Bulkhead electrical connectors

It' easy just to route the rear nine wire harness at the left base of the engine fire wall. If you want to add a plug set up for easy engine removal, you need a five prong plug for the basic wiring ....Black coil +, orange tach -  ,blue alternator " 61" wire, light green for oil pressure wire.  ( The remaining four wires in the harness are wired permanent to the car : Left, right, tail and stop)                                      5 Pin Female/Male Plug Flat Trailer Wiring Harness Extension Connector Adapter | eBay

No need for a connector. But if you must,  there are cheaper versions of Deutsch connectors available. They can be ordered in male/female pairs.

But Alan is right. 5 wires. I use HD heat shrink tubing. I think it looks great.  This is a customer Spyder I did last summer. The blue alt wire splits off out of the picture. 5 connectors pull off easily, leaving the harness in the car.

Knew some wisdom was coming soon...thanks for the direction....

I forsee several? body-off episodes in the near future...suspension mods, bodywork, paint prep etc.... will go for two smaller bulkhead type plugs.  Big investment in Deutsch type crimpers  and accessories...retired (but not bored yet).

Got to keep money pit happy...

Coming from the computer biz where reliability was king and then many years of messing with cars, the only thing I might add is that every time you introduce a connector in a wire path you introduce a new corrosion/failure point.  They loosen, corrode, push pins out - All kinds of things happen and most of those cause electrical problems - Just ask anyone who has owned a Porsche 928!

I did what Alan and Danny mentioned - A nice 6-wire cable bundle (with a few extra 14-16 gauge wires in it for future use) encased in shrink tube from the fuse box up front (mine is in my Frunk) along the driver's side of the floorpan to a covered terminal block out back on the driver's side of the engine (I actually have 2 covered blocks back there now as things changed).  

That size and length of shrink tube is expen$ive, so you could run a suitable piece of flexible, black PVC tube front to back instead and it would look just as good.  1/2" ID thin-wall drip irrigation tube from Home Depot/Amazon would work.  Try to stay away from the split-lengthwise corrugated wiring tubing they sell at Autozone/etc. as it melts at a low temperature, like right above the exhaust pipes.

Gordon,  I really hate to disagree with you but I have to in this case. You do not want to run wires in a loose fashion in a car, like in a conduit or tube. This allows vibration, and vibration leads to conductor and insulation failure, then corrosion.

Gary, I bought a nice ratchet crimper on Amazon for 25 bucks. Deutsch knockoff connectors are available. GM weatherpack connectors are pretty durable and are also available OE or knockoff. You really can do it without going broke.

Shrink tubing can be had from Harbor Freight in 48" lengths and various diameters, and is not expensive. I use a hobby type heat gun, the kind for shrinking covering on model airplanes. I used a piece of Mig wire as a fish and pulled all the wires at the same time. Overlap the heartshrinks by an inch or two.

I have been using these solder seal connectors on the last 6 builds...  easy to install.  https://www.ebay.com/itm/haiss...?hash=item3b4d6d0e43

For long wiring runs on my car I used flexible PVC tubing similar to what you find on motorcycles.  Use an appropriate size to fit your wire bundle.  This is not shrink tubing.  It is flexible, tough and protects wires from vibration and chafing.

I used individual crimp terminals and male/female connectors on wires that will be removed.  All crimped connections should be sealed with a short piece of shrink tubing.  This also provides strain relief for the connector.  (Note: If you use white shrink tubing you can label the wire with a fine-tip Sharpie marker prior to heat shrinking)  Also, use a little dielectric grease on all plug connections and bulb sockets.  This will help prevent corrosion and other issues from moisture.

This is a good source that I used for some of my wiring supplies:

http://www.cycleterminal.com/sleeve-tubing.html

Hope this helps,

James

OK, who's getting in the last word?

@MusbJim posted:

OK, who's getting in the last word?

Friction tape :~)

I sort of like using  a terminal block with 8 posts.   (10/32 posts)  mounted on the firewall. I terminate all the wires there from the front and then go from there to the devices in the engine compartment. It should be in an easy access area but not prominent.

As Al said,   any connection is another source for corrosion. Because of this I choose to have my source in a place that's easy to check, inspect and repair. By the way,I always have one of the terminal block mounting screws connected to a good ground and I always have the terminal block covered for safety. That terminal has proven to be very useful when you have fiberglass body. It's nice for checking components ,etc.

I too, like the plug connectors and use them inside, where practical.  I also like bulkhead bushings in metal or. plastic or rubber to trim out the holes in the firewall.

I also like using 14ga wire for everything.  This allows me the flexibility to use any of the wires for anything (color for example).  I tend to use a heavier gage than required other things as well. For instance, I try to use 6 volt cables rather than 12 volt for my battery.  I guess if I was concerned about weight I would do it differently.

KISS is always a good thing "?.......Bruce

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If you're doing a lot of wiring cleanup and need heat shrink, I've had good luck with a few fleabay vendors (depends on the size of the heat shrink tubing you want).

For example 10' of 1/2" heat shrink for under $10 with free shipping:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/20112...?hash=item2ed41fc96f

For larger sizes, the vendor heatshrinkbuddy usually has a good assortment.

I did fine with the cheaper tubing. If you are gold plating it, consider higher shrinkage rates and adhesive fillings.

I considered Penne and Cannelloni pasta, but decided that it might create a varmint problem...

@MusbJim posted:

OK, who's getting in the last word?

https://easternbeaver.com/Main/Main.html

I think I get the last word....again thanks for the helpful responses and some humor?

Will be sad when and IF I ever get this project done...will miss the help this site (and the people!)  provide...some pictures one day?

Fondly,

Gary