

EwS

edit: to your credit: I ordered an Autosparks factory replica harness for my 109 thinking it would be the easiest way to rewire things. The harness cost about $300 and is very nice and pretty damn identical to the stock harness. After I learned a bit more about how these trucks are wired and how they work I am wishing I had either gone with a Painless kit or my own wiring. The whole 35 amp fuse thing, no relays, all power through the switches etc is just a recipe for problems.

Unless of course the rover loom replicates the stock rover harness...which leaves a lot to be desired given that it has all of 4 fuses and was built around the idea of "relay? whats that?".



My .02 is that if you are going to rewire your rover and you want to improve reliability, electrical performance, and overall safety....don't go with the stock setup.....unless of course you are doing a factory restoration.

[chrismccarthy]

wiring

I thought i could get a new battery and connect it and i would have lights and a horn, i was going to surprise my wife, who had complained about the rather large paperweight on the front lawn. didn't work, started to look at the mess under the hood and stopped...wiring and electrics scare me...

so this "Painless" system...you would remove all previous connectors and connections? and what do you do, just start with wire A and work your way to the end?

[mongoswede]

I thought i could get a new battery and connect it and i would have lights and a horn, i was going to surprise my wife, who had complained about the rather large paperweight on the front lawn. didn't work, started to look at the mess under the hood and stopped...wiring and electrics scare me...

so this "Painless" system...you would remove all previous connectors and connections? and what do you do, just start with wire A and work your way to the end?

well...as I recall all the wires are labeled for which circuit they are on but its going to be a little more complicated. You will want to lay the harness in place, determine where to mount the fuse/relay box, run all the wires to their proper locations etc...making sure you have enough length and that the wires don't interfere with any hot or moving parts. It would be a good idea to find someone who knows what they are doing that can give you some guidance. or get some basic supplies and a wiring for dummies book and practice on some simple circuitys with a battery and connectors and relays before launching into the full rewire.

[Eric W S]

edit: to your credit: I ordered an Autosparks factory replica harness for my 109 thinking it would be the easiest way to rewire things. The harness cost about $300 and is very nice and pretty damn identical to the stock harness. After I learned a bit more about how these trucks are wired and how they work I am wishing I had either gone with a Painless kit or my own wiring. The whole 35 amp fuse thing, no relays, all power through the switches etc is just a recipe for problems.

Unless of course the rover loom replicates the stock rover harness...which leaves a lot to be desired given that it has all of 4 fuses and was built around the idea of "relay? whats that?".



My .02 is that if you are going to rewire your rover and you want to improve reliability, electrical performance, and overall safety....don't go with the stock setup.....unless of course you are doing a factory restoration.

The stock system with an altenator is fine for most people. I mean really, most of the Lucas issues come from cheap ass owners not addressing the entire system and cobbling together crap. I have the old wiring on my truck and it works real well. Simple is often the best. Updating some portions of the system are prefereable such upgrading the lighting section of the loom to get better performance but it really isn't fair to condemn a system based on simplicity and age. And reliability is based on the owner's standards. My truck is a rock.

[superstator]

I think the OP was just asking about a relay setup for lights, not a chassis harness. I can definitely recommend the painless kits for a complete chassis, but for just adding a relay they seem way to expensive.

[mongoswede]

The stock system with an altenator is fine for most people. I mean really, most of the Lucas issues come from cheap ass owners not addressing the entire system and cobbling together crap. I have the old wiring on my truck and it works real well. Simple is often the best. Updating some portions of the system are prefereable such upgrading the lighting section of the loom to get better performance but it really isn't fair to condemn a system based on simplicity and age. And reliability is based on the owner's standards. My truck is a rock.

I agree that simple is better. My understanding from the OP was that the lighting ciruit had gotten hot and caused a dash fire. My interpretation was that although the lighting circuit was bad it had damaged the rest of the harness. So my advice was mostly aimed at replacing the entire harness. If you have a series truck with an original harness that is in good shape and you do not muck around with it then it should perform as good as they performed . If you want to upgrade various circuits them by all mean introduce relays, fuses, good quality wire, heat shrink, etc to the vehicle....gain performance and safety.

[Winooski]

My main concern was the wiring for the headlights, since the switch blew and I was hoping to avoid a cab full of smoke scenario.

Either way, I looked into the Susquehanna Motor sports webpage and grabbed a simple H4 harness from them. Plus some Hella fog lights to boot.

The Painless harness (or a similar product) will be the way I go if/when I need to replace the wiring for the whole truck. But as mentioned in earlier replies, the rest of the truck seems to be holding its own. I have torn apart the dash a few times recently and there seem to be no issues readily apparent.

I will admit, the whole process has been educational and made me appreciate the electrical workings of the truck much more.

Patrick

[jac04]

Either way, I looked into the Susquehanna Motor sports webpage and grabbed a simple H4 harness from them. Plus some Hella fog lights to boot.

Good choice. I purchase almost all my bulbs from them and usually their prices (and customer service) can't be beat.