LocostUSA.com

Can't put it off any longer.. time for the body harness to go in

First a few pics before a rare minor rant.. A few shots to show the rainbow spaghetti fun that awaits- wee!


--ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

Why I will not use Painless Wiring products again..

I'm a pretty positive, can-do, glass is half full kind of guy.. If you've read through this build log, or my Honda build, you've probably got a pretty good feel that negativity just isn't my deal- I'd rather just hold my tongue than be nasty; but in this case I'm going to break my own rule..

Painless wiring's products are fine, but their customer service SUCKS! This is my second body harness (part # 10201) I've installed (the last one was almost 20 years ago in a 53 F100).. I struggle terribly with all things electrical and wiring (I mean it's as bad as the math I couldn't do back in school), and I'm keenly aware of this shortcoming- which is specifically why I chose to buy a Painless harness; for the promised 'help' for when/if I was to get stuck on the install..

It would be tedious to delve into my particular wiring snags on this project (I had 2 issues), but the bottom line is when I called the Painless tech line, they were not helpful, condescending, and unbelievably, not able to guide me to a solution!?! As an amateur car enthusiast, I need to know going in that the supplier knows (or can find out) how to help if I get stuck- not so on this tech line! I think it boiled down to this: I'm not working on a Ford/Dodge/Chevy, and I'm not running a Ford or SBC engine.. When Cletus-the-tech guy found out that I'm working on "one of them old foreign cars," and that I was trying to install a "modern" engine in the build, I just didn't fit the mold.. I'm 50 years old, and I've never had a customer service person say, "Yeah, that's a tough one, you're just going to have to figure it out".. NO SH*T Cletus! That's why I paid SEVERAL hundred dollars for your product and expertise!

Anyway, I post this here for the next guy who has to choose an aftermarket body harness... maybe Painless will fire Cletus and hire techs that actually want to help their customers.. maybe this company will read posts like this and begin to focus on customer satisfaction (see, glass is half full )... Until then, I personally hope I never have to install a harness again, but if I do, I'll look to a different company for the product and service..

**btw- the internet is full of hate and half-truths, and it's tough to sort through it all... I only post this here because I was so taken aback by this incident, that I thought it would help some other electrically-challenged car guy to seek out a company that has good customer service.. a whole body harness is an intimidating job for most of us, and I was just so shocked to basically be told I was on my own to find solutions.. I actually like the Painless harness itself, but I never would have bought it if I knew Cletus worked on their tech line..

--ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

Wow, that sucks. I used a Painless harness for my Locost and liked it, but then it's also simple enough that I didn't have to call them either. From looking through the instructions though, you're right about the Ford, Chev, Dodge, and nothing else aspect. They were pretty light on other info for other makes.
Kristian

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V6 in a book frame build. Now registered.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=7587
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=18172

What help do you need?

I abhor wiring responsibilities but even so, I managed to reasonably successfully wire my build. Drop me a line by adding @gmail.com to my screen name (ckouba) and I'd be happy burn some calories for you.

Chris

About 15 yrs ago, I helped my son wire a Toyota Land Cruiser with one of the "wiring kits" it may have been Painless or some other competitor's version (EZ-Wire?). Naturally, non of the examples they showed in the instructions had anything relevant to this vehicle. We ended up having a battery drain that would kill the battery overnight. We eventually phoned customer service, spoke to a tech and they either couldn't or wouldn't get us the wiring diagram within the fuse block. I needed it to diagnose and determine the "proper" connections to this vehicle. After a long phone conversation, they eventually relented and sent the diagram via snail-mail. In the end, the battery drain was resolved. Due to all the splices required at the OEM connectors, it still looked like a kluge job done by a teenager! I hope they have come a long way since then.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

Thanks for the feedback guys... and the help offer ckouba- part of what makes this such a great forum ..as it turns out, I'm still a bit behind on documenting the summer work; I think I've tackled the big wiring issues (I've had 2 so far)..

#1 issue was a no start.. pretty much expected, but I of course had to find the cause.. she would crank over very reluctantly, and wouldn't fire.. spark? fuel? air? dummy me wiring it up wrong? Ended up being the 50 year old Volvo ignition switch... I swapped in a Ron Francis 30 amp switch and she fired right up! Sure, she threw about a dozen DTCs, but she breathed life on July 28, 2017

#2 problem was getting brake/turn signal lights wired up.. This is where Cletus at Painless should have known better.. This model/make/year runs it's brake lights independent of the turn light switch (it seems the American stuff all has the brake lights go through the turn signal-- meaning a single taillight on each side, where the foreign stuff runs 'two' taillights, one dedicated to signalling; usually an amber light).. Anyway, Cletus was uninterested in helping or learning, so I turned to the internet, where you'll find all of the answers! I kid, but as with most things, this issue has already been sorted and documented by others.. I ended up running a 'turn signal converter' designed for a trailer application to get me my taillight turn signals with brake lights.. a very clever and simple solution..

So I'm a bit out of chronological order here.. I'll get back to getting this log caught up soon.. very close to having it back in 'real time'

--ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

Oh, SURE!! GET me all worried!! I'm perilously close to having to start my wiring process (I bought an EZ harness, because I'm one of those to whom electricity is "black magic"), and now, thanks to your experience, I'm gonna have night sweats for months, worrying about it!!

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

Would that be a double pole double throw relay? I used a Lucas DB10 relay on my old build, it meant I could use the same filament (1157 bulb) in my tail lights for both brake lights and signal lights, the "dull" filament was for running lights only.

[/quote]I ended up running a 'turn signal converter' designed for a trailer application to get me my taillight turn signals with brake lights.. a very clever and simple solution..
--ccrunner[/quote]

Good to see you found a solution for the lights. I've used these converters on Japanese vehicles to go from their light configuration to the traditional dual filament configuration on trailers.
So if I read this right, you were able to use the converter the other way around, from traditional dual filament harness output to the European configuration. Is that correct?

_________________
Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

I don't get disappointed because I assume and expect terrible/no support up front. The way I dealt with the Painless system was to trace out the wiring of the fuse block and made my own circuit for brake and turn lights. Car brand makes no difference if you use separate-filament lamps, and a simple SPDT switch is all that's needed for the turn signals. All I used from the Painless fuse block were the fuse and flasher, which is its purpose.

_________________
Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

Perry, I think the wiring kits have separate turn signal and brake light wiring. So the conversion is to get to the common USA setup with combined filament for brake and turn signal.


Lucas DB10 is a very expensive alternative. Repros now are running ~$100. Here is a link to a DIY version with wiring.

http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/electric/ts202.htm

But really, the trailer converter should work just fine. (even if you are using a 4-way flasher!) It is simple, inexpensive, and pretty bulletproof.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

Perry, I think the wiring kits have separate turn signal and brake light wiring. So the conversion is to get to the common USA setup with combined filament for brake and turn signal.

This is exactly what I ended up with... this car has 4 bulbs in the taillights (2 bulbs per side).. one on each side is now just a red running light, and the other one on each side is red and functions as both a running light and a turn/brake light (like an American car).. this gives me 4 bulbs acting as taillights (running lights) at a given time, which is what I wanted as the taillights are small and otherwise hard to see-- thought being more light is better.. Because I'm paranoid, I've also wired in a 3rd brake light to better be seen.. more on that in a bit..

--ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

July 2017

The monotonous job of wiring a car .. top pic is just running front end wires down the driver fender.. An obligatory fuse block shot (this is mounted up high in the driver footwell, up beside the long chrome hood release lever).. Last shot just shows the wire junk pile as a pull out excess and wires I don't need..

--ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

July 2017

With the harness largely in, attention turns to a bunch of quick little jobs.. After doing wiring for days and days (or has it been weeks?!), it's rewarding to do some of these little in-and-done jobs; makes me feel like I'm making actual progress..

I don't care for the way the rear plate mounts up as designed (1st pic).. I think eventually I'll weld in a nice recessed license plate box into the rea panel, but for now I'm going to hang the plate down from the stock chrome license plate light/backup light trim.. this also allows me to remove the center bar connecting both sides of the bumper.. I'm trying to smooth it out in an unnoticeable way.. the bumper ends still need a bit of finishing in this configuration, but I think it will be clean when all of the details pull it together..

--ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

..last few pics of this.. ...I went on to convert the OEM backup light glass to what is now an (LED 1156 bulb) 3rd brake light (front and center hole in the chrome trim piece below the V-O-L-V-O letters)..

*also of note in this rear end wideshot- the 16 gallon tank hang-down, and the exhaust tip peeking out of the rear..

--ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com