The Ultimate Engine Wiring Starter Guide.
Check Out HP Academy hpcdmy.co/HPAcademyRob
Use DAHM50 for $50 bucks off their courses. This isnt sponsored I just support what they do for the community.
I cover things involved with making different car harnesses. I get so many questions about how my ugly cheap harnesses work so well. I’m just sharing what works for me with reasonable cost.
00:00 Intro
00:56 Stock Wiring
01:33 Cheap Harness
03:24 Ultimate Harness
03:44 DR 25 Heat Shrink
04:53 Tefzel Wire
09:11 Quick Planning
13:07 The MOST Important Wire
20:07 Tools I use
27:55 Concentric Twisting
33:19 Splicing
38:53 Second Layer
45:53 Heat Shrink
47:58 Heat Gun
52:13 Third Layer
54:30 Filler Wire
1:02:55 Joints
1:06:56 Engine Sensors and Injector Wiring
1:19:12 Labeling
1:20:18 ECU Pinning
1:34:00 Epoxy and Booting
1:41:14 Cost Breakdown
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Great video Rob! Awesome to see you diving into and loving the challenge of motorsport wiring and we're stoked to watch and be part of the journey 😎 - Taz.
Oh its hp academy
If HPA Approves, then I do too!
YASSS
🙌👌
Should offer a discount code on those courses for that shoutout.
It's a wonderful thing when someone takes hours out of their life just to help to educate others on important topics like this. This is what pushes humanity forward, thank you Rob!
don't forget it generates money also ;)
@@povilaslondon Sir, your jealousy is showing
He’s not volunteering lol. He’s selling his knowledge in exchange for money
WOH! 1 hour and 45 minutes of Daddy Dahm doing wiring?! Christmas came early boy! 😂
I think I did too 🙃
I didn't know your dad was gay. Ewwww
I busted 3 out during this dvd premiere #dualscreening
When daddy leaves you for twelve day but comes back with an almost two hour long video, then you know it will be good
Yeah I'm gonna watch this during calculus. Fuck school.
@@elyasrasti8943 don’t be a loser dude. Hit the books hard and play harder later in life 🤣
@@Apexxshock fuck yeah. Lol this guy doesn't make his money doing this. Stay in school bud
@@elyasrasti8943 Just watched this instead of cramming for calc test. Whoops.
@@Apexxshock rarely do people play harder with a college education
FYI from someone who has built a few concentric harnesses: the part that Rob puts on timelapse (pedantic fussing about and combing wires) is easily 50% of the actual build time. The actual build time should be less than 1/3rd of your planning time.
i feel like there should be a tool for making harnesses like the ones used to make ropes
If you look up tooling for a 7 conductor cable construction, you’ll see what it takes. Ryan described it pretty accurately.
@@hellawacked im trying to find ae86 and other 80s toyotas in junkyards. im robbing every wire out of every rwd mid 80s toyota i find cause they use the same color "codes". want to take every inch of good wire and use it to rebuild a factory color "brand new" harness for brain fart reasons lol. i have a massive wiring diagram life size for it and i dont wanna go through changing colors and end up frying my vintage magasquirt ecm. id much rather pay someone but i really want factory colors.
@@hellawacked the drill method is what was used to make the foot long conversion harness and what ill use for each individual group to X____ area of the car then a master that im just gonna ziptie together. know of any companies that do factory colors? that way i dont spend weeks tearing apart old harnesses and weeks more replacing each bad wire 1 at a time then combining into a single harness with splits.
true character development, Rob overcame his weakness and is never going to be bullied about messy wiring again and great video! i learned alot
dude if you think youtube is ruthless wait till you have a beercan ae86 with even worse wiring from 12 owners patching bits they cut in a total of 3 years of it floating before i found it XD. these people make the s13 crowd look downright pleasant to be around
takeaway: bullying works
Rob goes feature length - the movie we've all been waiting for! Shame it's not a feature length build of the 6 rotor but I'll take what I can get.
I haven't watched yet, do we get keeps shower scenes?
@@PozzaPizz those will be on the bonus features when it releases on DVD and Blu-ray
this is more relevant to most entry level enthusiasts
Rob get a Steinel heat gun! Dr25 needs a good bit of heat to shrink fully and most of your crappy heat guns just don't cut it!
Never thought I’d watch 1 hour 46 minutes Rob Dahm thought process of how to do decent wiring… but here I am finishing it up…
LOL at least 3 x for me & the horsepower Academy video twice, getting ready to build one myself. ;)
@@gorr4 it’s funny, I’ve rewatched this vid again after his recent wiring vids too.
Loved it from start to finish, great job brother! 🤘🏻
Absolutely!!
good rule of thumb, always pull your tape across the wires in the same way you twist them, it will help them retain their tightness. and as you pull the tape the adhesive will in turn pull them tight as well
This is the video the internet has been asking for since it was invented
Useful content is always more needed that pure entertainment content. This is useful content.
Chances of me actually wiring a car 0% Chances of me watching this entire video 100%
It is so impressive how much you have learned and pushed yourself to do, to buy, fight for, and just simple come up with how to do it yourself. As an industrial electrician I respect this because I can have cables with 50+ wires that have to be custom built like this besides all black and 1 green lol. Great job!
I build a bunch of dev harnesses, and absolutely love Graingers self fusing tape: (not sponsored, just a fan of the tape) Tapes PN: 32XV31 It has a -130f-500f heat range, works as a great heatshrink substitute and can cover wire breakouts. It can also be used for a emergency fluid leak coverer. We use it on rocket engines and I imagine it would work for a Rotary Rocket
Thanks for the tip looks like an affordable price for aircraft style silicone tape
holy shit, I welcome this new documentary length with open arms
Holy shit almost 2 hours. Can't watch right now since I'm going to bed but best believe I'm watching this movie tomorrow lol
Two words. Absolutely-Awesome. I've never seen a video so informative. I can't tell you how important this video is to guys like me. Thanks again.
This is one of those videos that might not reach a bigger audience but is super appreciated by those who do watch. Thanks Rob!
It was so satisfying seeing this harness built from scratch. It fr didn't even feel like a two hour video
Great video! Learned a lot of this from hp academy and it’s great to see it made available. Only thing I recommend is a dedicated branch of fill wires rather than cutting them. I’ve been surprised how often I’ve needed “just one more” and is quick and easy to cut the heat shrink cap and use a wire.
Yeah like, someone should make a dummy terminator for those wires so you can bring them out of the harness cleanly and use any one of them when adding functionality later on
Glad you liked the courses :) Thanks for the support. - Ben
@@hpa101 I’m currently saving to get started in your classes
Never thought wiring could be so relaxing, car building ASMR
This is the best Dahm movie I've ever seen.
Hey Rob! Love the videos, you are one of the people that really got me into cars and rotaries specifically. Keep it up man!
Annoying
Having spent time in a bay building aircraft harnesses, i was impressed with this as a first attempt. Look into using breakout boots on the next harness, they perform better than the self sealing heat shrink and look cleaner. Please tell us that you continuity checked it before applying all that epoxy.
If a 10 minute KZhead video makes me a master mechanic, I must be a wiring god by now
I can't believe I watched an hour and 46 minutes of that... I was intrigued the entire time and could not stop watching. Awesome video!
i was literally scrolling on his page wondering damn when he gonna post again
I absolutely love it. Watched every second. Have told myself I’m going to build my 04’ Vw R32t harness myself when that time comes. And any question I have thought about was answered thoroughly! Rob, you’re so knowledgeable and have helped me push myself to make everything I do on my cars always be 100%
Oh hayull yea :) Mk4 .:R vr6T 🤘🏽 I’ve got a ‘02 337 that’s my baby (only 85k on the clock) so I’ve got lots of love for the mk4’s - good luck with everything
Almost 2 hours of pure rotary daddy wiring lessons this is just a blessing to watch after a day.
This is the longest video I have ever watched in my KZhead history and it was like a movie, low budget but good lol. Keep up the good work!!!!!! I enjoyed every moment
Rob, Incredible video! Thank you! At the part where you looked like you hadn't slept since the first car ever had it's harness built I was on edge about which way the director was gonna go. Then you shifted gears and brought it home! Haven't been to a theater in a few years. Would never go back if these keep being released. IMDB credits for sure. Keep up the work and the learning. Thanks for bringing us along.
Really nice work. Love the detail you have gone into. Definitely inspires me to do better.
I know I'm late to this party, but I use clear shrink tube to cover my labels, and an old timer friend of mine recommended weed eater line or twine as filler instead of wasting usable wire. Awesome looking harness. Best of luck
This is perfect for me taking on the monumental task of wiring up my 12 valve cummins
When I rewire mine. I've done it in a wood board with bunch of nails looking a grid line. . Heat gun really helps in bending or pointing the wire in a direction you want.
That's how my Grandad taught me when we rewired his '54 Studebaker 3r.
that's exactly how I wired my first wiring harness for a sensor array as an intern!
ever consider a roll of velcro tape to move and re use the whole way down the harness while you build it instead of all the zippies
I keep velcro straps from chargers and such...... didn't think about this until now.
Honestly, Velcro straps wouldn't really be able to hold the wires as tight as zip ties. Especially with concentric twisting, the wires do not want to stay where they are.
I want to tell you rob. I watched the entire video twice. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I absolutely love any kind of wiring. Either being house wiring or automotive wiring. Iv never made a harness like this. Iv made small go kart ,mini bike ,drift trike harnesses. With lights electric ignition and charging coils. I'm OCD bad. And the distance you went to make it weather and oil proof was amazing. I could watch this again. I just love wiring! I learned so many new techniques. Saw new tools iv not seen before. Just a great in depth video. Thanks for sharing! Very inspiring rob!!! Great work!
I am an engineer in the business of high-end industrial and aerospace systems - critical stuff. HP Academy is worth every penny IMHO. They really deliver details that are rather difficult to find on your own. Fiddly, unreliable harnesses suck the life out of any project - amateur or pro. Take the time to learn the right way.
Awesome! Glad you found the courses helpful. Thanks for showing your support, really means a lot to the team here. - Ben
Can't wait until I can afford a car that warrants this amount of detail for wiring!
HOOOOLY SHIT! That’s one long ass video! Guess no sleep for me tonight :-P (it’s already 1:30 am here) 😅
This is better than any feature-length video out there. Thanks for the hour and a half video, Daddy Dahm.
I'll be the first to admit I normally don't watch Robs vids. But I really enjoyed this and found it very helpful
Thanks for the video dad👍
Hol up
Great vid Dahm, I'd say I'm a level 2 and eventually want to go the route of MIL-SPEC. No joke about DTM connectors though, easily $5-10 a connector. Good to know about the Tefzel wire. Nice concentric twists!
I don't even own a car, let alone work on cars, but watched the entire thing. Very enjoyable to watch for whatever reason haha
I watched this while falling asleep and all I hears is Rob whispering "Pull on it" 😆 - Great work man!
I don't foresee myself doing this level of car wiring any time soon yet my attention and body are fully locked in. It is stuff like this that if they taught in school I probably would have done better for myself.... Great work here Rob.
Hey man!!! The Concentric Twisting portion - might be worth adding an annotation somewhere that wires should be in twisted pairs (Much like ethernet cables are) so each wires EMI is cancelled out with the one it is paired with. I'm at 17:53 so I don't know if you are going to explain this in the next 5 minutes :P
You're my friend now. Im obsessed with clean wiring and enjoy getting it as awesome as possible.
This man just gave a masterclass in wiring
I've been redoing all my harnessed ever since i was a kid. The level of fuckery with which you can get away with is extreme. The secret ingredient is keeping that harness outside of being harmed. Problem is... a lot of things can harm a harness. In no particular order, wire strain, corrosion, wire sweating, physical damage (this includes both abrasion and cutting), heat damage, and the list could go on. Another thing. Car standards, when it comes to harnesses are utter junk. Quite frankly, the more boutique/expensive the car, the more garbage they are, AFAIC. Not only they seem to have no clue, but most of them are built with substandard parts/practices. The best harnesses are aircraft grade ones. If one is able to access an old airplane junkyard and take a looksee, that's about as good a lesson as one gets in terms of what is good and what is bad.
So So true. Its why my crap harnesses worked. I knew enough to keep them from interference and damage. But I did waste alot of time tracking things down and the oil/fuel was eventually going to destroy it
I feel like this is a task my ADHD would tell me “you def got this” and then after spending all the money on it I would be too lazy to do it like everything else and then move onto something else and repeat
Gotta break the job down so each step you finish is a tiny success, and you're never leaving a step half-done so when you come back you just start the next step fresh.
Having spent a lot of time researching how to make a wiring harness I can say that this video is just what I needed. Lots of information talking about best practices, the theory, what bits to use, what tools to use, etc, etc. But nothing showing you the actual hands on putting it all together like this video. THANK YOU!
I absolutely admire how Rob will master anything he’s teased about. Doesn’t build his own cars? Begins to build all his project cars himself. Stiff suspension? Complete suspension rehaul while understanding everything behind it. Messy wiring? Becomes the harness GOD
Tefzel wire isn't really a must have, but please don't use parts store PVC wire its garbage! I use GXL and TXL wires for my harnesses, it's like 90% to Tefzel and is thinner than PVC wire and really good with chemicals and heat yet at a more reasonable price. Also concentric twisted harnesses are a god send😎 as my experience it's easier to use a special color as filler wire, I normally use pink purple or orange as only filler. Keeps you from tracing disused wires. Also staggering splices helps to eliminate the bulges
I only use milspec txl
@@rexrunner milspec doesn't mean best, it means the cheapest product that met the specifications. If it's not a product that was specifically sold to the military, milspec means their marketing department thinks you'll pay more money.
@@EmyrDerfel milspec is the brand
yaaaaaaaas I've been waiting for this. Your instagram is a huge tease! "Like a boner in sweatpants" lol
This is brilliant. How many videos are there online that show you how to build a harness within a 20 minute clip, and you walk away with more questions than answers...? 2 hours of mistakes and random thoughts, and a very impressive and informative result by the end. Stoked I found this, great stuff!!
We use nail boards to lay out the wires- 3/4” plywood with finishing nails to make a template. It helps keeping everything tidy while you work.
As an electrician let me tell you ... that was a work of pure art my friend very very nice job Rob !
for those heat shrink boots you did on the connectors, shrink down the bigger outer heat shrink first, then put the smaller heat shrink over the shrunk end.
My wife wants to watch a film tonight. Little does she know we are watching nearly 2 hours of Rob making a wiring harness 😀
Great video Rob. I work in fibre and its funny, when we see RayChem on a fibre node our day gets much worse!
This is one of the best video i have ever seen, not just out of yours, but any video ever, even better than anything from Riley Reid.
I did not think I was going to sit and watch an almost 2 hour video on wiring harnesses, but I really really enjoyed this and it will honestly help me going forward, I'm a customer service advisor for a mechanic shop and I get electrical/harness questions all the time, this is so eye opening to how setups can or should be and what might be off from that spec, what could cause problems, what can drive a car/truck/semi into a shop and what it'll take to drive it out
Rob first thanks for turning us in to that awesome brand of heatshrink. Here is a tip you might already know. They have labels that are tubular and made of heat shrink. That is what you want for labeling these harnesses you are making. Then wrap them in a clear strong tape. Also, get you a Weidmüller PZ 4 Crimper to make single wire crimps. Mine is a 901250. It will save your hands and make quick, perfect crimps every time. Your smaller crimpers, strippers, and cutters should all have good handles and spring open so that they work faster and save your hands. Also, get you a fox and hound to trace and ID wires. Of course a meter and your labeling technique can work just fine, but you seem to prefer to do things the correct way. Hit me up if you looking for someone to do harnesses.
My OCD is absolutely loving this! Thanks Rob!
Insanely educational. Thank you! My heat gun has a deflector on the end that rolls the heat around to the back of the shrink, so it is easier.
As an electrician with experience in almost every different field of electrical. I knew everything you were spealing of(more or less anyway). You did an amazing job explaining the theory of electrical. From having more strands of copper being a better conductor to the electro magnetic interferences of other electrical components sharing close areas in the engine bay.....AMAZING!
I watched the whole video and I genuinely feel it was an efficient use of my time
Damn, a lot of information, but so easy to consume, didn't notice the time go by! awesome work sir!
Saw an injector blow on a quad rotor RX7. Flames everywhere. The fire proof wiring protectors saved it all.
This is gonna be one of those less viewed videos, but you know that every viewer here is very serious about cars. I love it here.
Good job on the video. Alot of people that are enthusiasts have absolutely no idea what it take to "properly" build a harness or even do simple repairs or add on wiring. I cant even begin to tell you how many people think the butt connectors with the built in heat shrink and adhesive are an ok way to connect 2 wires. Professional shops are the main culprits, I wish those connectors were made illegal and not sold anymore. End rant... I see the IWISS crimpers you got, probably the best bang for buck crimpers out there. I got the set that comes with the 5 crimpers, 3 Deutsch and 2 weather pack and open barrel pin style crimpers and 7 de-pinning tools for about $150. I use those for just about every wiring repair or full harness build I do. Amazon has the buy on there if anyone needs a fantastic set to get serious about there electrical skills....
this was probably one of your best videos ever, very well thought out, very well presented. Finding problems and solutions, then showing there process. well done.
A tip on keeping the tangles under control: get a long rectangular piece of wood or plastic (like a chopping board) and drill a row of holes along an edge. Feed the wires through the holes so it acts as a comb. The tangles stay on one side, and it's neatly organised on the other side.
This video will go down in history as one of the greatest harness building videos ever
Rob thank you for all you do for the community I admire your tenacity your willingness to try anything and the patience to share with others you are truly an icon. Please keep up the good work we all appreciate and love you brother
Leave it to Rob to make a boring 2 hour wiring video the most therapeutic and informative thing ever. Excellent job Rob. Keep doing what you do!
I really really enjoyed this video. Took me a day and a half to watch fully but i love these detailed videos!! More please ‼️‼️
Other 2 little advices for cable management. - Heatshrink shrinks with heat but you can enlarge it mechanically to pass some points if you need (1-2 mm or more if the HS is big) - Hellermann Tyton makes Dymo printable heatshrink so you can label your harness or single wires just by print the Heatshrink.
Still have no idea what’s going on, but I’m happy to be here :)
I watched the entire video. Thanks for all that you do. The amount of detail laid out is incredible for all us hobbyists! Just pure incredible that you did this!!
This is educational AF, so much detail into this so now I can appreciate more what people charge for works like this.
I want to rewire my bike, so I watched this whole video. I can't believe how quickly it went, it was super interesting and I got heaps of info and cool ideas from it. Thanks Rob for spending the time to go into such detail 👊👍
Still watching this video and still learning a lot. I’m 17 nd I’m still learning new stuff. This video is rlly helping a lot so I’m getting a better understanding in wiring. I’m doing a bit big project putting a 1jz into a 93 cb7 accord sedan nd converting it to rwd. But I want to keep the dash, cluster nd some thing stock. Like how you did to the corvette. So a big thanks to you Mr.Dahm 💯💯. I’ve been watching ever since you started the 4 rotor rx7 nd was mad hype when ur able to get it to run. Gave me inspiration that anything is possible as long as the work is done to it. So a special thanks to you 💯. For making the car experience more exciting!!
Im glad i watched this, im in the process of getting a ft550 and im taking a bit of the shortcut and getting their unterminated harness. However i still gained some takeaways from your vid to improve upon what i originally envisioned! Thanks Rob
No sure if you are OCD, but what a great, detailed job and explanation. Keep it up Rob.
I gotta be honest… I was in the same boat as many others about watching an almost 2 hour long KZhead video(most struggle to keep an audience entertained longer than 18-25min); but WELL DONE Rob. As someone who owns the entire entourage of HPA courses this has been a daunting task for me to want to start, fear of failure mostly, but you make this look very possible with some calculated thinking for someone like myself. Easiest “like” on a KZhead video I have ever watched! Great content here, and I look forward to more greatness from you in the future man!
at 1:31:47, I've seen some harness builders split the single bundle into two bundles (one per ECU connector) here, each at least 4 inches long so you can plug and unplug the connectors easily. Then sometimes the ECU connectors are even booted/sealed on the big-boy stuff.
holy shit my dude dropping movies over here
Get in, belt up, and get ready for the class. Let's go!
Not many people have filmed a cohesive 1+ hour project, but I know that all the edits in this must have had your timeline looking like absolute chaos! Absolutely love this video and I will be coming back to it a LOT when I finally get to this part of my project!
Career Electrician here that just started a job building industrial wire harnesses. 😊 I just want to say that the principles are quite similar to doing high voltage work but the main difference is that you're dealing with DC instead of AC energy. Instead of having dedicated neutrals, the circuits end up having to get grounded.
You just let me take notes for the next 3+ months of my auto class in 2 hours with this
Thank You Rob! For a 2hr video! And about wires too! I have been watching it like a movie all week. I hope to get some clarity on how to safely add a relay box. O yeah have put HP Academy on my goal/task/bucket list!
We are ready and waiting :) If you search "free wiring lesson hpa" you can get started today for free. - Ben
@@hpa101 Thanks @Ben!
It's amazing to see this, doing as much as possible in house, your self, and helping others to do it too.
I bet your harness is better than the manufacturing one by far. You took great care on getting it where you wanted everything. Nice job for being the first time.
I hate when people skip over wiring and call it boring. I absolutely love that you went into so much detail. Give us more nerd shit!