Rewiring Help Needed

[Jim Closson]

The AAW kit is absolutely painful! GM stuff rather than Ford. Poor instructions. When I called their helpless desk I got excuses rather than sound technical assistance. Dimmer switch would not mount correct location so I bought Ford product from NAPA Auto Parts. Brake warning connector didn't fit so had to use old one. Routing for dome light not long enough so had to splice. After weeks, still struggling. Should have done more research before buying. Oh ... You either have to purchase an expensive crimping tool, or they will gladly rent you one. Buyer beware.

The OEM replacement is the most dependable. If your dad is capeable of re wirint the whole car, show him all the options we presented you with and let him determine which option he feels best using.

 

[bgs66]

I bought the AAW for my 66 fastback and couldn't be happier. True, you need the special crimper but other than that it went pretty smooth. I thought the instructions were pretty good. I never needed to call their help desk so I can't comment on that. Time was not much of a factor for me as I needed to assemble the whole car so I wasn't in a hurry. But, it still didn't take that long once I broke it down into sections. I upgraded the alternator to a 3g 160 amp (eliminated the external voltage regulator) and a mini torque starter (eliminated the fender mounted solenoid). I also like the electric speedo wiring for the VSS. Only issue with wiring was the aftermarket parking light assembly wiring but they have added that info to their website. Brake light switch was correct for me. The dimmer switch, I just put it where it felt right and screwed it to the floor. I wanted the newer style fuses as well. Plenty of extra wiring to make your own gauge harness. I used Auto Meter gauges. For me and what components I wanted to run it was a perfect fit for me. I would buy AAW again for upgraded components but if you're going completely stock I'd get the factory style replacement.

 

[palerider94]

I'm in the same boat - was seriously considering AAW. Heard more good about them than painless kit. Want to update lights to run halogen, eliminated fuses, and put 1 wire alternator 160 amp alternator. If you go to CJ pony website and look upp AAW somebody posted a lot of pics and how to's. I will give the OEM some more thought based on some of the suggestions.

 

[horse sence]

i did the painless on my 35 ford truck hardest part was tring to read the printing on the wires each wire is labeled for location, lot of wires not needed simply removed them, break the wiring down into seperate sections as bgs66 stated and wire one item at a time its a lot easier that way , i broke each section and taped them to gether and labeled them then i didnt have to keep going through all the wires

 

[Jim Closson]

I have now added a 3G Alternator. The red wire going to it from the AAW kit looks to be a #10 AWG. Would you agree? I looked at the fusible link and it appears to be nothing more than a solder connection on my kit. Was yours the same? I'm thinking about getting a mega fuse to put in it. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

I bought the AAW for my 66 fastback and couldn't be happier. True, you need the special crimper but other than that it went pretty smooth. I thought the instructions were pretty good. I never needed to call their help desk so I can't comment on that. Time was not much of a factor for me as I needed to assemble the whole car so I wasn't in a hurry. But, it still didn't take that long once I broke it down into sections. I upgraded the alternator to a 3g 160 amp (eliminated the external voltage regulator) and a mini torque starter (eliminated the fender mounted solenoid). I also like the electric speedo wiring for the VSS. Only issue with wiring was the aftermarket parking light assembly wiring but they have added that info to their website. Brake light switch was correct for me. The dimmer switch, I just put it where it felt right and screwed it to the floor. I wanted the newer style fuses as well. Plenty of extra wiring to make your own gauge harness. I used Auto Meter gauges. For me and what components I wanted to run it was a perfect fit for me. I would buy AAW again for upgraded components but if you're going completely stock I'd get the factory style replacement.

 

[bgs66]

I have now added a 3G Alternator. The red wire going to it from the AAW kit looks to be a #10 AWG. Would you agree? I looked at the fusible link and it appears to be nothing more than a solder connection on my kit. Was yours the same? I'm thinking about getting a mega fuse to put in it. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Hi Jim, I didn't reveal the covering to the fusible link from the alternator to the starter so I can't help there. I did run 1/0 welding wire from the starter to the trunk. I'm not an electrical expert (certified) but I have done a good bit of wiring. To me the wiring appeared to be sufficient to carry the required load and it is #10 AWG. I have seen wiring diagrams that did show a mega fuse instead. I chose to go with what AAW designed for their harness. I don't have a lot of miles on mine yet but I have been running it quite a bit and everything seems to fine so far. I can see how wiring can be overwhelming.

One small thing I didn't like were the two three inch screws provided to mount the fuse box to the firewall. They stuck out into the engine area more than I liked. So I found some bolts with a rubber washer, sidewalk bolts, to go through the firewall from the engine area. It looks a lot better to me and it holds the fuse box better than those two screws would. I hope you get it worked out.