Inliners International Forums General Discussion Electrical electric harness DIY

I want to make a new wiring harness for my tractor. Cub Cadet 7360ss diesel utility tractor. Original harness is completely destroyed by fire. Plan is to make a new harness with only the bare essentials to operate the tractor. I have the schematic and plan to redraw it accordingly.

Question for this group: What is a good source for quality wire, components such as fuse block, or perhaps a DIY harness kit? Open to suggestions on how to approach this challenge. Never built a harness from scratch before. Thanks in advance for any advice.

You can purchase a good, modern fuse block from any number of vendors on evil-bay. Wiring terminals can be had at the local auto parts store as can small rolls of wire. I would recommend using solder and heat shrink for any joints, for all your terminal attachments, and anywhere that you make any permanent to temporary connections.

Thanks Blackwater. Totally agree with soldering connections. I have heard that soldered connections can sometimes be more subject to fatigue failures but I still solder everything and watch for wire routing, strain relief, etc. to avoid failure.

Looks like DIY harness must source one component at a time. Was hoping for a kit to get started but maybe not. I have a selection of terminals and various switches available. Main thing missing is wire.

Check around for a suitable "Painless" wiring harness kit! Painless makes all levels of wiring harness kits for the aftermarket. They SHOULD have something to fit your needs.

Rewire using common automotive components. No need to mimic the original harness color code or other stuff if I am doing it from scratch anyway. Good idea Blackwater, thanks. I will head that direction.

In addition to Painless Performance (which is very good), other good brands that have complete kits include American Autowire, Ron Francis Wiring, and EZ Wiring.

Determine the number of circuits you need, and they will probably have a kit that works for you. From a quick scan, it looks like EZ wiring has the lowest cost, 9 circuit kit that might be sufficient for your needs. EZ Wiring 12 Mini Wiring Harness . If that still seems a bit pricy for your project, consider getting bulk GXL or TXL wire and a fuse block from Blue Sea Systems .

Shop for pricing, as a number of the lower cost vendors carry the harnesses and Blue Sea products.

Doug

Thanks for the links, Doug. I am intrigued by the Painless extreme weather resistant components as the tractor is an outdoor machine. Your links show some alternatives for less $$.

Next step is to redraw the schematic and figure out exactly what I need. Then go shopping.

Mike

Sounds good. TXL wire can handle the outdoors environment fine - just need to appropriately protect connectors. Marine grade and adhesive-sealing shrink wrap helps that.

Depending on your budget, the original harness from Club Cadet doesn't seem too much.

https://www.cubcadetpartsdistributor.com...Z8aAjolEALw_wcB

Thanks for that parts link. My machine is 7360ss utility tractor. Harness is $500+. I have been sidetracked on other stuff. Need to get back to this tractor project.

go to a junkyard and get a harness out of a late 90's GM full size van. The wire is much better quality than anything you by off the shelf.

I didn't realize this was a joke thread. My bad.

You honestly think 20-30 year old wire sitting in a junk yard is better than new wire? Really. I guess I've been doing it all wrong the last 40 years.

From now on I'll stop buying quality wire from Allied or Belden and just drop by the local wrecking yard.

Please. Do not follow bad advice. Buy new wire if you intend to build it yourself. Allied Wire and Cable or Belden are distributed by many vendors, you can simply go to Mouser or Digikey and get 50Ft rolls fairly cheap. Use 18AWG, even though it handles way more current than you will need. The larger diameter wire handles vibration better.

Solder and heat shrink everything. If you want to add connectors, you can get low cost Molex connectors, but they won't be water tight. Deutsch are a much better choice, but are more expensive.

If you splice a wire, heat shrink rather than using the easy but fault prone "bullet" slices. When you do, put a little RTV over the wires, then slip the heat shrink over that. When you shrink the tubing, the RTV with squirt out, but the remaining will give you a water tight connection.

You won't do all of it with 18AWG, some will need larger like the charging system.

Nothing wrong with a good clean used harness. Wouldn't call that bad advice.

I completely agree. The factory did the research, and it just plain fits. I however would never call a 30 year old harness a good clean harness. By then the insulation is done, hard, dry and cracking.

Since the 90's GM (and others) invested heavily in developing connectors and wiring harnesses that are robust using sealed connectors and TXL wire. This is not you typical PVC wire from earlier years that dries up and falls apart.

The OEM's cannot afford to have warranty issue due to harness problems.

I read somewhere that ozone (always present to some extent where there is current flowing) slowly eats older insulation (and of course rubber).

For my roadster I bought a complete wiring kit made of new wire with the old style cloth woven outer covering. It is beautiful stuff with modern insulation under the cloth. It does not however fit into the inexpensive category. Don't tell anyone but the kit was designed for a Ford.