AAW Harness Under Dash Pictures

[Vicfreg 773]

Installing my AAW harness in my 1970 Convertible.   Would appreciate any pictures of how anyone has installed/secured/routed the AAW harness from the fusebox out.   Particularly interested how harness was looped back under dash so the headlight switch/wiper switch/steering column connectors would up in the right place.   My dash is out, dealing with a bare firewall.   Thanks!

[cavboy78 28]

my aaw harness is arriving this week. I probably won't get to it for another couple of weeks or so...i'll honestly probably spend a day laying it out and pouring over the schematics to make sure i don't screw this up. did you buy the crimper tools?

[cavboy78 28]

ha...so no help at this time. did you check out the install guide on cj pony? a guy from vmf sent his write up on his 66 with pics and cj posted it. 

[Midlife 814]

51 minutes ago, cavboy78 said:

ha...so no help at this time. did you check out the install guide on cj pony? a guy from vmf sent his write up on his 66 with pics and cj posted it. 

The 65/66 layout of where the fusebox and switches go are very different from the 69/70's.  In particular, the firewall holes for 69/70's are much larger than the earlier models. 

[Mike65 475]

Vic, I just started installing mine today & my dash is out to so unfortunately not much help, but here is where I am at now.

[Vicfreg 773]

Thanks.  I did buy the tools

Mike, I wrapped my harness, you may want to think about that   

 

[Vicfreg 773]

I called AAW to see if they had pics.  I will check VMF

[cavboy78 28]

Mike or vic,

should i plan on removing the lower dash as well? didn't even think about it until i saw the pics. Also, just got the crimp tools form brown santa this afternoon!

[LiLMike 42]

As you can see, I went with a clean look. Only wires going through the firewall is for the coil and distributor. I mounted the fuse box in the stock location but drilled a hole to the left of it so I could rout all the other wires through conduit in the fender well. I used the rubber lined clamps to mount the conduit to the fender bolts in just 2 places on each side. I used the split wire loom (F6 it is called) on any and all wires along with putting it on my A/C lines and heater hose. I got the clamps and wire loom from Amazon. It is cheaper there than anywhere else. You just have to order different sizes of it all. I guessed at the lengths and had to reorder when I ran out.

[Vicfreg 773]

 Wow that’s awesome, that’s exactly what I am doing. Any other pictures you have of the routing in the fender wells etc. will be greatly appreciated!

[Vicfreg 773]

Cav...   my car was already disassembled so it was a no-brainer for me. I would say if you can remove the dash it’ll make things a lot easier 

[Vicfreg 773]

Cav....If you send me a PM, I will send you my phone number. You can give me a call, I’ve been over every inch of the harness and know where every single wire goes, I will send you my spreadsheet print out if you want and that will help you track the to and from maybe for your car

[Mike65 475]

Vic, did you cut off all the little black zip ties they have on the harness when you wrapped your harness?.

[cavboy78 28]

pm sent

[Vicfreg 773]

Mike, I kept the zip ties on until I got to them, and then removed and continued wrapping.  Where there was a transition to one of the circuit "branches", then I left them on, kinda wrapped around them, and then cut the zip tie off, and back wrapped over where it was.  I also wound up taking my harness back out to do this, and did it on a work table.  Made it a lot easier.

There are a lot of opinions on what kind of tape to use.  I used Scotch 33.   I would suggest finding the best tape you can, and using that.  The downside of Scotch 33 is that if you have to take the tape off, it leaves a residue. But, that is a trade off I was willing to deal with.    I also did not wrap any of the circuit branches that had "extended" wiring, like the stuff that runs to the engine compartment, or to the front or rear lights.  This way I can snake the wires through where I want to route them (like the side cowl to door channel wiring).    I did wrap the under-dash stuff so it would be neat and out of the way.  

 Another recommendation is that there are wires you will not be using.  So, now is the time to cut and cap them off under the dash...no need to wrap them and route them.  Examples for my car would be the hood mounted turn signals,, old style distributor trigger wire, washer pump, etc.     In some cases I re-used the wire for another purpose.  An example is I used the 3rd brake light wire, which runs from the dash to the trunk, for my power amp "turn-on" signal, from my head unit in the dash, to the power amp in the trunk. I re-used the connector spot under the dash so the wiring would be neat.  I will post how I did that on my forum soon.  

I also think the wiring harness needs to come "out" toward the steering wheel, and then route back to the firewall after it leaves the fuse box.  This is because the first couple circuit branches have items like the headlight switch, wiper switch, ignition, etc, and all those are on the left side of the dash.   

I will be fussing with that later today, so hopefully will get pictures posted late weekend.

[Mike65 475]

I am going to take the harness back out so I can wrap it, then reinstall it. Then I will install the lower dash so I could route it across the top of the lower dash through the original clips. I ordered the TechFlex F6 braided cable sleeve in 3/4", 1/2", 3/8", & 1/4" to wrap the sections of the harness.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0085CJ4RK/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Vicfreg 773]

I think that’s a great idea. What I’m gonna do since my dash is out is run it right above the brake pedal support bracket behind that black U-shaped thing ....

[Vicfreg 773]

Here’s a close-up of my harness wrapping

[Vicfreg 773]

So, after fussing with this for a day or so, my conclusion is that to start with, it is advantageous to have the lower dash out.   In my case, my car was stripped so it was a no brainer to start the wiring.   This allows easy access to the firewall holes that you need to route the wiring through.  

However, at some point you need to put the lower dash in, as that is where the wiring harness needs to go eventually.   

So, I put my pedal support bracket in, and laid the AAW harness on it, keeping all of the circuit branches up to, and including the headlight switch to the left of the pedal support bracket.    The rest of the harness is now laying to the right.   

What I will do next is to get my wiring organized so that I can route the forward wiring items (engine bay, horns, headlights, etc) through the firewall and in my case, the fenderwell.  Then, install my Vintage Air vent ducts, my VHX interface box & wiring, seal the remaining firewall holes and install my lower dash. Then hook up what I can and secure the wiring to the dash.   

The "Osborne" orange book has several really good drawings of what the factory wiring looks like. I chatted with AAW about this, and they tell me that for the 1969/1970s, they have tried to follow the original factory wiring layout as best they can.  

First pic is the orange book drawing, second pic is the harness laying on the pedal support bracket.  Last pic is a reminder that the 1969 and 1970 lower dash/steering column brackets are not the same, although at first glance they appear the same.   I had both in my parts stash, and quickly found out that I had grabbed the wrong one.   The one on the right is the 1970 bracket.

 

[Mike65 475]

Just a note to any one installing an AAW wiring harness in their 69/70 Mustang,

1) The plug for the wiper motor doesn't fit through the firewall grommet easily so I slipped it over the plug after the plug was through the firewall, then installed the grommet into the firewall.

2) The plug for the hood mounted turn signals in the hood scoop also doesn't fit through the firewall grommet easily also, so I did the same thing like with the wiper motor plug.

[Vicfreg 773]

Mike, good advice.  Any large plugs connectors need to go in first followed by the wiring.  You are making great progress.  I am posting my wiring progress on my project site. 

[Wildpat 0]

Here are a couple of pix from my instal:

I chose to keep the lower dash in. I also wrapped the harness before putting it in the car, uaing tape and Techflex.

[Vicfreg 773]

Some more pics of my install.  I will post the nitty gritty details on my 1970 convertible project forum.

 

 

 

[Vicfreg 773]

Oh, forgot to post the picture of my "Connector Condom".....

I cut the finger ends off of my Nitrile work gloves and cover the CAT 5 and other connectors to keep the dirt, etc out of them.  I am sure I will get some comments on this...

 

 

[Vicfreg 773]

More pics, details on my build forum