We have been teasing you with the finish of the Scrambler project for what seems like years—because it has been years! The reality of the build is that we might be a little picky. We also have a bad habit of changing things around. We are finishing up with the wiring, which is a combination of a Hotwire Auto engine harness and a Painless Performance Universal Jeep replacement harness. Dash layout is important whether you are installing a custom dash or just adding new gauges and switches or lights. You need to be able to easily read and reach them. To get a good feel for the layout, map out all the components while the dash is in the vehicle, while sitting in both the driver and passenger seats.Dash layout is important whether you are installing a custom dash or just adding new gauge The Hotwire harness will electrify the 5.9L Dodge Magnum engine we nabbed from a wrecked ’99 Dodge truck, and the Painless Performance harness will power everything from the firewall back. Both harnesses are plug-and-play; the only thing we had to sort out was the duplicate underdash gauge and ignition wires. Hotwire helped us out with some of the duplicate wire issues, which saved us hours of clipping, splicing, and figuring out what goes where. Both companies produce high-quality products that makes custom and replacement wiring a breeze. We are at a point on the build where we have to correct a number of minor issues, like the clearances between such moving parts as the steering and suspension components. We have to sort out dash layout, lighting, interior, and heating and A/C. The guys at T&J Performance Center in Orange, California, are allowing us to use their facility to work on the Jeep, and are a great source of technical knowledge and help. Autometer gauges are simple to install. They have a clamp ring that is held in place with two easy-to-reach fasteners. The back clamp ring will sandwich the dash between itself and the bezel of the gauge, holding it securely in place. Although Aqualu precut the dash for us, we wanted to add a couple of gauges and move a few lights around.Autometer gauges are simple to install. They have a clamp ring that is held in place with This is what you don’t want, the back of your dash looking like the factory wiring in a British car! It’s important to keep all the wiring clean, neat, and in order so you know where everything is if it ever comes time to repair or replace something.This is what you don’t want, the back of your dash looking like the factory wiring in a Br The final layout of the CJ’s dash will have everything within easy reach of the driver and all gauges visible at a glance. We picked up a new headlight and wiper motor switch from Painless Performance, which readily plugged into the company’s harness.The final layout of the CJ’s dash will have everything within easy reach of the driver and One dash light we worried about was the Check Engine light because the Bureau of Automotive Repair inspectors are sticklers for detail. We didn’t want to have a light that had a cheesy engine scratched on it with a Sharpie marker, so we got this very cool Check Engine light from Painless performance.One dash light we worried about was the Check Engine light because the Bureau of Automotiv Being on a budget, we went cheap on a few things, but did it right so we wouldn’t have any problem out on the highway. We used six-pin wire plugs to connect the gauge wiring to the underdash harness wiring. The plugs will make it much easier to remove the dash if we need too. The six-pin plugs run $2-$3 at any electronics store.Being on a budget, we went cheap on a few things, but did it right so we wouldn’t have any Once we pinned the wires into the six-pin plugs, we coated them with a plastic rubber coating we found at a local Ace Hardware. The coating will secure and weatherize the connections. The end of a zip tie was used to coat the wires and plug; the zip tie also allowed the coating to be pushed between the wires much better than a small brush.Once we pinned the wires into the six-pin plugs, we coated them with a plastic rubber coat A Vintage Air 68000-VUZ-A Gen II Compac heating and air conditioning system will be installed in the Scrambler, so we mocked it in place to locate the underdash wiring. The unit is easy to install, and the heat and air will be welcome in this adventure Jeep on long runs. We’ll show you more of the system’s installation in the next chapter of the build.A Vintage Air 68000-VUZ-A Gen II Compac heating and air conditioning system will be instal Since we mocked in the heating and air unit, we had to locate and cut the holes for the windshield defroster vents in the Aqualu Jeep tub.Since we mocked in the heating and air unit, we had to locate and cut the holes for the wi It will also help us with the placement of additional underdash and wiper motor wiring. The Hotwire Auto engine harness is designed to be installed in the cab of a vehicle. We mounted the ECM to an aluminum mounting plate, which also held the engine harness in place on its way out the front of the firewall. The plate also holds a fuse block and relays and is mounted on rubber bumpers for vibration resistance.The Hotwire Auto engine harness is designed to be installed in the cab of a vehicle. We mo We made a firewall grommet out of 1⁄8-inch aluminum sheetmetal and 1⁄4-inch sheet rubber. The thick rubber seal will safely keep the harness in place and not allow it to chafe against the firewall.We made a firewall grommet out of 1⁄8-inch aluminum sheetmetal and 1⁄4-inch sheet rubber. The homemade grommet will also seal the hole and keep water, dirt, and dust from entering the cab of the Jeep.The homemade grommet will also seal the hole and keep water, dirt, and dust from entering This is a trick through-the-firewall connection for the heating and air system we picked up from Vintage Air. It allows for an extremely clean and sealed pass-through of the A/C fluids and coolant for the heater.This is a trick through-the-firewall connection for the heating and air system we picked u When you’re running a wiring loom through any part of the vehicle, always make sure no wires are rubbing against any parts that could chafe or tear them, causing a short. It was a tight squeeze running the headlight loom by the steering shaft and box. But with some good stainless steel fasteners, we did it right.When you’re running a wiring loom through any part of the vehicle, always make sure no wir We used a stick of 2x1⁄2-inch 6061 aluminum to make a battery hold-down on our dual battery box. The stick of aluminum was about $2 at our local metal supply store, and it will also hold some of the winch and battery cables. We will tap the aluminum and use stainless steel clamps to hold the wires in place.We used a stick of 2x1⁄2-inch 6061 aluminum to make a battery hold-down on our dual batter We are using new high-quality Bosch products for the starter, alternator, O2 sensors, and a few other components. We like the Bosch stuff because it’s not remanufactured Chinese junk that usually only lasts a year. We know the alternator and starter will give us years of dependable service even in the harshest conditions.We are using new high-quality Bosch products for the starter, alternator, O2 sensors, and We installed a new Digital Power Manager for our Optima dual battery setup. The easy-to-install manager is a weatherproof, solid-state dual battery control unit that automatically engages an auxiliary battery when a large load is placed on the vehicle’s main battery.We installed a new Digital Power Manager for our Optima dual battery setup. The easy-to-in t will not allow the electrical loads on the vehicle’s main start battery to drain the auxiliary battery.t will not allow the electrical loads on the vehicle’s main start battery to drain the aux SOURCES Vintage Air 18865 Goll Street San Antonio TX 78266 800-862-6658 www.vintageair.com Painless Performance 2501 Ludelle Street Fort Worth TX 76105 817-244-6212 www.painlessperformance.com Hotwire Auto (Squire Inc.) Mena AR 479-243-9115 www.hotwireauto.com Optima Batteries, Inc. 5757 N. Green Bay Ave. Milwaukee WI 53209 8-88/-867-8462 www.optimabatteries.com Bosch 38000 Hills Tech Drive Farmington Hills MI 48331 248-876-1000 www.bosch.com T And J Performance n/a 714-633-0991 www.tandjperformance.com Aqualu 435 Neave Court Kelowna AK 888-765-6714 www.aqualu.com Auto Meter Products 413 W. Elm St. Sycamore IL 60178 815-899-0801 www.autometer.com By Kevin McNulty Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
