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Bugeye wiring harness

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Ray,
I haven't been to many car shows lately beside a few locals and I really want to see what people have done to their cars. We plan on going up to Nashville on Friday and returning Saturday afternoon, but we've made no plans for Chattanooga other than going.
I may be interested in your rear harness and I can always add a fuel pump wire. Is it cloth or vinyl wrapped and cloth or vinyl wire?
Thanks, Rut
 
I just recently finished installing my new homemade wiring harness in the Prefect. I designed it from scratch as there was nothing to work with. I used proper color and gauge wire and connectors from Rhode Island Wire and British Wiring. After correcting for a couple of "false starts" I probably used about $300 in materials. After all finished, I sent the harness to Rhode Island Wire for braiding at a little over another $200. Being a 4 door saloon, this harness is considerably more complex that the Bugeye, thus more expensive but still about half what a new one would cost if it had been available. Here it is as after braiding.
 

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That's cool. Nice.
 
Rut,
I make my own, here's how. Lay the old harness out on a wall or board with nails or pins at the junctions. Unwrap the harness, inspect, add needed wires ( I use correct colored ones from a late model e-bay harness). Add in an extra wire from the dash to the boot just for luck and rewrap with black cotton handlebar tape from a bile shop. Some still sell the plain adhesive black cotton. It's looks great and nearly original.
If you get a late model Midget harness you're sure to have whatever wire colors you need.

It takes a few hours and saves $$$, also guaranteeing the correct mods.
Imagine the emails to get a bugeye harness, forward tilt, alternator, horn and light relays, Megasquirt EFI and EI wires, rad fan and hold the heater blower wires.

Go for it!

Glen Byrns



Good evening,
I'm to the point of needing to install a new wiring harness in my Bugeye. I have a 1275 with Crane ignition, halogen lights, front tilt, etc and wonder if I should just order the stock BE harness or one for a later car. What's a good source for a quality one?
Thanks, Rut[/quote]
 
I have to power a new (first time) fuel pump, an ammeter, and a radio in the dash board of my bugeye. With an oil pressure kill switch in the engine compartment and a relay for the pump in the passenger compartment I'm winding up with too many wires going through the fire wall.

Is there any reason that I could not connect the ammeter as well as the pump and radio to a new fuse block fed directly from the battery? I'm assuming a 30 amp fuse would suffice for the ammeter.

If this works I can move the oil pressure switch for the pump to below the dashboard as well, eliminated half a dozen wires through the firewall.

I'm also trying to figure out why I cannot feed both the oil gauge and the oil pressure switch located behind the dashboard off the same tube through the fire wall. All I see written up is a tee at the engine block, with separate tubing to each device.

Thanks!

Michael
 
Just to let you know, there are two different types of wiring diagrams: one is a schematic, and the second is the wiring routing diagram.
The Schematic is the one usually found in the shop manual, although it is a hybrid. It lays out the electronic components (usually in a layout similar to where they are in the car) and the interconnected wiring. It identifies all the components and the colors of the interconnecting wires. It usually does not indicate the guage of the wires. In making many revisions to a BE harness, this is the place to start. At this stage, don't worry where the components are on the drawing.
Once that is complete, decide where you want to mount the components. As you say, can't I mount the oil sense switch inside at the dashboard? At this stage, the decision where to put components is mainly a decision what the car will look like, how easy will it be to service, and how easy will it be to wire. At this stage you need to account for current draw, guage of wires and to decide where you want to put the fuses and relay and other non-original BE stuff. As you can see above in my earlier post, I wanted the BE to look original. Once that is done, it is a matter of making the harness to scale, which traditionally is done on a flat board with a series of nails for the transition points. Good luck.
(Wiring diagram attached) Scott in CA
 

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Glen and Scott,
Thanks for the additional information. I guess I have a problem with the design of the wiring harness since I'm not sure about the things that need to be powered and/or need relays at this point. The car is pretty well stripped and I was looking at it trying to figure out what needed to be provided for power wise. I've gotten several PMs and emails with very helpful info as well as feedback to this thread and I would like to plan for future as well as 'current' needs. I'm assuming I could use the old harness and take it apart and use it to mark the correct positions on the board for nails. Once I've done that I can get a spool of the correct wire and lay it out making provisions at the point I want to install relays. Once I figure that out I'll make a mini harness from the relay to the item being powered, routed correctly and then wrap. Does this sound correct? As you can tell I have a hard time wrapping my brain around this part of the project.
Thanks all, Rut
 
Thanks much for the reply.

What I'm really unsure about is two items-

Can the ammeter share a source of current with other devices? For example, if I feed a new fuse block below the dash with #10 wire from the battery, can I then connect the ammeter feed at the new fuse block along with the radio and fuel pump, rather than at the starter switch. Voltage drop through the 10 gauge wire should not be a concern.

My question for the pump oil pressure switch was whether it could be teed from the oil pressure gauge tubing below the dash, rather than providing a second pipe brought through the fire wall from the engine. There should be no pressure drop in the tubing since the oil doesn't flow.

My aim is similar to yours- to keep the engine compartment as original as possible.

I'm working with a 25 year old harness that is all correctly color-coded in accordance with the schematic in the workshop manual, so that part is ok. Interesting thing though is that when I removed the dashboard, I found a lot of the wiring terminations had the wire insulation burned off or damaged within the first couple of inches of the connection. I don't know why. Maybe the voltage is too high...

Thanks.

Michael
 
I do not recommend installing an ammeter. It requires large gauge wiring, and any problem with the ammeter can cause the car to shut down. A better choice is a voltmeter, which is installed from the ignition switch to ground. Uses small gauge wire, and is easier to read. Car running voltage should be 13V or more, 12V, something is wrong.
I see no problem with using a tee behind the dashboard, other than when the oil does not stay in the tube, it goes all over you, the carpet and your passenger. Less places for the oil to run out with just one device.
Good luck
Scott in CA.
 
Thanks. Unfortunately I already own the ammeter- a nos Smiths unit to replace the JC Whitney item that was in the car when I got it in '69.

I had to smile when I saw the wire that comes with the gauge. Of course it has a large, high quality spade connector at each end- too big to fit through a grommet in the fire wall.

Thanks,

Michael
 
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