Tech: How to properly wire your electronics (Part 1)
ElectronicsNeed help wiring something up? Thinking of adding an electrical component to your car? Need help troubleshooting that wiring glitch?
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Tech: How to properly wire your electronics (Part 1)
I've decided to write some informative tutorials. The first one I chose is for wiring. When I get ambitious later on I'll write one for proper relay usage. Please feel free to add comments and/or questions. I'll update and add to this until I'm satisfied that it's accurate and thorough enough to submit as a tech article.
Anyway, on with the show.
Running wire:
Running wire just takes a little bit of common sense. You want to keep it away from heat and vibration. Any time you run through a piece of metal (such as the firewall) you either need to run through a pre-existing grommet, or drill a hole and insert a grommet. Just running the wire through a bare-metal hole is unsafe!
Use wire ties to safely keep the wire away from any area of vibration or extreme heat. When running under the hood, running wire through split loom tubing protects it from chafing, plus makes it blend in for a factory look, which is important with security system wiring.
When running wire into the interior, under NO circumstances do you want to run the wire in through the door jam. It's unprofessional and just plain unsafe. Find a grommet in the firewall, or drill a new hole.
Make sure you choose an adequate gauge wire. When dealing with accessories such as lighting, the chart above may be a bit more conservative than you need, especially if you are able to shorten the wire lengths by use of a relay.
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Great wire chart, Jim! Also, one other tip - never use solid wire, use only stranded wire. Solid wire will fatigue over time with vibration and eventually fracture, where stranded wire is more resiliant to flexing and vibration. The higher the strand count in any given wire gauge, the more easily it will flex.
the absolute best way to put a connector on a wire:
1. Strip back the wire
2. Slip some heat shrink on the wire....
3. If it has one, pull the little plastic cover off the connector.
4. Tin the wire. This means that you heat up the wire with the soldering iron. And push the solder onto THE WIRE. Don’t use the iron to melt the solder. Have the wires be that hot.
Doing this lets the solder wick its way and seep into the wire.
5. Solder the wire to the connector.
6. IMPORTANT: crimp the connector down tight. This is your mechanical connection.
The solder does the electrical connection, but this is what holds the wire to the connector.
7. Check that there are no sharp points that will break the heat shrink. Then slide the heat shrink onto the connector and heat it up…
That’s it.
Note on soldering:
Some people will tell you it’s a bad idea. Or some crap about how electricity flows on the outside of the wire.
Like most myths, its based on some truth, and some fantasy. Yes a solder joint can become weak and break IF ITS STRESSED. That means you need to properly secure the wire so that it does not stress the joint. But soldering a connection does decrease the resistance, and it drastically lessens the chance of the connection failing because of corrosion. When the two pieces of metal are solidified between some other metal (the solder) there’s almost no chance of it corroding and running the connection. Electricity does NOT flow on the “outside” of the wire. Matter of fact, at the atomic level, there’s no way to define the “outside” of the wire. The more metal there, the better. It’s that simple. Your house uses solid wire. Why? Because it’s the best way to conduct electricity. The downside to solid wire is that it cannot flex. That is the reason you must use stranded wire in a car. Not because of “the way it flows”
Electricity does flow on the outside of the wire, but only at high frequencies. This is not something that will have to be considered in the wiring of any automotive circuit.
Another item that some people may overlook in wiring a circuit is the high resistance of the tarnish that develops on copper. A fresh piece of copper wire with a properly crimped connector may offer less resistance right now. Down the road, when that copper wire is not bright and clean, the resistance will go up. The soldered connection will maintain the tiny amount of resistance it started with.
I have always soldered my connections, and the solder connections have always held up better than the wire does. So, a big thumbs up to soldering connections for the most durable, trouble free connection possible.
here's a thought , after you have made your connection , i always put a wire tie about a 1/2 inch back from as a strain relief so the actual connection is not being pulled on . this is a really good idea on the ignition harness connections when doing a remote start. just a thought.
I think I need to pass this on to a kid in my class. He has the most ghetto-rigged wiring job on everything I've ever seen. Fog lights, underbody neon, random lights here and there, and probably much more unseen things inside. Every car he brings in is an entire POS. Like, none of them are even roadworthy, honestly. I just wish people would stop half-assing things.
I personally love the GM weatherpack connectors. You have to buy the pieces and assemble them yourself, and can get them at any good napa or pep boys in anwhere from 1 pin up to 6 pin. Granted they are expensive, I feel that they are worth it.
Whenever I am adding anything electronic to my car, I use a weatherpack connector (not those rinky dink push style connectors that you use in house wiring, those suck). That way, if I ever have to remove it for whatever reason, I can just unplug it instead of cutting wires and resplicing them later.
hi i am andy and i was wonderin if u or any one new how to hot wire a 89 RS camaro. my ignition went out and i need to hot wire to get it to start but i have no i dea what wires to touch wear the wires are located or what color the wires are that make it turn over. if u could can u help me out please get at me at andy79z282002@yahoo.com thanx
Sorry to get off the post. But. Tim, I would also like to know how to get a 305 to move like yours. If you could send me list of mods I'd appreciate it. Thanks
Re: Tech: How to properly wire your electronics (Part 1)
CAN SOMEONE HELP ME FIGURE OUT HOW TO WIRE MY 1992 FIREBIRD FORMULA FOG LIGHTS?
My car did not come with fog lights, but IT DOES HAVE THE HARNESS WIRES INSIDE THE CAR FOR THE CONNECTION. I bought the FACTORY panel from a 1992 Trans Am GTA with the Fog light switch and connected it.
I also, bought the fog lights from a 1992 Trans Am GTA with the wires already there on the back as they are STOCK. My problem is, I DONT KNOW WHERE TO CONNECT the wries from the fog lights so they will work with the FACTORY FOG LIGHT SWITCH INSIDE THE CAR?
Keep in mind, the factory fog light switch inside the car is PROPERLY connected the the PLUG that came in the car. I JUST dont know where to connect the wires that are leading from the back of the FOG LIGHTS.
Thanks
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FORGOT, I can be reached at: EB30144@aol.com
Ben
Last edited by 1992 BIRD; 04-03-2008 at 01:06 PM.
Reason: Automerged Doublepost
Re: Tech: How to properly wire your electronics (Part 1)
I got a 89 camaro RS and I am changing out the '88 305 TBI that came out of a camaro for a '85 305 TPI that came out of a T/A. When i went to inspect the harness, I found that the plug that goes into the firewall on the driver side was not there. Everything else seems to be there that goes to the ECM. Is the wiring harnesses for a 85 TA and a 89 camaro the same? as far as plugging into the firewall. I know they are diifferent cause of the TBI and TPI.
I don;'t know what the firewall harness operates, but can it be separated, or is is easier finding another harness?
Please email me back at brazierj434@aol.com if an can.
Thanks
Re: Tech: How to properly wire your electronics (Part 1)
Hey i'm thinking of buying a 305 equipped car so could you send me the mod list also? And could anybody help me with wiring interior and exterior neon, I have a idea but i'm afraid of screwing it up.
Re: Tech: How to properly wire your electronics (Part 1)
What would the recommended way of running multiple wires from the outside of the car to the inside? I know I need to use a grommet, but I would think if I had a bunch of wires twisted together and run through a grommet, it wouldn't seal, and I'd get water...
Is there some kind of watertight connector to go through the sheet metal, like a simple version of the ECM connector behind the fender?
I needed to run some wiring for my elec. cut-out and electronic gear ratio adapter into the car, I wanted to put the hole above the tranny so the wiring would run into the console.
Re: Tech: How to properly wire your electronics (Part 1)
Just my 2 cents on the tinning comments.
It's really not necessary, especially if you use a weather-pack connector. Vibration? Either way, the wire is going to break. If not at the crimp, than at the point where the tinning ends UNDER the insulation, making it more difficult to find. If you secure the wire(s) properly, than it's not a problem; either way.
If crimping was such a problem, the OEM's would have come up with something better (weather-packs; but still bare crimped). A good crimped connection that is protected and secured properly will last the life of the car.
I've been working almost 25 years at a company that provides cockpit displays and cable harnessing for airplanes, helicopters and circuit board assemblies for satellites. Both commercial and military. The specifications for crimped connections are to NOT tin the wire before crimping. Their rules, not mine. I've been working long enough to see the actual results, and bare crimped wires are the way to go.
Tinning really just makes you feel like you're doing that little extra to make your car better. Guilty as charged. I've done it myself, if I have the time. No, there's no real harm to tinning, except to make inspection and troubleshooting more difficult.
Please don't take this as a slam to anyone personally. I'm just passing on what I've learned over the years.
