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MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical - Wiring harness

The motor, and tranny are bolted in. I trashed my old 30 year old wiring harness. What kinds of aftermarket harness' have you guys used? I have found a company, EZ Wiring. They sell a prewired 21 curcuit unit for 175.00. It looks like a Painless kit, only less money. Has anyone heard anything about them? Thanks Jason.
JWK Kerr

The EZ wiring kit is virtually identical to the Painless kit (I have one of each in my shop). Save yourself some money and get the EZ kit.
Dan Masters

Has anyone used the american autowire harness? It has the main harness to the dash and all other segments plug in. My biggest complaint with the painless was the huge bundle of wires lumped together. I seperated them and bundled each out of the way but it seems alot easier to wire the front end and then the rear and have only to deal with the wires you are working with and then plug into the main harness.

If anyone has used it I would like to know how it went.
Garret
Garret

Yes, I also have an American Autowire panel in my shop. It's OK, but I prefer the EZ or the Painless setup. The AA setup uses spring loaded clips to hold the wire, which, although OK, I really don't care much for. I don't think you will get as good a connection as you would with a more positive attachment method, such as screw terminals.

The factory-made terminations on the EZ and Painless systems add a lot of reliability to the setup. Personally, and this is just my opinion, I don't believe either method has much advantage over the other as for as ease of installation is concerned.

Another thing to consider with the AA type is the extra room required to route the wires. The wires have to be fanned out to mate with the terminal strip, and there is a minimum bend radius associated with each wire. Although the panel itself is quite compact, by the time you get the wires attached, it takes up quite a bit of room.

Why do I have so many wiring systems in my shop, you ask? Well, they are there as part of a seminar I plan to give at the British V8 meet in August. After that, they will be for sale. Along with a few of my own manufacture.
Dan Masters

Dan doesn't mention (for it would possibly be violating the "rules" of this BBS), but markets a FANTASTIC wiring kit of his own.

But...that doesn't mean that i cannot tell you about it here and make the recommendation that you contact him off-BBS with an inquiry...

Just a suggestion...

rick ingram
1974.5 MGB/GT conversion
rick ingram

Thanks guys. Dan,I think I will go with the EZ kit.
JWK Kerr

I have used 2 kits from Centec & find no fault . They have several sizes, I have used a 21 circuit model that provides a seperate circuit for everything. Wires are different colors & marked every 5-6 inches. A few kits out there are all one color wire, & even though they are marked, they are much harder to keep track of.

The advantaqge of Dan Master's kit is the simplicity. With all the other commercial kits, you have to convert turn signals, lighting, esp. the emergency flashers, wipers from GM to MG. That is a real pain which Dan avoids. Plan on a couple of extra hours of head scratching with the commercial kits.

The other thing to watch out for is placement of the fuse box. Some kits assume a location on the drivers side of the passenger compartment, & should you favor the passeger side footwell, some wires will be too short, requiring extra wire & connections.

I strongly recommend non-insulated terminals crimped, then soldered, & covered with heat shrink tubing in place of the insulated crimped connectors included with most kits.

Jim Stuart
Jim Stuart

Jim Stuart wrote:

"I strongly recommend non-insulated terminals crimped, then soldered, & covered with heat shrink tubing in place of the insulated crimped connectors included with most kits."

AMEN! I strongly agree. I also recommend going to Home Depot, Lowes, or similar, and buying a GB (part # GS-88, I believe) crimping tool, rather than one of the standard crimpers sold in electronics stores. This tool has the advantage of crimping "along" the terminal, rather than "across", resulting in a stronger crimp, with less potential for damage to either the wire or the terminal. This tool sells for around $18 or so, I think.

Not only does Jim's technique give a better connection, it also gives, in my opinion, a much more professional appearance. It does take a little bit longer, but when compared to the overall time spent wiring, the extra time is not all that much.

Centech makes two types of wiring harnesses; one is very similar to what Painless and EZ Wiring sell, and the other is a very slick fuse panel with a nice stainless steel cover. The "slick" version is wired at the fuse panel by the owner, similar to American Autowire, except it uses screw connections. Centech makes a quality product, but they are a bit pricey. See more at: http://www.centechwire.com/ If you go to; http://www.centechwire.com/catalog/images/hsp_pdp1.jpg you can see what I mean by the extra space taken up by the wire when using one of the "owner wired" panels.
Dan Masters

"AMEN!"

Ditto. I've been an advocate of crimping, soldering and heat-shrinking for some years but in another forum the soldering bit is usually condemned.
Paul Hunt

That could be cause it's often done incorrectly. If you let the solder wick up the insulation on the small wires, it can make them brittle, and look crappy. Also, from my milspec 'soldering school' days, the rosin flux residue should be removed with alcohol, as it's corrosive in the long run. Plus, be sure to fill all voids, pinholes, and make a slightly convex surface to the solder joint. Then, it can be a recommended practice, and not a botched up mess as someone can do who hasn't had practice. FWIW. Joe
Joe Ullman

This thread was discussed between 02/01/2004 and 05/01/2004

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