As a retired marine electrician I really appreciate watching somebody who knows what they're doing and is happy to teach others. Now, if only they will listen.

A HEAT SHRINK LABEL MAKER?! WHERE HAS THAT BEEN MY WHOLE LIFE>!>?!

@ 2:27 "The optimization of laziness, cheapness, without sacrificing quality, the Holy Trifecta" - SUBSCRIBED

Bonus tip, heatshrink the ends of the nylon cable braid. This way it doesn't roll back and expose the wires, looks neat too! Also let's you label a bundle of wires like "Left headlight" or "Flux capacitor" :D

one thing i’d add, when you’re at the “how long does each wire need to be?” stage, it really helps to use bits of cheap rope and tape to find the routes that will determine the length, shape and look of the finished harness.

This is like the “casually explained” version of car wiring and I love it

2:25: 'The Holy Trifecta', love it 😂- Taz.

I run all the electronics on singer Porsches for a living and I love this video. it's got an amazing collection of information with a good sense of humor to help beginners get over the hill on learning how to wire up a car which I know from personal experience, is a huge challenge to overcome. Keep it coming! P.s. just as a side note, please please use something like DR-25 heart shrink and SCL/ ATUM adhesive heat shrinks in the engine bay for any engine bay harnesses that you plan to compete with and keep in the car for any extended duration as oils and heat can and will melt those wires and short them out over time. (Bonus points if you use tefzel wire too lmao)

"Is this a crack lighter?" LMFAO I came to the right channel.

this video is great, the presenting was spot on

Helpful tip with the Costco size bags of Zip-Ties is to rip the hole you pull them out of in the center of the bag instead of just ripping off the corner. That way they stay in during transport, and are still easy to pull out of the bag. Stupid little things that make a huge difference in your sanity.

Tip for making heat shrink labels hold up better over time is to use transparent heat shrink on top. A bit more work but totally worth it.

You would think someone like myself who is an avid lover of heat shrink and label making would know about heat shrink for label makers. I slapped my spacebar so hard and immediately bought some. This is a game-changer haha. Keep up the super informative content!

The best part is that I am never going to do it, yet I am watching it, liked it and subscribed for long. :D

Its past midnight, I'm not a car guy, I know almost nothing about electronics, and yet I was captivated with the entire video. Congratulations good sir.

Been a master auto technician, for most of my adult life. Found this very informative. Learned the most at the Chrysler factory schools. Loved the way they drew out their wiring diagrams. I straddle the fence between modern fleet vehicles and antique/classics. This info will come in handy, for both.

I am completely rewiring my 66 GTO and have watched many videos about wiring and electrical systems. This is, by far, the best one. Thank you!

So much good information here: before this video I did not know that heat shrink tubing label maker cartridges and SXL wire were a thing, and those aftermarket fuse boxes are great! Now have to go buy some stuff!

This. This is the video I've been looking for - I can diagnose car wiring, I've done most jobs on a car, and I've rewired entire buildings but there was something about rewiring a car that just seemed overwhelming and everytime I come close to going for it I get cold feet. Great video, I'm feeling much more confident and prepared - and it's great to have a list of well reviewed components

You sir have won the internet for me today. Randomly found you when looking for wiring harness in a car and I must say kudos to you for sharing these golden nuggets of wisdom in such a comprehensible way. Your subtle humor is through the roof and that makes learning much more enjoyable. Thank you so so much for making such quality videos! Immediately earned my subscription.

Watching Matt, i get this weird feeling i now know alot of stuff that i could of learned the hard way. The feeling is an absence of the pain and suffering, I normal experience when self-learning. Thanks Matt.

Quick tips: If you would like to use aluminum wire just go two sizes up and make sure you don't have your wires too tight if your in a cold climate. Remember that trying to measure resistance or continuity on a live circuit can damage your meter

seriously incredible video. I've never subscribed to someone just based on the quality of one video, but here we are. I love that you included all the little things like which pins to use and the label maker. those are the quality of life tips that so many people just forget about or don't bother mentioning

Matt I started watching your Jag videos in the middle of the night and I CAN'T STOP WATCHING. I need to get work done!!!! HELP!!!!! Matt you are a FANTASTIC teacher... Extreme Gratitude....

Man you have some really great content. Your style is exactly perfect. Glad I found your channel.

The little Crème brûlée gas torches are great for heat shrink, don't get too close though. Great video, I'm an auto electrician by trade and the way you do stuff is how it should be done on custom harnesses, nice work. You need decent crimpers though, if you're going to splash out get a set of ratchet crimpers and a jaw kit that'll cover everything from cheap plastic crap to the little tiny specialised ones in the weatherproof connectors.

I honestly loved this video. Funny but more importantly full of useful advice. The amount of information that you clearly explained in a 19 minute video is astounding. Great Job!

Another very informative video. I wired electrical panels and tested boilers for over 40 years, and still learned a thing or two.

Great video Matt, laughed out loud many times during it. Was unsure whether I wanted the hassle of building my own loom for our 205 track car, but after watching this I'm definitely going to give it a go.

I really appreciate the production value you put into your videos. I found your channel yesterday and have been binge watching as I find more and more applicable videos you have made.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate the snarky delivery of this video. Bravo

Love the troubleshooting tips, because it’s rare it all works the first time. Also, as an engineer, we used to always check ground to positive before applying power. Reduces fireworks.

Why am I watching the whole video, I don't even have a car or a driver's license

Great Content! When working with connectors, avoid orienting them vertically, as this can allow more opportunities for moisture to eventually seep in. On this note, keep the split in the "gutter" tubing on the bottom of your harness to allow gravity to help keep out moisture. Additionally, be mindful of wiring coming out and immediately bending out of the connector. Keeping an inch or two of slack before a bend will keep the torsion forces off of the connections. Source: 1 year automotive EE internship

I just loved your work! As an engineer, it's pretty harder to find people who know how to do their work in a simple and effective way, congratulations! Best regards from Brazil 🇧🇷

Matt - Just started rewiring a 1968 MG B with my 15 year old son. I look forward to working with my son on this project with and your video is greatly appreciated. Thanks for helping me teach him on how to do things right.!

Love the information and dry humor!

"or whatever, i'm not your Dad" Priceless!

Idk what I expected but this is a really great video. I’ve already wired my car using the same methods you highlighted after learning the hard way through making tons of mistakes. Through my wiring journey, I’ve made every mistake you can make from using cheap CCA wire, not using a diagram and having major circuit issues, and other major errors I wish I had known about wire types (SXL, GXL, TXL) and quality fuse/relay blocks beforehand. Having this video beforehand would have probably saved me 100 hours of labor and several hundred dollars in supplies. For anyone watching, take it from someone who has done this repeatedly. This is a really amazing video. Subscribed!!!

i wish this could be a series, i bet there is more information / demonstrations that would make all of this even better. keep up the amazing work

The long talks our team had when planning our harness paid off when we dropped 7 pounds from the previous year. The judges at comp were quite impressed by our minimalist take while also having automated active aero and a ETC I love just how much working on each part of the car gave me even more knowledge on my own projects at home now

Hey Matt, fellow FSAE-racecar enthusiast and retired member here. Really appreciated this video.But I think there are some points that I don't totally agree with. Those crimps you are using are OK, but not for ultra high longevity. I usally use those that also crimp over the insulation of the wire to make the crimp even stronger and to prevent further failure-points. Copper usually doens't like to bend over and over again (work hardening) and the wires will brake off after some time if they have a lot of movement in them - usually this isn't the case, but sometimes it does and then you have to re-crimp them every now and then. We had one single dude in our FSAE team that did all the wiring of the car and he made it after the guidelines of NASA. After he was finished the wiring was almost the nicest part of the whole car. Super-clean and super compact. Still it wasn't like we didn't have any wiring problems and so we had to retire from a few races because we lost some stupid sensor just before a race.... Happens even to the best of us -.- Keep the videos coming - I'll be watching :D

I have absolutely no experience working on electricals, but this guide made so much sense to me. Thank you Matt! You`re a great Teacher!

Watched again, and this is absolutely one of the best videos on preparing to wire your car. Good humor, too.

I have been an electronics tecnician since 1969 and you have done a good job here. The grounding section is the one so many people just don't know. This will help many out more than they know. I would suggest using a heat gun on shrink tubing. I have seen people catch the shrink on fire with a lighter. Of course as soon as they get comfortable with the way it shrinks and when to remove the heat there's can do a great job. I have even used my soldering iron before. Keep up the good work. Everything I have heard you say is very helpful for most people. I use the sealing shrink on cars because of the environment. It really works great. 👍👍👍👍👍😁👍👍👍👍😁😁💥💥

The thing I’ve learned pretty recently that has seemed pretty amazing is “solder seal” it’s heat shrink and solder in one and it’s easier to apply than crimping. Love em

Everyone who is new to wiring automotive needs to watch this. Quality information and quality parts recommended, very good.

I am deeply impressed. I have rewired several cars and trucks but nothing past 1970. Your points are spot on. I have had a 1957 GMC 100 pick up for 15 years and when I got it I dug out 15 wire nuts and about 70 feet of telephone wire. It is just bite off one thing at a time. I have wired a few Vintage Air A/C systems and that helped me understand the importance of proper relays, fuses, breakers etc. Great informative video here! Your car looks so much like my Triumph Spitfire! Bobby

Thanks for taking the time to make this video. Very helpful. I wired a motorcycle from scratch and learned a lot. There’s about 9 hours of me wiring connectors somewhere on the internet. Also used a Motogadget PDM to run the bike which was slick. Next up is my car resto-mod. I’ve definitely picked up some more tips from this video. Thanks again!

As the owner of a 1980s FIAT, I found this video super useful. Looks like I'll be redoing the wiring later this year. That shoukd.solve 95% of the issues.

Genuinely best video I’ve watched on wiring a car 👍

Excellent information. Where were you when I was rewiring my 1967 Series IIa SWB Land Rover? And the delivery of your pearls of wisdom? Dry and superbly articulated with just a pinch of humour. More please.

awesome channel, this is like automotive this old tony, 10/10

If the humor that really ratcheted up at the 12-15-minute mark was there from the beginning, I think I might have died watching this video. This is such awesome content.

I was an aircraft electrician and I know this stuff but you kept my attention the whole video, great presentation.

Finally, a thorough, tutorial on how to re-wire a car. and a parts spreadsheet to boot! Thanks .. Subed.

The Holy Trifecta👌

Great video, will add that for the insulated crimp on terminals you were using the wrong crimper, hence why your crimps wouldn't hold and the plastic sheath would slide off. Heat shrinking non insulated terminals are great too, little less bulky with fine wiring like that, slightly slower though. Overall, awesome job.

Thanks for the awesome video Matt! I'm finally getting around to wiring an old Datsun Pickup and really got a lot of inspiration from this video. I did want to put out there though that if you use the larger Bussman box with 40 fuses and 10 relays it takes tanged terminals not the ones listed in the spreadsheet. The tangless terminals just slip out of the holes. Just wanted to put this out there for anyone in same position.

You're old enough to call them Delphi? I'm old enough to still call them Packard or GM-Packard.

This video earned you a subscription XD

Great video. I am an electronics tech 3, 33 years experiance, and you did a great job with this.

I don't know how this video showed up in my feed but I'm so glad it did. I need to rewire my old Chevelle and I've been terrified of it. This helps. Thank you for doing this video.

For easily testing continuity with even a cheap multimeter you can use the "diode" option. I have a 10€ multimeter and it has the "diode" function. Simple turn the function on, stick the probes between whatever you are checking continuity on, and the meter should make a BEEP or flash some lights. No need to read the screen.

"Also get the little rubber condom so we can practice safe wiring" LMFAO Who is this guy?

I needed this video 10 years ago, live and learn.

@17:46 you were so proud of yourself getting through that straight faced.. love this channel

"The Holy Trifecta" - my kind of cost / quality / time triangle.

Holy shit I think I'm gonna sub and stay here. What did you do to make the Algorithm like you?

I own a suzuki sidekick 89, the previous owner turn it into a carbed, and just cut it all the wiring related to the TBI, you gave me courage to begin working on the wiring and labels so i can return it to the TBI system. Thanks a lot.

Texas A&M FSAE Team 2006 here… cheers buddy!

As much as I agree with starting fresh, I am into old landrovers with only 2 fuses. Oh, and first like and comment. Never been the one before.

thankfully taking time talking topically towards tesa taping through tesla testing....totally

This is great, Matt. I've watched most of this video 3 times already. Thanks for the link sheet as well, super helpful.

Matt gotta say I've watched a lot of videos pertaining to automotive or mechanics. Hands down your videos are the best, too the point, informative, and I get a good laugh thanks man!

Dude! Super helpful. I've wired a couple cars and while they worked "ok", they were really only a little better than when I rolled them over onto their wheels and drug them out of the woods. I'm about to wire an old Plymouth and my Locost and this is REALLY what I needed to get motivated. Thanks! Also, what car is the framed technical drawing of that's on the wall behind you? It's too small and blurry to ever figure out and it's sort of bugging me. If you tell me I won't have to drive out from Virginia and peer through your window with a drone to find out. Thanks in advance

“I’m not your dad.” Just what my dad would say.

This dude looks straight into my soul while delivering valuable info. Love it.

Almost time to wire up my Hilux and wasn't sure where to find parts, first google search and of course a superfastmatt video pops up and explains the exact stuff with links to the exact components I wanted! Thanks Matt!

I could make 10 memes out of this video alone. Awesome, thanks! "I'm old and I don't like change."

To much fuse is the wrong term. Really you want the smallest fuse with an over sized wire.

Your channel is pure gold. So happy to have stumbled across it. ALL HAIL THE ALGORITHM.

I’m working on my 1950chevy Fleetline wiring so it really help watching your videos thank you for your knowledge will keep learning thank you

How do avoid wiring with Soy or other rat food in it?

Noticed your lighter, cigar man?

I found my new favorite channel. Nice job!

Great presenting. Very honest and non bias.. Here's my bit, you can write on heat shrink, and it shrinks!

Wow, Great video! Just the right amount of humor and you are to the point and go through it fast. I will likely need to watch this a few times but that's fine. I'd rather pause re-watch than some people who take 10 min to explain something that can be done in a minute. I like your presentation so I subscribed and will be looking through your other videos.

I love the dry humour with useful information

Extremely well spoken! Thanks for your time.

Wow. Best video I've seen on general wiring. And that delivery, so smooth!

I have recently acquired a TVR Chimaera and 3 months ago didn't know what a coil was let alone get stuck into the massive cleanup required to get the beast from a neglected run down state into a running machine. Thanks to channels like yours I got stuck into it and am proud to be able to drive the car every day now. Still tons of work to be done but to think I could get a V8 up and running smoothly on a very tight budget is insane. The rewiring and cleaning up of rat nest wiring is up next and this video helps a lot. Thank you.

I watched this video twice. It’s getting better and better. I will watch it again and again until I love it! 😍🥂🌴🤸🏿‍♂️

This is incredible. I’m looking to fully rewire my continental. This helps a ton!

This is a video I didn't know I needed. First time watcher. Liked & subbed. Thanks!

Where to find wiring components was a really nice addition to this video.

Heat shrink label maker just blew my mind. How have I never seen one before? Great video btw.

Clear, concise, and a fun listen. Quality content

Awesome video, we need more content creators like you in the car community

You sir make a great teacher. I appreciate all your wisdom and will use it in the near future. Thanks for posting.