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I'm starting to get serious about my build's wiring harness design. The harness will be a hybrid of the LS3 crate motor harness from GM coupled to a DIY chassis harness. I've started diagramming using a Ticonderoga 2 and a oversize pad of paper but would prefer to use a simple, low cost (e.g., free) computer aided schematic design tool that has a short learning curve. This should speed the design process, save wear and tear on my Pink Pear and allow me to post pictures of problem areas so you folks can set me on the right path.

Any suggestions on what diagramming software to use?

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Cheers, Tom

My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."
Ultima Spyder, Northstar 4.0, Porsche G50/52

I just take photos of the schematics, then with ms paint, move the components around for the least amount of crossed wires and draw the wires.

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Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

90% of the schematics I do at work are done with AutoCAD basic.

its not super fast but it is an industry norm. I am not aware of a free harness design schematic editor. Most are for circuit boards.

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-STu

There is no shame in defeat, so long as the spirit is unconquered

My Build Log

I did mine with AutoCAD. Mostly because it was something I knew and had available. It was many separate pages broken down by functions, similar to the OEM schematic from my donor. You could do this on paper, like you started. BTW, there will be corrections and additions, guaranteed! Nothing says it HAS to be computer drawn. If you then want to store it in a computer, scan it in.

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

Here is one of mine. Helps to correlate to the ecm pin with shapes and colors. Note the lack of wire colors. Most all of mine were white (Ford festiva powered tricycle).

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Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

I did mine in PowerPoint.

I wimp out and draw all but the simplest circuits on separate sheets of paper. There's no need for an E-size spaghetti monster.

If I'm wiring or troubleshooting a taillight, any not-taillight wiring is just visual noise.

If you have more than one bulkhead passthrough, it's a good idea to indicate which one your wire goes through. Same for junction blocks.

I also draw the diagram with all the parts in more or less the same relationships to each other, not laid out "electrically." While putting the starter motor next to the rear seat belt pressure sensor might make for a nicely laid out drawing, it's not all that helpful when the two parts are actually five feet away from each other on the car...

Thanks for the input folks. Looks like lots of approaches out there. I did find an interesting free package called Scheme-it http://www.digikey.com/schemeit/# It's a web-based package that looks to be useful for harness design. Played with it a bit. Need to explore it more.

There is another freebie, DraftSight from Dassault Systemes, that provides an AutoCAD Basic-like capability. http://www.3ds.com/products-services/dr ... offerings/ More research needed here as well.

Nice work, Nick. Did you create all the symbols or are they a part of PowerPoint?

Creative!

This is kind of where I'm headed at this point. Trying to eat the elephant one bite at a time. Just working on primary power distribution and major functional blocks. So back to the Ticonderoga 2 and the Pink Pearl until I make some more progress.

_________________
Cheers, Tom

My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."
Ultima Spyder, Northstar 4.0, Porsche G50/52

I go through a few sheets of paper too, before using paint for the final effort.

_________________
Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

AutoCAD 2D isn't free, as far as I know, but because the friendly folks at Dassault Systemes love to challenge their competitors at AutoDESK, they've created their own version of AutoCAD and have made it available for free. It is known as DraftSight http://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight-cad-software/. The not-professional version is the free one, but contains more than most would need to do simple (and even many complex) sketches. Having a familiarity with how to use 90's and early 2000's era CAD programs will make this much easier to use, as the learning curve can be nearly a very tall brick wall if you've never used CAD before. I use it at work where we design cranes for reverse-compatibility with older prints, but it lets us keep using and updating those older prints without turning everything into a 3D model.

AutoCAD does have an add-on (also not free) that adds libraries to simplify the creation of electrical schematics. That doesn't really exist (that I know of) for DraftSight, which is where prior experience comes in, because you can build those libraries yourself. If you know how to use it, DraftSight is a fantastic free tool to add to your collection.

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My PRIMARY build log: http://www.midlana.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=678
For the best detail and discussion, see this log!

My LocostUSA build log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17917
A good snapshot of my progress. The LITE edition!

For years I've been using Visio, the flowchart software, for wiring diagram creation. I've created some incredibly complicated diagrams with it. It will reflow traces if you pull them around. Although electrical symbol libraries are available now, I still use the same non-symbol system I've always used.

I highly, highly recommend it.

Here are some small circuits, or close ups of a more complicated system.