Question for all of the wiring gurus.
Getting ready to rewire my dragster and have hopefully ordered all of my wire and such for the job.
So how do you get all of the bend out of theses spools of wire? I have rolled them out in the yard in the sun and they still look like a slinky!

Secondly how in the heck do you keep all of the wires in the loom/bundle straight? My last wiring job the bundles of wire looked like three barber polls dancing while on crack!

Step #1 go to lowes and buy 1000+ of the 4" zip ties.

Step #2 lay wires together that you know are running the distance,

step #3 use a "slidding" zip tie to help keep bundled, then just put a 4" zip tie about every inch and it should come out looking good.

quote:

Originally posted by Bruce Williams:
Question for all of the wiring gurus.
Getting ready to rewire my dragster and have hopefully ordered all of my wire and such for the job.
So how do you get all of the bend out of theses spools of wire? I have rolled them out in the yard in the sun and they still look like a slinky!

Secondly how in the heck do you keep all of the wires in the loom/bundle straight? My last wiring job the bundles of wire looked like three barber polls dancing while on crack!

What kind of wire are you using? PVC? Because TXL and Tefzel will be straight.

Joe

quote:

Originally posted by sr4440:

quote:

Originally posted by Bruce Williams:
Question for all of the wiring gurus.
Getting ready to rewire my dragster and have hopefully ordered all of my wire and such for the job.
So how do you get all of the bend out of theses spools of wire? I have rolled them out in the yard in the sun and they still look like a slinky!

Secondly how in the heck do you keep all of the wires in the loom/bundle straight? My last wiring job the bundles of wire looked like three barber polls dancing while on crack!

What kind of wire are you using? PVC? Because TXL and Tefzel will be straight.

Joe

Yes. If you are going through the effort, the better wire is sure worth the bit extra

As stated, go with the better wire. With over 30 years experience with engineering and wiring in broadcast facilities, I would recommend in keeping the wiring uniform as you go. Since you will be making bends as needed, doing it as you go will make for a better installation. Also, get a tie wrap installer and cutting tool. It will keep the tension accurate and the same as well as cutting the edges for a clean cut. Most times people pull the ties too tight and start pinching the cables. I usually go 5-6 inches between tie wraps. With Data cables, we went to Velcro with the data speeds today. Over time, the tie wraps causes compressions in the cable and it causes reflections which affect the data streams.

You can use the Velcro strips as temporary until you are done wiring and then you come back and remove them and replace them with zip ties. The velcro holds it in place and is easy to open up to add or remove wires.

I like to use color coded wire and the wiring kit K&R sells is color coded and has imprinted on the wire what it is. I like to use that wire when possible. Plus the K&R wiring color codes on the wire is becoming fairly standard with many racers.

Last car I did had chassis grounds on it in several places. I tied each together and ran a 8 gauge ground wire back to battery.

I am not a wiring guru for sure but if you plan it out, color code the wire and take your time it will look nice.

Also I think it is a good idea to completely rewire your car every 3 years or so. We add a shift light, change tach, put a throttle stop or what ever and the wiring starts to look a little rough.

My first car I did I cut the wires longer than really needed, as I get more experience they are looking better.

The cable tie gun is a very good suggestion. I have been extremely happy that I got one. I have this one.

https://www.pacergroup.net/panduit-cable-tie-cutter/



Also have an older version of this shrink tube label printer that is helpful.

Definitely get skinny velcro strips to temporarily group wires together.

Agree on wire type... Wirebarn.com is a good source, as well as directly with K&R. GXL is what I believe came in the Digital Delay kit.

I also used a Dymo 5000 to label heat shrink.

Clark

If your wire stays coiled you bought the wrong wire. I just used GXL `to wire my car and it's so much easier to work with. Bags of wire ties, the shrink tube labeler and a good crimper. I bought an S&G Tool Aid ratcheting crimper. Plenty of non insulated ring terminals.

I bought my wire from this local vendor in Gilbert AZ
CE Auto Electric

The wire is TXL.
I bought 30' of each color they stocked.
I have strung it out in the back yard in the sun to hopefully get it to relax a bit more.
Thanks for all of the suggestions and advice

Bruce,

I bought the Epson label printer that does heat shrink tubing. I love it! I bought it directly from Epson after the one I ordered from Amazon turned out to be a Chinese copy. I sent that sucker back.

The small Thomas and Betts zip tie gun (orange colored) is easy to get in tight places and works great. Also I like their Ty-Rap brand of zip ties with the steel insert much better than any other brand of ties. They are expensive but worth it.

Use good heat shrink on the bigger stuff and you can also get a pretty darn good battery cable crimper off Ebay. Good luck and have fun!