nice factory harness Vs. American Autowire

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nice factory harness Vs. American Autowire

Postby SOLSAKS » Thu Jan 30, 2014 12:31 pm

i am about to re-assamble a 1977 Monza coupe/notchback
it is completey dismantled and on a rotissere'

it was a factory V8 305 Car

the original harness was a mess

i bought an OEM harness off of a 65,000 mile 77 v8 coupe monza

and i have a complete kit from American Autowire

the only electrical items i will have are
altenator, starter, ignition, lights, radio, fuel pump.
all warning lights, no guages.

what would you use ? the nice OEM harness or start fresh with the American Autowire kit ????
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Re: nice factory harness Vs. American Autowire

Postby cjbiagi » Thu Jan 30, 2014 1:56 pm

Generally I would opt for the new one, is it a universal kit or one designed for a Monza (I think I already know the answer to that :lol: )
The other one may be fine too but you should really inspect it for brittleness, cracks in the insulation etc. Many cars still do have the original wiring (mine included) and I can't say I have ever had any issue but I don't have a desire to rewire my entire car so hopefully it's all fine. While working under the dash and in the engine compartment I have never noticed any issues and I do have a lot of it insulated in the engine compartment to protect it from heat. So, it's a matter of choice but if you are going to replace it anyway why not go with new wire? :th:
I am sure Spence can give us some horror stories about original wiring, however I bet most of it is due to modifications people have made to the original harness.
Clyde.........75 Monza 2+2
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Re: nice factory harness Vs. American Autowire

Postby rtm » Thu Jan 30, 2014 4:05 pm

what clyde said x2
I have been fighting electrical gremlins since day one w/ my '76 towne coupe. :bang:
my latest involves my tachometer going to REDLINE and beyond, while the car is OFF. :oops:
The tach. is utilizing the power source from the original cigarette lighter.
.
My bulkhead harness connection was melted when I bought the car, and I thought I had found all the related problems.
I too, purchased another harness from a supposed v-8 car, (turned out to be totally different)
the tach worked fine this summer, except for the occasional spike, (needle would jump for no reason.)
apparently there is something else going on.
you may want to save yourself the headaches, and opt for the new harness. :th:
why was the original harness a mess?, and does the donor OEM harness match EXACTLY?
just throwing in my two cents,
there are a lot of wiring diagrams posted on this site, and the resident electrical guys are really good, and usually really helpful, (time permitting).

good luck, and keep us posted (pics maybe?)

rick the mason
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1976 Chevrolet Monza Towne Coupe

Re: nice factory harness Vs. American Autowire

Postby spencerforhire » Thu Jan 30, 2014 5:32 pm

An OEM harness in good condition would be the simplest solution, but like others have suggested, it needs to be thoroughly checked for corrosion and brittle wires. An aftermarket harness has lots of advantages, like ATC(blade) fuses instead of AGU(glass) and lots of extra circuits for future expansion and accessories, but will require a lot more work to install.
I always try to keep the original harness if possible on older cars, but if it's going to take a bunch more hours to repair than replace, I will gladly switch up to something new from Painless, American Autowire, etc.
Rick- If you have your tach hooked to the orange cigarette lighter power wire which is unswitched, change it to an ignition switched(pink wire) source. Not healthy for a tach to be "on" all the time.
The "fleet"-
72 Vega HB Drag Car -383/'Glide/9"(9.35@146.19)(5.94@117.28 1/8th)
77 Vega Estate wagon- project(someday)will have TPI305/T-5, S-10 spindles/axles
76 Vega GT- 400/4spd/9" retired from active duty(rusty)
06 Silverado 2WD ex.cab daily
03 Silverado 2WD ex.cab (retired)
06 Haulin' 20ft enclosed car transporter
06 GMC Canyon Shop truck
07 Colorado project( 5.3 4L60e swap)
99 Saturn SL1- wife's car
01 Saturn SC2- son's project
07 Saturn Ion Redline project
and 4 more Saturn "parts cars"
Note- the very act of listing all of these has made me realize I have some kind of problem.....

Visit http://www.spencerforhire.ca
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Re: nice factory harness Vs. American Autowire

Postby rtm » Thu Jan 30, 2014 8:15 pm

thanx spence
not tryin to steal another post.
will let you know how I make out
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