1988 Bronco II Virginia Trail Build

[RumPunch]

The corrugated or convoluted loom just dries up and cracks so bad.. This style loom is so much easier to work with just need head shrink at the ends to prevent fraying, or either good cloth tape.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Those are pretty neat! Never seen them before. Amazon is amazing is it not...? And I was just about to post a question about gauges/sending units. Where should I post that Gump? Which forum? The gauges and harness you have look nice as well! And first time really wiring my own vehicle sorta but plenty of experience with major harness repair, diagnostics, and building on large equipment...

Wiring harness replacement and repair have been in my life for a long time Most the time combine harnesses just burnt up and you had to splice them back together. This was YEARS ago. Quite a few service trucks back as well..

View attachment 70640

That combine harness sure brings a certain level of pucker to the surface. Yes... I do like Amazon. Love the free shipping... but you need to do your homework because at times you can get things cheaper even with shipping costs elsewhere. Also most times I find what I need on my doorstep the next day.

As far as where to poll the group for sender locations and such... use the electrical gauges forum. There are several ways to skin this cat I'm sure. I will share my thoughts and direction here but it isn't the end all for sure.

I always like to keep the factory gauges and warning system in tact. I just feel like the redundancy is not a bad thing when it comes to critical engine information. I've always just added a "T" to the existing oil pressure port for the oil sender. My 06 4.0L was not super friendly for doing this so I went with an oil filter sandwich adaptor from Glow Shift. Turns out to be a really nice piece... and I'm sold on them now. I bought one for the 2.9L in the Bronco II also. Here is a link...

Amazon.com: GlowShift Oil Filter Sandwich Plate Thread Adapter - 3/4-16 Thread - Install up to (4) 1/8-27 NPT Oil Pressure & Temperature Sensors - Includes O-Ring & Port Plugs : Automotive

For water temp... most times it's not so easy. I've drilled and tapped holes before. I just wanted something clean and easy. I looked to Glow Shift again and bought one of their hose adaptors for my temp sender. I didn't realize that it didn't have a ground lug on it prior to buying it. I called and asked about it. Their reply was that their gauge senders were two wire and didn't need the ground lug. So my plan is to just drill and tap a hole to add a ground wire to it. My plan is to put it in the lower radiator hose. It will always be submerged in coolant for perhaps a more consistant reading and will tell me what the entering temp of my coolant is. There are other companies that have this adaptor with a ground lug already on it... but I chose to just keep the one I had and add the ground wire. Here is the link to the one I have... you may want to opt for a different one...

Amazon.com: GlowShift 38mm 1-1/2" Radiator Hose Attachment Adapter for Water Coolant Temperature Gauge Sensor - Includes Hose Clamps : Automotive

You will probably get other answers from different folks... just sharing my direction.

 

[RumPunch]

Good information @Uncle Gump thank you! I will most definitely be grabbing one of the oil filter adaptors. Did that leave plenty of room for the filter? As well as senders. Do you have a pic? I was contemplating the radiator hose adaptor but also somewhat leaned away from it as just more possibility for failure/leaks as well as would require some hose modification if it failed somewhere with limited parts access. Maybe thinking way to far into it though. That is my main hope as well like you mentioned keeping the factory system in tact..

 

[bobbywalter]

Spend some time at seals it . Com...

Seals-It | High-Performance & Custom Sealing Solutions

Seals-It designs and manufactures American-made sealing products including firewall grommets, axle seals, boot seals, and custom rubber-to-metal bonded components for motorsports, aerospace, construction, and industrial use.

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They have good stuff and good pricing..

Usually the cheaper stuff needs replacement more often.


I will do two or three nice setups ..and it seems withing two years it's hacked up from some field fix failures ...robbing wire to fix something....switch or relay failure...



Braided is nice....but mud and oil are more difficult with it and I have had wire failure as a direct result from upgrading.

When I rewire it next time it will be braided for the most part.



No way I could have a panel like that without a giant a53 plate hinged cover......the dogs and grand kids ...beer from back yard trail maintainace winch missions, Ice tea and Chile...would not be good.


But damn....it's a beautiful panel!!

 

[bobbywalter]

We use those sandwich adapters for turbos too.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I know on my 4.0L the oil sandwich adaptor left plenty of clearance for the filter. The sending unit was a fairly tight fit... hot exhaust manifold is close... but enough room and there is zero issue after a few years. It is a really nice piece. I've yet to put it on my 2.9L... so no pictures. When I looked at it... I thought it was going to be doable but it hasn't been proven. If I had a garage... better weather... and more being semi retired it would probably be assembled by now. I seem to be just spending money and building my stash for when the planets align.

The rad hose temp sender adaptor certainly does add a couple failure points. I will just cut the factory lower rad hose and snip the spring coil to install... so parts are parts. If the adaptor fails... just put a union in it's place. Just like you would if you sprung a leak in a normal hose. The adaptor looks like a quality unit and has nice retention ridges... just going to buy a couple good clamps and not worry about it.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Spend some time at seals it . Com...

Seals-It | High-Performance & Custom Sealing Solutions

Seals-It designs and manufactures American-made sealing products including firewall grommets, axle seals, boot seals, and custom rubber-to-metal bonded components for motorsports, aerospace, construction, and industrial use.

sealsit.com

They have good stuff and good pricing..

Usually the cheaper stuff needs replacement more often.


I will do two or three nice setups ..and it seems withing two years it's hacked up from some field fix failures ...robbing wire to fix something....switch or relay failure...



Braided is nice....but mud and oil are more difficult with it and I have had wire failure as a direct result from upgrading.

When I rewire it next time it will be braided for the most part.



No way I could have a panel like that without a giant a53 plate hinged cover......the dogs and grand kids ...beer from back yard trail maintainace winch missions, Ice tea and Chile...would not be good.


But damn....it's a beautiful panel!!

I've built enough buggy harnesses to feel your pain. They just don't last forever with usage and exposure.

I've typically wrapped my harnesses in quality electrical tape... then in convoluted tubing for anything exposed. On the Bronco I'm going to skip the tape and try the braided sleeve. My plan was to use both the sleeve and convoluted tubing for any harnesses I add not in the passenger compartment. Over kill maybe... but the tubing should shield a bunch of the exposure issues.

I also know my beagle would damage that sweet looking panel in a ride around the block... and it would have coffee spilled on it before I hit the end of my rather short driveway.

 

[RumPunch]

You guys must have some wild dogs man!! Love the comments though. Hopefully it'll hold up to all I need. Just want it to be done right the first time and not to have to worry in the future.

 

[Uncle Gump]

This cute little guy can be a real jackass...

 

[RumPunch]

Took the crappy weather for granted. 90% of the console is wired. Just need fan override and main power connected. Next step will be to mount the box in the truck. All this to get the fan wired so I can do engine break in...

 

[bobbywalter]

Looking awesome

 

[RumPunch]

So was stuck at home today waiting on my new refrigerator to get delivered and installed and was hoping for some time on the bronco but the building has no insulation and is colder than the ambient 20° temps. So I started on house work, a few hours in Amazon came through and delivered the new oil filter adapter (since I ordered the wrong one) and I took a few minutes to install that and the coolant sensor adapter. Now, back to house work while I warm up. FYI part number for the glowshift adapter is below and the coolant house adapter is straight Amazon Chinese in 36MM if anyone is interested.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I like those sandwich adaptors... nice quality piece IMHO. You now have a place to feed twin turbos some oil... just saying.

I'm curious to see how the temp sender in the upper hose works out. Be sure to let us know if your opinion please.

 

[RumPunch]

Well it was a busy day in the garage, friend had his BMW over doing a 12k mile service and I got the console wiring finished and final mounting done. Now just need to run sensor signal wires out and connected under the hood. @Uncle Gump I read a lot on the sensor location and chose to go with the upper. That sensor will be the new gauge in the console, the cluster should still function and the fan control switch will be located in the manifold in place of the original switch location. So I should be able to tell if there is significant difference, that is depending how accurate original cluster is. I used nutserts into the trans tunnel under the carpet then a spacer out of 2x3" square tubing. Sits level now and easy access to control everything I need.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Nice job on the console... that little riser block you made to level it up is pretty slick with the through holes to the floor pan retainers. My console came with a leveling bracket... but it certainly wasn't vehicle specific to the Bronco II... it's to tall. I just may be stealing your idea for my install.

I have to ask... what is the knob in the upper RH corner of the gauge panel for?