5.0kid

here is what has been done so far on wiring my drag car up, aluminum panel was made with rubber mounts to cut down on vibration, still have to wire the racepak dash but its making head way on this.

prangy

So this will sound dumb maybe, but how do you learn how to wire like this. I am scared of wires in general, then looking at this just made my brain fall out. I have taken some electrical classes for engineering, but not wiring up anything really. Did you just read?

mustangGT86_05

Wiring can be tricky, but for me its what I use to do most when I got my ranger. So a lot came with practice, different techniques, learning from mistakes, etc and then you start to figure out what diagrams are about and it isn't too bad if you can read one. I took classes myself down the road, when you really start to grasp what it is, it fries your brain (ask how I know!).

the wiring looks good! I haven't messed with anything that complex in ages lol

mattdel

Wiring is fairly simple on cars like these. Don't be afraid to just dive in. Take your time, be meticulous, and all will be well. If you should happen to need diagrams of a circuit, make a thread about your problem. I have, as well as many others here, lots of diagram access.

The wiring you see in OP's picture is a heavily modified setup. He probably won't even be laying carpet over it (as he shouldn't). Looks good though. I'm not sure of the location but if it's strictly a drag car, it's fine by me.

5.0kid

Lots of time spent looking at previous wiring jobs on places like Yellowbullet and also at race tracks of what the big time guys had done. Knowing how relays work and etc is a plus as well.

That large rectangular black panel is from SpeedWire systems, all the relays and fuses are already done and ready to go, all i have to do is sent my power wire from the battery to the positive post on the panel and then a ground to the motor on the negative post. Then it is as simple as wiring power wires to the prelabeled (from speedwire) posts and it will all function correctly. Now the MSD powergrid and racepak are a bit different those have their own positive and negative feeds and the racepak data logger needs its own hot source so that it can be turned on and off at will with a push of a button under the fuel door cover.

Mattdel is correct its not that hard if you take your time. The hard part is knowing what can and cant be ran next to each other and picking a spot where the panel will give ideal center location to all electrical needs. It is mounted on the passenger side floor/trans tunnel so that I can easily get my hands on it along with being able to have access to the msd flash card easily. It also is a central location to where everything is so that the wires are all about similar lengths from front to back. Its a drag only car so yes its a good spot i would not have put it there if i were to street drive it at all. I will however be covering it with carpet up to the mounting plate so that you do not see wires everywhere but the plate will be exposed. I went with the speedwire PCM because it will save countless hours building a relay and fuse panel for everything i need. Though it was pricey at 1195 it has room for me to grow with 3 switchs and 7 relays left for me to use for future use ex. if i go to a Bigstuff 3 or Motec/FAST EFI setup.

prangy

I read up on relays, makes sense. So is the coil a big relay to turn such large voltage for the spark plugs or am I confusing current and voltage in this situation? Not sure if I used the right words it has been a while since I have had to think about ignition. I should read up on wiring and what not though, seems to be the biggest fear for a lot of people when it comes to vehicles. When I get my car tuned I really want to learn how that all goes down to.

mustangGT86_05

Ok this is steering off topic, but no a coil is not a relay even though they both have similar principals.

tinman

When wiring a drag car you will truly learn the meaning of the patience...
I've done several the more difficult way, without the prefab stuff and soldering heat shrinking all the wires.
BTW, it also takes time, lots of it.......