[7t8ta]

I'm looking to put a new wiring harness is my TA and was wondering if anyone had any experience with the Painless 10101 or 10102. Also what is the difference between the two I know the 101 is a 12 circuit harness and the 201 has 18. Do I need the 18 or can I get away with the 12, my car does not have power windows. Thanks for any help.

[7t8ta]

Forgot to ask, is there another brand or stock replacement available?

[paint guy]

Stock replacement: M & H, American Autowire. Aftermarket: Keepitcleanwiring, EZWire. There are others.

[7t8ta]

Thanks Paint guy I will check those out. Do you have a favorite?

[rexs73gto]

I used M&H in my 73 GTO & all I had to do was pull the old one out & put the new one in. They make it exact so it goes right in. I have had no problems at all & it only took about 2 hours to put the front & engine harness in complete. I would highly recommend them.

[paint guy]

If you are going to go aftermarket (I normally do because I like to add options such as relays for headlights) I really like EZWire, although I used keepitcleanwiring (18 circuit) in my 69 GTO vert, added pw,electric hideaways, 3rd brake light, turn signal mirrors, etc. and it worked fine also. I have never used M & H but they get good reviews here. I did buy a fusebox from Painless once and built an entire harness for my 57 Chevy, that worked fine, too, but would not do that again since quality harnesses (aftermarket) are available now for less than $200. The best advice I can give you is: Concours correct, buy a premade correct harness. Restomod: go aftermarket and save a bunch of money.

[78w72]

if you just want a stock replacement harness that is factory correct, i suggest american auto wire. they were an exact match for my car & the price was great. also you can calll them & talk to an actual person that builds the harness. in my case i needed a 74 harness but with an hei power wire as i converted to hei. if you need custom circuits or race type stuff, maybe try the universal painless etc, but for factory correct looks & function, a/a/w is a great product.

[Ollie]

I bought a Painless harness.
Would not recommend it as the wires are not stamped every 6 inches or so.
They have Scotch tape tags.

[1966geeto]

Do not buy anything from Procomp nightmare cust svc sucks pulled it out and rewired my car front to back went with Painless took me about 20 hrs but I soldered everything and added a bunch of relays also have Vintage air hei electric fans electric dumps so I went with the 18 circuit have a couple left but sure I will use them .I f I could afford MH would have liked to have done that with a 5 circuit add on harness..

[WAMjr10950]

I had a Painless 50003 kit and was very impressed by it. I think it all depends what direction you are going with your project. I wouldn't use it on a car that I was restoring, but that probably goes without saying. Anyway, the 50003 kit included the switch panel and enough circuits for everything I planned to run. I picked it up on Racing Junk for a good price, it was brand new, then sold it for what I paid because there were other parts I needed at that time. I wish I could have kept it since I definitely am going to buy it again! LOL... I am still building my motor plus my car needs to go to the chassis shop for a cage, that's why I sacrificed the Painless kit. These other guys can help you regarding your application and may have different experiences with other companies.

I just wanted to chime in about quality. IMHO the Painless kits are top notch. Just to clarify, I haven't installed one yet, but I had everything in my hands, saw what was included in the kit I planned to use, and was totally satisfied. If I remember correctly the 50003 kit did not include relays for my elec. fuel pump, elec. water pump, or elec. cooling fan but I didn't expect it to! I have an HID kit for my headlights that uses a T3 style bulb as the reflector and I think everything I needed was there. I just would download the instructions as a PDF file and double check before you order the kit you want. Good luck and if you are not keeping the car original, Painless makes excellent kits IMHO.

[First Bird]

Scotch tape tags? Ollie is that a joke? The Painless harness I installed WAS stamped every 6 inches. The wire and fuse box was high quality. I improved my electrical system in many ways so I was glad to have 18 circuits. I would have had to butcher those nice concours direct replacement type harnesses.

[Ollie]

Photos of Painless wires with Scotch Tape Tags.
In all fairness I did purchase the harness 3 or 4 years ago.
Painless harness, Tuned Port Injection Harness Extra Long. GM (Map)
PN 60203

First photo Painless wires with Scotch Tape Tags.

Second Photo Diy AutoTune wires with stamped wires

[1966geeto]

Mine was marked the same every 6 inches fuse box was very secure instructions were very clear..

[paint guy]

Both EZWire and Keepitclean harnesses are marked along the wires, too.

[Squidward]

Originally Posted by paint guy

If you are going to go aftermarket (I normally do because I like to add options such as relays for headlights) I really like EZWire, although I used keepitcleanwiring (18 circuit) in my 69 GTO vert, added pw,electric hideaways, 3rd brake light, turn signal mirrors, etc. and it worked fine also. I have never used M & H but they get good reviews here. I did buy a fusebox from Painless once and built an entire harness for my 57 Chevy, that worked fine, too, but would not do that again since quality harnesses (aftermarket) are available now for less than $200. The best advice I can give you is: Concours correct, buy a premade correct harness. Restomod: go aftermarket and save a bunch of money.

EZWire, huh? Price seems right. How much customization is required? I'll be doing a total rewire on a 72 Lemans. About everything electrical in this car is either hacked or melted. Seriously.

I was intrigued. $500+ for a Painless kit, which is way better than the $1000+ I'd have to spend to do my car M&H style. EZwire was $185. Money talks, but I wonder what makes the cost difference.

I liked the Painless instructions. EZWire didn't have any posted. Any details on the kit you used for the 69, like kit number?

[paint guy]

For my 69 I used keepitclean PROcomp15. On my son's 72 Chevelle I used EZWire EZ21. Both kits came with explicit instructions and tech service with a phone call. Neither kit was difficult to install, but were more time-consuming than a "Plug and Play" type system. Little customization is required, and you can order with extra circuits for high intensity headlights or radio (Keepitclean offers those options, perhaps EZWire does,too.) But if not, it's no big deal to use an unused circuit for custom stuff as long as the fuse amperage is sufficient and you keep track of what you did. Both kits use wires that are at least one gauge higher than stock and are marked and color-coded (GM) and both were set up for GM steering columns with instructions to Ford or Mopar if needed. I have not used a Painless kit, just a Painless fusebox to build my own harness. ( Apparently I thought the Painless price was too high at the time, which is why I just bought the fuse box.) I'm sure Painless makes a quality product, but I can attest to the quality of the two companies I mentioned, I have had zero issues with either. Good luck with your project.

[Squidward]

I think I will call ezwire. I need the entire guts. I also have some sockets cut and/or missing. Worst butchery I've ever seen on a car that wasn't intended for the junk pile.

Your info was just what I needed. Is it a complete wiring system but with the exception of specific sockets for lights, etc.?

[arcitech]

I've been an advocate of M&H for many years. You don't need instructions, you just lay it next to the old wiring and start pulling out the old and putting in the new...IF you are doing a "stock" type wiring setup!! I've found that they (M$H) put all the clips, wrap, and connectors on where they belong, and the whole harness looks and feels like a factory replacement. They build all their kits from factory diagrams, and they are very helpful if you need some special changes to add HEI, single wire alt. or extra circuits for fuel pumps or nitrous. Yes they cost more, but I know that I got what I paid for, and I don't have to spend time figuring out which connector to crimp or read a bunch of small tags (eyesight is old too!).

M&H if you are lazy like me!!

[paint guy]

Squidward: the kits I mentioned were complete to the extent that all power wires were accounted for, but a couple of small individual harnesses were rebuilt by me using Packard 56 terminals and the existing black plastic plugs. There were two "stand-alone "circuits I believe, one being the small harness that goes from the wiper motor to the washer pump (a little jumper circuit) and the other being the heater switch/blower motor circuit. All you have to do with either, should you want to replace them so you have all new wires, is to unplug either, and replace the wires one at a time with the proper color and length. Both kits IIRC, contain some wire for grounding, but not the big straps from the block to the firewall. I buy those at Mills Fleet Farm or TerminalSupply. My 69 GTO had what I felt was a really cheesy tail light socket/ground wire set-up, so took a socket to NAPA and matched it up with three-wire sockets (ground wires included) and soldered those to my tail light harness. I made my tail light harness "Plug and play" by cutting the aftermarket harness about a foot into where it enters the trunk, and again using Packard 56 terminals and an eight cavity plug (TerminalSupply) plugged it in. At the time, I also wired in a 3rd brake light (circuit included in the aftermarket harness) and mounted it under my spoiler. Even though I looped all my grounds together at the rear of the car and grounded at the normal spot (trunk latch area) I also ran a heavy-duty ( Ithink about 14 gauge) ground wire to the front of the car to a major ground junction block ( I'm overkill with grounds). The point is to carefully consider all of the circuits you want to run to the rear of the car (power ant., speakers, 3rd brake light ect) because you won't want to pull your carpet to run more wires later. At a minimum to the rear, you'll have park/license plate light, right signal, left signal, 3rd brake, gas gauge, and back-up lights. I also had convert top motor circuit and speaker wires under the carpet. Good luck with your project.

[Squidward]

Arcitech, thanks for the suggestions. I thought about a stock setup, but there will be little about this that will be stock other than general appearance. I decided based on cost and being able to do it how I want without boundaries.

Paintguy, I just ordered the ez21 kit. We'll see how it works! My situation will amount to an almost complete custom fab. I'll have to see how much of my old sockets and connectors survived intact.