Time for a re-wire?

[Ken_B]

I did a search on here and was coming up dry for an answer to my question, if I missed it please excuse my terrible computer skills. I am thinking it is time for to re-wire my 1951 Cranbrook for several reasons, one the lights dont work, only the turn signals work, no headlamps,tail lamps, brake lamps etc.., two the wiring itself is not in great shape with some previous "backyard" repairs, and three the insulation is getting pretty iffy looking being very old and cracked.

 

My questions are;

Who has done this to their car?

Do you have any tips or tricks?

I want to stay 6 volt positive ground, what is out there in the way of wiring kits, stock replacement and universal?

 

Thanks for the help!

[Young Ed]

I did a search on here and was coming up dry for an answer to my question, if I missed it please excuse my terrible computer skills. I am thinking it is time for to re-wire my 1951 Cranbrook for several reasons, one the lights dont work, only the turn signals work, no headlamps,tail lamps, brake lamps etc.., two the wiring itself is not in great shape with some previous "backyard" repairs, and three the insulation is getting pretty iffy looking being very old and cracked.

 

My questions are;

Who has done this to their car?

Do you have any tips or tricks?

I want to stay 6 volt positive ground, what is out there in the way of wiring kits, stock replacement and universal?

 

Thanks for the help!

 

Sounds like good reasons to do it. Everything on my car worked but the wiring was still iffy looking so I rewired mine. So in order yes I've done it. I removed my dash and harness as a unit after labeling everything I detached to get it out. Then I layed it all out on a board and remade each wire. I stayed 6v. Upgraded all of the 16g to 14 because its better and it was less variety of size/color to buy. I used modern wire but the vintage looking stuff is available if you want the look. There are also wiring kits and new harnesses available(they are $$$ though).

[soth122003]

I did a partial rewire. One wire at a time. It's a little time consuming, but as a comdeian once said, "anywhere is with in walking distance if you have the time".

 

Joe

[suntennis]

Wiring kits are available from about $200 to $1000. For starters you will want to have and understand the wiring diagram for your car, use colored wire similar to that on the wire diagram and use the correct wire size or gage. The turn lights do not get power thru the light switch where as all the other lights are powered from the light switch. You may have a short or possibly a problem with the light switch.

Edited May 12, 2016 by suntennis

[rb1949]

The tips are slow, steady and meticulous. Are you up to the job? I redid inside the trunk. Not too bad, tracing & replacing one by one, only 8 wires. Up front was a different story. Seeing that bowl of spaghetti was beyond my comprehension and ability. But was able to accomplish a partial rewire, replacing the obvious defective ones. Again one by one. Takes time. Also cleaned, reworked or replaced all the pigtail connectors in the lamp sockets. Make sure all connections to ground are clean. If ambitious, and can identify which wires, start jumping power to each lamp to see if they work. Label what's what in the process of elimination. Good luck.

[White Spyder]

I went the vintage route. Purchased from Rhode Island Wire and could not be more pleased with the product, instructions and live phone assistance when doing the install. Take your time, take breaks from being contorted under the dash and ware eye and inhalation protection from all the falling old wire covering.

[50 coupe]

Finishing up my first re-wire myself. Way easier than I could have imagined. Get a wire diagram from this site or your service manual. Other than using 14g for the 16g, follow the wire gage guide. Do one wire at a time. I started with the easy stuff first, in the engine compartment where I could see where the wire begins and ends. You will want to pull your instrument gage cluster as many wires feed to several switches and other places on it. Lots of great info on this site regarding tools, connectors soldering and trouble shooting. 

Edited May 17, 2016 by 50 coupe

[dpollo]

I highly recommend Rhode Island 's products.   If you value your time and want a superior job, this is the way to go.

 

It is also possible to rewire as indicated above but it takes a lot of time.

 

 I cannot recommend the wiring kits where all the materials come semi pre wired.  They have their place in hot rods and modified cars

but are generally for 12 volt systems.

[Bingster]

I bought a beautiful color and laminated wiring diagram from a vendor.  It comes in at least a couple of sizes, but I bought the large one so I can have it on a stand by the car. With the lamination it's impervious to grease, coffee and stuff.  Colored wires are shown nice and large with plenty of space between wires so as to be certain where they go. Haven't wired my car yet, but as some of the guys said above, even one wire at a time is doable.  Just don't do like I did when I got the car and start taking off too many things.  Keep in pace with your progress.

[Young Ed]

I highly recommend Rhode Island 's products.   If you value your time and want a superior job, this is the way to go.

 

It is also possible to rewire as indicated above but it takes a lot of time.

 

 I cannot recommend the wiring kits where all the materials come semi pre wired.  They have their place in hot rods and modified cars

but are generally for 12 volt systems.

That is a good point. Anyone found/used a wiring kit designed for 6volt?

[laynrubber]

My method is to rip most the wires out....wait a year and then attempt to rewire. I find it more challenging this way    .

A better method is depending on your skill, one wire at a time will be satisfying. No doubt a rewire will improve reliability.

[Ken_B]

So as far as functionality it sounds like I need to test the headlamp switch and make sure that's not the problem first and go from there. I do like the idea of a kit like the one RI has, but it sure is spendy. I will have to look into a wiring diagram and see if I feel like I'm at the skill level to do one wire a time myself. Is the headlamp switch something that is still available, or am I going to have to try to fix the one I have if it turns out to be faulty?

 

Thanks for the help!

[suntennis]

The headlight or high beam switch gets power from the light switch at the dash. Check to see if there is power to the dash switch and then check to see if there is any power out of the switch. Both switches are available.

[Ken_B]

There is power to the headlamp switch, so its looking like the switch itself is bad. I cleaned and made sure all the connections were good, still no lights. Looks like I need to find a headlamp switch, I have found a couple on ebay any other good sources for one?

[Bobacuda]

When I took my B4B totally apart, I thought I was going to buy a wiring harness from Rhode Island - about $800 and it would not have a couple of the small harnesses. 

 

So I pulled the old harnesses all out.  I had a wiring diagram handy, paper for notes and tape to label everything.  I put tape on each wire I disconnected, taking notes of what it was connected to.  I then mounted each harness to a piece of plywood and labeled its general function (headlights, under hood, etc.).  Remember that each wire is labeled on each end where it started and where it ended.  At this point, I decided to build my own harnesses.

 

I bought all of the appropriate size wires and terminals from Rhode Island.  The wiring diagram helped me build my list of wire gauge, length and color-coding.  I looked at all of the old wires to see what type and how many of each terminal.  I also got a directional signal for my truck - total parts about $270.

 

Then I built each harness.  I would strip back some of the old tape to expose the wiring color-code, to get it right.  I confirmed that with the wiring diagram.  Then it was one wire at a time.  Make the new wire the same length (or slightly longer) as the old wire  Strip the end, slide a piece of shrink-tube on, solder the end, crush on a terminal, then solder the terminal, slide up the shrink tube and shrink it.  Label the ends like the original wires show you know where to connect them.  Once all of the wires in a harness are made, get a couple of helpers to hold the ends as you tape them into a specific harness.  Repeat for each harness.

 

Took me two damn cold weekends to rewire my truck like this. I guess I have about 30-40 hrs in it start to finish.

 

Tools involved were a cheap multimeter, solder gun, wire-stripper and a "terminal crusher."  I made a "wire holding" helper by attaching 2 clothes-pins to a piece of 2x4 to hold the wire steady when I was soldering on it or the terminal - it really helped. Take LOTS of notes and photos.

[Cebreros]

I rewired mine last year with cloth covered wiring. 
I took an amp clamp and compared my amperage, before and after.
I wished I would have sticked to the original wiring coloring tho. 

[Ken_B]

Update

Replaced the headlamp switch and still no lights, I am starting to think the wiring in this thing is just to far gone to make work so it look like I am going to just have to rewire it. Tried supplying power to just the brake pressure switch and still no brake lights. Does anybody have a good source for a wiring diagram? Think I am going to need one. And it looks like I will be ordering a wiring kit here soon too.

[soth122003]

Should get you in the ballpark.

 

Joe

 

Just added a color one for you as well.

 

Joe

Edited May 29, 2016 by soth122003

[DJ194950]

Do you have a good ground from the motor to the frame? and then to the radiator support from the frame?

 

These old cars suffer from corrosion at contact points that Used to make these connection.

 

Have you checked power to the headlight switch After the switch is on? Bad connections sometimes show up when there is a amp draw on them but not before.

 

Just some thoughts/questions,

 

Sure answer will show up soon!

 

DJ

[suntennis]

You said before that you had power to or at the switch but no power out of the switch. Are you saying now that there is power on one terminal of the switch and when you go to the on position there is no power going out of the switch (by checking all the terminals with a volt meter or test light)? When you put power to the brake light switch, did you put power to to both terminals of the switch to see if the brake lights work? If your turn signal lights are connected to the brake lights and they work, you should get brake light operation by putting power to the terminal on the brake switch that is connected to the brake lights.

[VFFFrank]

I see a 30A circuit breaker in the power supply to the Headlight switch. If it's "open" due to a failure or "contactitus" it will disallow power to all of the lighting circuits. Check for 6V at the input terminal and the load side. If it's there on the line, but not the load, it's open.

F

[greg g]

Did you check the fuse on the headlamp switch???  The breaker is supposed to reset itself but if it is passing power to but not through the fuse, no power will go to any of the lights with the exception of the signal circuit as it may not be powered through the light switch and depending on how it is made and wired (dealer factory or aftermarket) it is likely powered independently of the headlamp switch.  Do the signals work without the ignitionin the on position, if not they are probably powered from the acc terminal of the ignition.  

[Tom Skinner]

Here is a tip - I have Fluid Drive. I bought a Rhode Island Tranny Harness first. Installed it and got to see what was separate in the engine compartment or Lights componets were etc.

Then for the engine compartment while working my way from the Dash through to the engine compartment I wired the "harness" myself with the correct gauge and color wires.

I went one wire at a time labeling using the old harness on a bench. Rhode Island will help you with any questions over the phone as to Gauge and Colors - buy wire a little long.

Label every end clearly with tape.

One trick to use is let all your wires "run wild"/ that is to say -long - moving up to the headlight junction blocks etc.

The reason for this is simple when you tape the harness in place along the inner fender some wires want to go long to their destination. At that point then cut them to the exact length they need and solder an end on them and attach them in place. In this way it looks more professional/original without wires looping around untidy etc.

Everything looks sorted out and original then instead of tussled with. Most of my under the dash wires looked good so I only did the clock, heater, and directional wires there.

then I felt the wiring was substantially replaced, enough to be satisfied. One other thing when ordering from Rhode Island you can get the go to the headlight end plugs correct if you buy that segment of wiring from them as well. In other words you can "tackle" segments of your wiring at your own schedule - not a tear it all out and feel like you have to re-wire it all at once deal.

Pulling dashboards etc wasn't necessary in my case, because my car was in real good shape when I bought it. I just brought it up to the next level and made it more reliable and safe using my method. To each his own you make the call.

Tom

Edited May 29, 2016 by Tom Skinner

[Ken_B]

Been a little while since I was able to post here, I ended up just going with a new universal 6 volt harness. I have been very happy with it, its nice to have all my lights backup and working and be able to drive my car! Thank you everyone for all the help, tips, and tricks!