hours to install new harness

[MST0118]

I just got my new complete wiring harness for a 73 911 lightweight rs clone, so plan to just wire up the bare essentials with no heat or interior lights. This is my project car and just recently completed suspension/brakes, oil and gas lines so electrical system is next.

Trying to get a feel of how many hours for an experienced shop to install harnesses and hook up everything to gauges, etc. v. doing it yourself (DIY). Has anyone done this recently and know approximately how many hours it took? Or does anyone know how long it would take an experienced shop to do it? I've heard as little as 15 hours for a good shop and potentially 40+ for DIY, but not sure if that's accurate.

Appreciate any thoughts on this. Thanks.

[Elombard]

Help me Timmy2, you're my only hope!

Here is some discussion. Is your car all apart? It depends I think on how good your records of where the wires go back together. I have a lot of hours in mine but its newer and lots more crap.

[James Brown]

i put in a painless (HA!) racing wire harness once, 6 circuits mostly engine. add lighting and creature comforts i would say if your handy about 2-3 months off and on (DIY). half that if you work 8 hours a day.
i say this because life sometimes gets in the way of fun projects.

[MST0118]

Yes, my car has the bare minimum right now: no dash, hood, decklid, seats, but I do have the doors, suspension, and oil and gas lines on.

[19-911-65]

How many hours...way toooooooooo many plus a few...;-)

Contingent on the condition of the tub (if it is stripped out or not) installing the main backbone harnesses is not that big a deal. If the car is mostly put together then that will be a real game changer.

Biggest issue is when connecting the harness to loads (headlamps, turn signals...) they will have to be removed and re-installed. Cutting in cannon plugs that may? not have come with your harness, fuse panels. The gauges can be a nightmare if the old wires are not fully marked.

These comments are after I installed a new harness in a '65, and that is a relatively simple harness. The factory "Porsche" wiring diagram is incorrect and my new harness contained some colors that did not match the old harness. I had more hours researching "what to do" then I had during the installation...or so it seemed!

I can't imagine driving a completed car into a shop and 15 hours later a new harness had been swapped in. I'm guessing I had 150+ hours by time everything was completed...your mileage may very.

[timmy2]

Where is your harness from? Is it new from Porsche or is it a new/rebuilt one from Kroon? (He normally provides installation information.)
Is it from someone/somewhere else?
Time to install really depends on the experience of the installer.
Your stripped down version shouldn't be too bad if everything is marked and you know what it does and where it goes.
More information needed before giving a reasonable estimate of the time to install it all.

[MST0118]

Yes, it's a Kroon one. The wires weren't labeled but he did provide diagrams of how the wires hook up. The harness was stripped of blower, interior lights, no radio, no clock, etc. Trying to see how many hours it would take a shop that has experience in this area to install.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I've been interested in using Kroon. How was the experience? Timeframe? Cost?

[JohnJL]

The shop should be able to tell you that.

Wiring from scratch has taken me as little as 15 and as many as 60 hours. Depends on the number of circuits, if you are working around other mechanicals/carpet and how much you care about doing a good job.

If the harness is complete, properly labelled and the things you are hooking up are all in good order, maybe 15 hours? So maybe $1500-2000?

Do it yourself, all you need is a multimeter, strippers and connectors. And you will always know how to troubleshoot it.

[timmy2]

Do you want the shop to install all the devices to the harnesses like the gauges, switches, lights rear fuse panel etc. or just install the main 3 harnesses in the stripped chassis? (Through body, dash and front lighting)

[MST0118]

Hook up all devices to harness with limited exceptions since will probably have to take lights off again for final body work and adding seals. Would like it all tested with battery to make sure it works ok.

[gerakroo]

Most of our harnesses come with preconnected fusebox(es) The main harness and front harness are already connected.Our diagrams are a layout of the actual harness(es) and therefore the wires are not labeled.
Best to start mounting the fusebox and put the main and front harness in place. The most time consuming will be the tunnel harness.
If everything fits and is well prepared we need approx 8-10 hours to put a complete pre73 model in and connect it in our workshop. (Mounting the Engine harness not included)
The early models are not that difficult, starting from 74 things start to get more complicated. For example a later year 930 1988 is a real challenge and will require more experience. In case of any questions during installation you may always contact us by mail, phone or Skype!

[MST0118]

Shaun, I had a very good experience working with Gerard at Kroon services. He answered all of my questions by email and made suggestions and had no problem customizing my wire harness by deleting certain wiring that I didn't need and then added some other wiring that I needed like wiring a relay for my electromotive crank fire ignition. The process was 2 months from my initial inquiry to receiving the harness. I thought the pricing was very reasonable at 2390 Euro (especially with exchange rate) for the complete harnesses. There is some customs fees but it wasn't too bad. So, I really appreciated the flexibility of Kroon in customizing my harness and the customer service was very good. I think Gerard posted a picture of my harness in his post.