Sometime this winter I need to go through all the wiring and get some problems sorted out. I would like to move to a Painless-style wiring harness. Has anyone done one or have one in their VTEC classic? Mine was done by Minitec before they started using the Painless harness.

If possible I'd like to see some pictures of the location of the fuse block, how it is mounted, the type of block used, etc.

If you did it yourself I'd love to hear your lessons learned, if you had to do it over again what you would do differently, etc.

Thanks!

Mark

 

get the smallest one with the least number of circuits.
We used the smallest one and had plenty of circuits left over.
Charging the battery works best if the alternator is converted to single wire and connected directly to the starter.
The fuse box and relays fit nicely under the dash and are readily accessible.
You probably have a Chevy one that has way too many circuits.
The cheaper alternative is two stock mini fuse boxes, one for the honda stuff and the on the other for the mini side.
THat's my current setup and love it because i have both worlds isolated so if anything goes wrong, i know where to look.

 

To be honest I've never seen a fuse block of any kind. All the fuses appear to be wired inline With the power sliding top, electric windows, cruise control, A/C, driving lights, etc. I need to rewire it just because every time I turn on the lights it blows the fuse controlling the interior lights.

Does anyone have any pictures of the block installation?

 

You have a classic?

 

Yes...it was Mike's (Aesthetic Creations) classic he had built by Minitec. Here is a link to a page he has on his site featuring the car before I picked it at AMVIV this year.

 

That mini is SWEET

 

Thanks! When I can get the wiring sorted I will actually be able to enjoy it without worry that I'm going to blow some fuse I need...or take a full toolbox of fuses wherever I got.

It would also be nice to have full power to the electric windows so it doesn't take 2 minutes for them to roll up

Mark

 

A car like that would make my inner devil happy!

 

Mark,

My D-series Minitec project is in the Royston "wiring station" phase right now. I'm hoping that my electrical sys. will be trouble free because for one, they have had a "few" more cars experience by now, and secondly, mine is about as simple (with respect to electrical) as they get--no ICE, no powerwindows, no auto-dim mirrors, no remote locking, etc. Oh, and importantly, it's supposed to be all new wiring, except for the ignition.

As a layman, I think Elprofe's system sounds great--especially for troubleshooting if/when a fuse pops.

 

My car was produced by Minitec a year later and I was told the system I have was NOT a painless. I can shoot you pictures of my box when I get back from vacation but I don't know how that will help you. You can call Uncle Jesse and the boys at Minitec and they could tell you what you have in Mike's car...they haven't forgotten that car.

El Profe is always full of good advice (and budweiser) so if you were going to tackle the task, not a bad place to start...but are you seriously up to the task? There's got to be an auto electric shop around you somewhere.

Dmini - confirmed today. You are the last of the mohicans...so to speak. Owners must supply their cars now.

 

Any pictures you could share would be appreciated. I probably won't do all the wiring work myself but I need to get my head around what all needs to be done. Thanks!

Mark

 

go painless or rewire what you have.
I remove the dash and see the mess you must have back there. I had a similar issue with mine where it would burn out my flasher.
The cause was faulty ground and faulty contacts at the fuse box.
If it worked before, i am sure it's easier to sort than it would be to rewire the whole car.
cheers,
maurice

 

I don't think the wiring has ever been "right" in the car. The power windows don't have proper power, they are cross wired with another circuit so that if you try to do two things at the same time it will blow fuses. There appears to be a grounding problem now where there wasn't before. While I won't be easy I'm thinking that in order to get the problems sorted it would be better to start from ground zero...of course in conjunction with someone that is familiar with doing wiring like this.

Mark

 

Updates?

Would love to hear that you found time and or an electrical guy to help you get things sorted out.

 

Although not a VTEC Mini, I recently installed a Painless Wiring kit in my '73 Classic. I bought the 'generic' 12 circuit harness that covered everything I needed except fuel pump circuit.

Pictures can be found here:
http://desertwave.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=5644

I installed the fuse box just to the right of the left air vent in the dash. This was the only reasonable place I could find that would not interfere with knee room and heater venting. The hardest thing was committing to removing the old harness since I had to sever it where it went through the firewall. Once that was done, it just took time getting all of the wires routed and the weatherpack connecters crimped/soldered. For the job, I bought a very high quality ratcheting crimper from MSD to install the ends. Without that the job would have been considerably more difficult. Oh, and the factory wiring diagram with wire colors was a must.

I installed weatherpack connecters at the following points:
Headlights
Turn Signal Indicators
Ignition Switch
Turn Signal Switch
Wiring to rear of car (at the left A pillar)
Distributor

Ask if you have other specific questions.

Cheers,
Jeff

 

Mark,

Find the wiring that leads to the interior lights and separate that into a separate circuit. Hell, for that matter, split the parking lights into it's own circuit as well as the headlights. The driving and head lights should be relay-triggered as well.

Disclaimer: I know nothing about classic Minis but I do know a bit about automotive electrical systems.