Hey Steve, I really appreciate that. I love my CJ and love seeing them on the road so I documented my entire build and of course the wiring. Glad you checked out the video. Thank you for the nice comment. Hope it helps others who are debating rewiring their old CJ!! JD
JD, thanks very much for taking the time to document all of this for all of us out here. Very informative for sure! I’m restoring my old 84 CJ 7 and in somewhat beginning stages so this is very helpful!!!
Mike, thank you! It has been a labor of love for sure with my Jeep and my plan evolved over the years. The wiring was pretty intimidating but I literally have zero wiring issues after the install. Thanks for the feedback and good luck with your Jeep! Keep us posted on your progress. JD
JD Offline that’s a homerun pal. I’m a corporate jet and helicopter mechanic so to take on a complete re-wire and not have a single “oop’s” to troubleshoot not being experienced at it says a lot about your ability and definitely the quality of Painless instructions. Good stuff man.
Thank you so much. I hope this may help others and it was well worth it. To this day zero wiring issues and the jeep is running stronger than ever. Thanks again for checking out the video. JD
Well you pushed my confidence to 11 and may actually do something stupid and replace my 86 CJ7 I sold when I started dating the women who would become my wife. I needed something nicer to take her out in it had a hard top with original soft doors I held closed with bungy cords hooked under the seats to the metal door frames LOL, it needed a complete resto at the time and that and extra cash were the 2 most important things I needed at the time but did not have now I've got the bug again and it' is becoming an itch I must scratch. So I will be watching every episode you post I think they are very well done as well as informative and confidence building, good luck with your Jeep for many miles ahead and JD thank you for taking your time to share your experience with UA-cam!
Thank you so much for this feedback!! I hope that you get another Jeep and begin the journey of restoring it. Don't you always regret the vehicles you sold when you were younger?? I know I do but those decisions were made at the time for good reasons. Anyway, good luck and like I said thank you for this feedback, it means a lot. Keep us posted if you do buy one! JD
Jd I’m so behind on my comments but yes I did the same thing as you the part you said about give yourself some time is a understatement lol think god for good friends beer and good food . I’ve watched everyone of your vids on this build had just got mine done when I started watching them i loved them all went through the same pain and fun and a bunch of cash but loved it all be safe and I hope all is well with you and your family brother
The wiring was time consuming and at this point I validated I did it all correctly and I'm surprised and happy about that!! Thank you, you stay safe as well!
👍👍JD, I don’t think your intimidated with wiring anymore. Great job it must be pretty good for your confidence building. All said and done you got your self a brand new 2020 CJ7, everything brand spanking new👍👍
@@JDOffline Awesome, thanks for the reply. I appreciate that, I will reach out to you. I know I will need some guidance. First part is me learning to weld and getting the floor boards patched up.
@@j.thornton8390 That's pretty much where I started (see much earlier Jeep updates on my channel and I walk through how to do the floorboards or at least the way I did them). Welding is very fun, you will enjoy it. Keep us updated on your progress! JD
Excellent video. Thank you. Wish you would have shown where the reverse gear connector attaches down at the transmission. Recently bought an '84 CJ7 resto-mod where they used this Painless Wiring Kit. Reverse lights don't work and I need to troubleshoot.
I got lucky with mine, it was plug and play with the ax-15. If I remember correctly there's only one or maybe two wires that go back for the reverse lights. Hope this helps, also maybe contact Painless Wiring Tech support, they were great. JD
JD, Just came across your videos and have to say you've done a superb job documenting the installation of this harness. Probably the best we've seen. Just wondering if you would be okay if we posted this video on our website. Adrian Murray President, Painless Performance
Mr. Murray thank you for the acknowledgement of my video! It would be my honor if you linked this up to your website. Rewiring a vehicle is an intimidating process but your kit, instruction manual and tech support made it a manageable job. Check out my latest video and new project, a 78 Camaro. It’s in pretty good shape but I may also rewire this vehicle as well. Thanks again for taking the time to recognize the end user/customer of your products. Not many people in your position do that. Here’s my email address should you need to contact me. JD_offline@yahoo.com.
That's great! I hope this video is helpful. It's really not that bad as I'm sure you are starting to see depending on how deep you are into it. A big part of what took a lot of research on my end was the IDIDIT steering column wiring. With a stock ignition switch it eliminates that headache. I cover both in the video as well as the Speedhut gauges. Take your time and you'll get it. Let us know how it goes, I have zero regrets with my wiring and gauges. JD
@@JDOffline I'm doing the ididit steering column as well. My blinkers etc have never been right even when I've tried to get it just perfect. After this all I have is paint job and new tires. I kept the straight 6 because I put howell tbi and a dui hei in it. If I get another cj I'll definitely do a 350. Could you tell me the part number for the tool you used on the steering column? Not the steering wheel puller the other one. Thanks. Also thanks for always taking the time for detail in the videos.
@@TRUVOL4LIFE that’s so cool!! Well you have a step by step guide then w this video. I got the steering wheel lock plate remover from Amazon. Search for this number. B00T6SSJKK. Not sure if those are zeros or the letter o but that’s the one I bought. Good luck w your install and let us know how it goes. JD.
Be careful I just put mine in my 84 CJ7 and rear turn signals where pined backwards the white/white black stripe where reversed with the green/green black stripe causing all sorts of feed back problems front turn signals are backwards to the taillights
I know this is a little late but where did you find that speedometer with the gps attached I cant find something that looks like the original. My current one the needle bounces around
Your video is very helpful and in great detail! How long did it take to tear out the old and completely install the new? My buddy has just about talked me into rewiring it to clean it up a lot, doing a amc 360 swap into a 83 i6.
I've been asked this question before and I would have to say somewhere in the ball park of 20-25 hours easy. I initially said 15-20 hours but I don't think that is accurate. I spent several hours just reading the installation manual prior to me touching the first wire so 20-25 seems about right. Hope this helps and good luck with your swap!!! JD
The diode was supplied with the kit and i ended up getting some additional ones from amazon. I'm not sure I understand your question about the brown wire? Sorry I couldn't be of more help. JD
Hey Joel. Not sure but it says on "some" applications. Not sure why I had to put it in on mine but since I did I have had zero issues. Thanks for the comment. JD
Is it me or did you swap motors sometime while filming this? in the beginning you were working on an I6 and little past halfway, I see an LS swap motor. either way, this builds my confidence on doing my own Painless kit. Thanks, a lot.
My Jeep started out as a rebuild with the original 258 and then later on in the series I swapped that motor for a 350. The wiring is the same except the engine and it's still pretty close, not too many wires on the older style motors (non LS). JD
Great video. Did that tail light harness (everything after the flat 6 pin connector under the dash) come with the painless kit or did you make it yourself? I have the full painless harness in my cj7 but I need the tail light section and can't find it on the painless website.
Hey Nick, the tail section came as part of the kit, not sure if they sell it separately. I would contact Painless Wiring and ask them. Hope it works out. JD
JD!! hello again... my wires are fine. Were yours showing their age, is that why u replaced them. correct me if im wrong, but we can use the stock wiring with some very minor modification for my ignition and Sniper EFI... correct?
yah I Ride so my stock wiring wasn’t that bad but I had a couple bugs in the system that prompted me to replace it. I called painless wiring before I bought their kit and told them I was doing a 350 swap. Essentially what they said and it make sense, is the wire doesn’t care if it’s going to a 258 straight 6 or a 350. That made a lot of sense to me so I bought the kit mainly to eliminate all the extra wiring and so I knew everything was right. All that said if your factory wiring is good then I think you’ll be fine w minor modifications. Just my thoughts.
@@JDOffline thanks JD... im tryn to get mine done for the summer, but its not cheap! i ordered my motor mounts and cross member yesterday... gonna keep the old cross member as a belly pan only and a cross member for support. i figure that way i can drop the pan for maintainance...
@@zanzibarbusiness that is high! I don’t remember mine being that high when I bought it but that was several years ago. I also sold my core locally and that helped offset some of the cost. I would check marketplace or Facebook or maybe some local salvage yards. Good luck. JD
I don't think I paid that much for it but caught it on sale over I think Labor Day weekend but yes, it is the kit with all the factory terminals and the more expensive of the ones they offer for the CJ. JD
I’ve got an ‘83 Renegade that I’ve had for 20 years. It’s mostly stock, and like your’s, mine has 37 years worth of rust, crud, bad paint, old wiring, and parts. It’s been setting in my garage, and after watching your videos, I’m motivated to begin a frame off restoration. I really appreciate you posting these videos and know I’ll be referring to them quite often through the process. I made a quick video of what I’m working with and I’ll tag a link in case you’re interested. Thanks again, your Jeep is turning out nice! ua-cam.com/video/9K6pphKsRCg/v-deo.html
Steve, thank you for the feedback. Your Jeep actually looks great. I wish mine was that nice when I started!! It's taken me over three years to do mine and I don't regret any of it. I'm still not on the road yet but should be here in the next week or two. Good luck to you and keep us posted.
@@zanzibarbusiness I got the motor from summit racing and bought block hugger Sanderson headers w no issues. I ordered from Novak conversions I believe and they ordered directly from Sanderson. No regrets and no leaks w those headers. They are nice. Hope this helps. JD
An enormous contribution to the community. Heartfelt gratitude for doing this.
Hey Steve, I really appreciate that. I love my CJ and love seeing them on the road so I documented my entire build and of course the wiring. Glad you checked out the video. Thank you for the nice comment. Hope it helps others who are debating rewiring their old CJ!! JD
THX for all Bro. I'm an aircraft mechanic but rewiring my CJ5 scares the hell outta me. MAD APPRECIATION for your effort and for sharing.
Glad I could help. It’s not that bad really once you get into it. You can do it for sure. JD.
JD, thanks very much for taking the time to document all of this for all of us out here. Very informative for sure! I’m restoring my old 84 CJ 7 and in somewhat beginning stages so this is very helpful!!!
Mike, thank you! It has been a labor of love for sure with my Jeep and my plan evolved over the years. The wiring was pretty intimidating but I literally have zero wiring issues after the install. Thanks for the feedback and good luck with your Jeep! Keep us posted on your progress. JD
JD Offline that’s a homerun pal. I’m a corporate jet and helicopter mechanic so to take on a complete re-wire and not have a single “oop’s” to troubleshoot not being experienced at it says a lot about your ability and definitely the quality of Painless instructions. Good stuff man.
What a amazing real life video presentation, thank you for helping everyone taking on a rewire project on our jeeps, Btw beautiful jeep wow!
Thank you so much. I hope this may help others and it was well worth it. To this day zero wiring issues and the jeep is running stronger than ever. Thanks again for checking out the video. JD
@JD Offline it helped me for sure as I await my painless harness to arrive your video has put me at ease on tackling the job for sure.
@@PowerParties you won’t have any issues. Feel free to use me as a resource if you get stuck but the painless tech support is great. Good luck!! JD
Well you pushed my confidence to 11 and may actually do something stupid and replace my 86 CJ7 I sold when I started dating the women who would become my wife. I needed something nicer to take her out in it had a hard top with original soft doors I held closed with bungy cords hooked under the seats to the metal door frames LOL, it needed a complete resto at the time and that and extra cash were the 2 most important things I needed at the time but did not have now I've got the bug again and it' is becoming an itch I must scratch. So I will be watching every episode you post I think they are very well done as well as informative and confidence building, good luck with your Jeep for many miles ahead and JD thank you for taking your time to share your experience with UA-cam!
Thank you so much for this feedback!! I hope that you get another Jeep and begin the journey of restoring it. Don't you always regret the vehicles you sold when you were younger?? I know I do but those decisions were made at the time for good reasons. Anyway, good luck and like I said thank you for this feedback, it means a lot. Keep us posted if you do buy one! JD
Fantastic overview of the steps for this upgrade. Great job!
Thanks Mike.
Jd I’m so behind on my comments but yes I did the same thing as you the part you said about give yourself some time is a understatement lol think god for good friends beer and good food . I’ve watched everyone of your vids on this build had just got mine done when I started watching them i loved them all went through the same pain and fun and a bunch of cash but loved it all be safe and I hope all is well with you and your family brother
The wiring was time consuming and at this point I validated I did it all correctly and I'm surprised and happy about that!! Thank you, you stay safe as well!
thank you for doing this video...getting ready to tackle a wiring job on my '83 CJ7.
Glad I could help. I have zero wiring issues with my Jeep. The kit is great. Thanks for the shout out.
Thank you so much for making this video.
You're welcome! I was really intimidated by the wiring but it really wasn't that bad. Glad you like the video. JD
Great job looking good,,i like videos like that wiring harness
Thank you!!
👍👍JD, I don’t think your intimidated with wiring anymore. Great job it must be pretty good for your confidence building. All said and done you got your self a brand new 2020 CJ7, everything brand spanking new👍👍
Mike Hammer Thanks Mike. Still need to get it on the road. Slow going right now with everything going on.
Good stuff man, thanks. Im starting on a 76 cj7. This will help me
Thank you Sir. I hope you like the video and feel free to ask me any questions. Thanks for checking out the channel and video. Jd
@@JDOffline Awesome, thanks for the reply. I appreciate that, I will reach out to you. I know I will need some guidance.
First part is me learning to weld and getting the floor boards patched up.
@@j.thornton8390 That's pretty much where I started (see much earlier Jeep updates on my channel and I walk through how to do the floorboards or at least the way I did them). Welding is very fun, you will enjoy it. Keep us updated on your progress! JD
Very nice video. Good job, good work. Thanks.
Thanks. Hope it’s helpful. JD.
No formal training in wiring, that’s me all over the place. Thanks for your time.
Hey Fred, that's me for sure as well. Hope you enjoyed the video, it's a long one but covers the whole process in detail. JD
Excellent video. Thank you. Wish you would have shown where the reverse gear connector attaches down at the transmission. Recently bought an '84 CJ7 resto-mod where they used this Painless Wiring Kit. Reverse lights don't work and I need to troubleshoot.
I got lucky with mine, it was plug and play with the ax-15. If I remember correctly there's only one or maybe two wires that go back for the reverse lights. Hope this helps, also maybe contact Painless Wiring Tech support, they were great. JD
JD, Just came across your videos and have to say you've done a superb job documenting the installation of this harness. Probably the best we've seen. Just wondering if you would be okay if we posted this video on our website.
Adrian Murray
President, Painless Performance
Mr. Murray thank you for the acknowledgement of my video! It would be my honor if you linked this up to your website. Rewiring a vehicle is an intimidating process but your kit, instruction manual and tech support made it a manageable job. Check out my latest video and new project, a 78 Camaro. It’s in pretty good shape but I may also rewire this vehicle as well. Thanks again for taking the time to recognize the end user/customer of your products. Not many people in your position do that. Here’s my email address should you need to contact me. JD_offline@yahoo.com.
Doing the painless harness and speedhut gauges in my 85 cj7 258 now.
That's great! I hope this video is helpful. It's really not that bad as I'm sure you are starting to see depending on how deep you are into it. A big part of what took a lot of research on my end was the IDIDIT steering column wiring. With a stock ignition switch it eliminates that headache. I cover both in the video as well as the Speedhut gauges. Take your time and you'll get it. Let us know how it goes, I have zero regrets with my wiring and gauges. JD
@@JDOffline I'm doing the ididit steering column as well. My blinkers etc have never been right even when I've tried to get it just perfect. After this all I have is paint job and new tires. I kept the straight 6 because I put howell tbi and a dui hei in it. If I get another cj I'll definitely do a 350. Could you tell me the part number for the tool you used on the steering column? Not the steering wheel puller the other one. Thanks. Also thanks for always taking the time for detail in the videos.
@@TRUVOL4LIFE that’s so cool!! Well you have a step by step guide then w this video. I got the steering wheel lock plate remover from Amazon. Search for this number. B00T6SSJKK. Not sure if those are zeros or the letter o but that’s the one I bought. Good luck w your install and let us know how it goes. JD.
Be careful I just put mine in my 84 CJ7 and rear turn signals where pined backwards the white/white black stripe where reversed with the green/green black stripe causing all sorts of feed back problems front turn signals are backwards to the taillights
Thanks Pat for that heads up. I didn't have that issue with my kit. JD
I know this is a little late but where did you find that speedometer with the gps attached I cant find something that looks like the original. My current one the needle bounces around
Speedhut gauges. They are awesome. JD
@@JDOffline thanks I appreciate it
Your video is very helpful and in great detail! How long did it take to tear out the old and completely install the new? My buddy has just about talked me into rewiring it to clean it up a lot, doing a amc 360 swap into a 83 i6.
I've been asked this question before and I would have to say somewhere in the ball park of 20-25 hours easy. I initially said 15-20 hours but I don't think that is accurate. I spent several hours just reading the installation manual prior to me touching the first wire so 20-25 seems about right. Hope this helps and good luck with your swap!!! JD
What kind of diode did you use for the alternator and which wire did you hook to the exciter wire. I think you said brown but what was it for?
The diode was supplied with the kit and i ended up getting some additional ones from amazon. I'm not sure I understand your question about the brown wire? Sorry I couldn't be of more help. JD
Question? The diod you had to install on the alternator wiring, will that have to be on every application?
Hey Joel. Not sure but it says on "some" applications. Not sure why I had to put it in on mine but since I did I have had zero issues. Thanks for the comment. JD
So you didn’t have to drop the tank? You have to wire the sending unit though. I was just using pain less on a cj7
I don't think I did have to drop the tank. Some portions of the wiring would be easier without the tank in the way. JD
Is it me or did you swap motors sometime while filming this? in the beginning you were working on an I6 and little past halfway, I see an LS swap motor. either way, this builds my confidence on doing my own Painless kit. Thanks, a lot.
My Jeep started out as a rebuild with the original 258 and then later on in the series I swapped that motor for a 350. The wiring is the same except the engine and it's still pretty close, not too many wires on the older style motors (non LS). JD
Great video. Did that tail light harness (everything after the flat 6 pin connector under the dash) come with the painless kit or did you make it yourself? I have the full painless harness in my cj7 but I need the tail light section and can't find it on the painless website.
Hey Nick, the tail section came as part of the kit, not sure if they sell it separately. I would contact Painless Wiring and ask them. Hope it works out. JD
Curious to know what line-x charged for the tub spray?
$450!!
JD!! hello again... my wires are fine. Were yours showing their age, is that why u replaced them. correct me if im wrong, but we can use the stock wiring with some very minor modification for my ignition and Sniper EFI... correct?
yah I Ride so my stock wiring wasn’t that bad but I had a couple bugs in the system that prompted me to replace it. I called painless wiring before I bought their kit and told them I was doing a 350 swap. Essentially what they said and it make sense, is the wire doesn’t care if it’s going to a 258 straight 6 or a 350. That made a lot of sense to me so I bought the kit mainly to eliminate all the extra wiring and so I knew everything was right. All that said if your factory wiring is good then I think you’ll be fine w minor modifications. Just my thoughts.
@@JDOffline thanks JD... im tryn to get mine done for the summer, but its not cheap! i ordered my motor mounts and cross member yesterday... gonna keep the old cross member as a belly pan only and a cross member for support. i figure that way i can drop the pan for maintainance...
Last piece of the puzzle for me is Transfer case. If you ever come across a Dana 300 short please let me know.
Novak Conversions! That's where I got mine. JD
@@JDOffline thanks👍
@JDOffline had a look, wow $2000 is a bit stiff, Atlas then looms..😁 guess I'll be hitting Ebay😊
@@zanzibarbusiness that is high! I don’t remember mine being that high when I bought it but that was several years ago. I also sold my core locally and that helped offset some of the cost. I would check marketplace or Facebook or maybe some local salvage yards. Good luck. JD
is this the $829.99 option?
I don't think I paid that much for it but caught it on sale over I think Labor Day weekend but yes, it is the kit with all the factory terminals and the more expensive of the ones they offer for the CJ. JD
I’ve got an ‘83 Renegade that I’ve had for 20 years. It’s mostly stock, and like your’s, mine has 37 years worth of rust, crud, bad paint, old wiring, and parts. It’s been setting in my garage, and after watching your videos, I’m motivated to begin a frame off restoration. I really appreciate you posting these videos and know I’ll be referring to them quite often through the process. I made a quick video of what I’m working with and I’ll tag a link in case you’re interested. Thanks again, your Jeep is turning out nice!
ua-cam.com/video/9K6pphKsRCg/v-deo.html
Steve, thank you for the feedback. Your Jeep actually looks great. I wish mine was that nice when I started!! It's taken me over three years to do mine and I don't regret any of it. I'm still not on the road yet but should be here in the next week or two. Good luck to you and keep us posted.
JD Offline which Speedhut gauges did you go with?
They sell a kit for the CJ specifically. There's another video on my channel on the gauges and I show them in detail. JD
When you say kit is there a seperate Speedhut installation kit?
The speed hut gauges come with their own wiring. It's actually not bad to get them wired up, they all run in a series. JD
Hi JD I really enjoy watching the progress of your jeep. I have a 76 that I am restoring and wanted to pick your brain. How do I contact you?
Tim Rellaford JD_offline@yahoo.com
Hi, which engine do you have there, 350 smallblock? Thx
Yes 350 crate motor. JD
Nice. I also swapped the 76 CJ7 with a Corvette 350 small but the new driver side custom ss headers don't fit 🤔, where did you buy?
@@zanzibarbusiness I got the motor from summit racing and bought block hugger Sanderson headers w no issues. I ordered from Novak conversions I believe and they ordered directly from Sanderson. No regrets and no leaks w those headers. They are nice. Hope this helps. JD
Ah, thanks much. Will definitely go have a look👍
@@zanzibarbusiness good deal. They are pricey but worth it.