My son and I were replacing the heater core and found that a lot of wires were cut at one time under the dash and spliced. I was thinking of replacing the whole harness until I saw the prices for replacement harnesses.
Is there a place that sells a kit like painless for the under dash?
The harnesses I found were $400 plus
thanks

are they good splices or will they have to be redone?????
you can redo some wiring if the rest of the harness is in good shape and save alot of dough...... :)

I was thinkng the same thing. the splices were just twisted and taped. the connector to the heater a/c switch looked like it shorted and melted a little. I have a book with a diagram for the whole car. I just have to see how much work vs a new one is:(

I was thinkng the same thing. the splices were just twisted and taped. the connector to the heater a/c switch looked like it shorted and melted a little. I have a book with a diagram for the whole car. I just have to see how much work vs a new one is:(

Unless it's really butchered you can usually repair the harness. Pick up a butane soldering iron, some 60/40 .062"or smaller solder, a selection of shrink tube and you're in business. Sears has a really nice butane pencil iron, that's what I use for most automotive stuff.
Practice soldering on some old wire to get the hang of it. It's kind of like learning to ride a bike. Once you get it, you'll wonder why you didn't learn long ago.
Connector pigtails for a lot of older GM wiring are often available from places like Year One (and many others) and the individual terminals are often available at a good parts store. Wire of various sizes and colors can be had cheaply from a chunk of old harness from the local junkyard.

Crimp terminals are an easy, cheap and reliable way of repairing wiring inside of the car, BUT they look like crap. Solder and shrink tube make for a much nicer looking job. They are a big mistake out under the hood in the elements .

For wrapping harnesses, use at least 3M "Scotch 33 or 88" brand electrical tape. The cheap stuff oozes glue and doesn't hold well over time. You can get wire wrap tape that doesn't have adhesive, then tape the loose ends, for a more professional look.

The supplies to repair\restore a wiring harness aren't "cheap" per se, but you can buy an awful lot of materials for that $400 that a new harness would cost. (Packard 56 series terminals are about 3/$5 retail, Scotch electrical tape is about $4 per roll, shrink tube is horrendous at retail). I get terminals and shrink tube at a local place called Electronics Surplus here in Cleveland. Check around and see if there is a place like that near you.

Restoring the wiring on your car is just like restoring the body or interior, and just as important. If you pay someone to do it, it can run into big $$$. If you can learn to do it, you can save $$$. The only reason I make money with wiring is because people are intimidated by it. It's actually really very simple (that bicycle thing again) The "flow" of electricity is very much like water, from and back to it's source. If you can follow the path through the diagram that you have, you've got it licked.
Good Luck!

I was thinking about taking out of the car and repairing it. The problem I have is some of the wires are just cut and I won't know how long to make the repairs.

might be easier to repair in the car, by pulling the front seat out for room to move around.
or you can label wires and make a chart of lengths for each wire needing repairs.
i repaired mine in place and soldiered and heat shrinked for a nice clean connection.