Anyone ever done a complete ZJ rewire?

[Galacon]

Ok, sorry for the copy/pasta- this is also up elsewhere, but I couldn't think of any better way to say it, so I cheated a bit If it can be moved to an advanced forum, I would appreciate it!!

So, the adventure begins again...

My kid and I have a 94 ZJ we've been cocking around with for years (since around 2004), and it's finally reached the point where we've decided to go FULL TILT BOOGIE on this beotch It's already lifted, reinforced, chopped, hacked, and butchered, lol.

I'm gonna start a Build thread as well, but for right now we need some advice: We are gonna gut this electrically, and put in an aftermarket ignition/fuel controller, as well as whatever else we need to do for bare-bones control functions. There will be a fuel cell with pump, interior battery, etc. Basically an off-road race setup, roll cage, seats/harness, etc. We've got a truss and beefy arms/axles for the front end as well.

We Don't Care about ABS, seat belts, lights, airbags, trans shifting, this sensor, that sensor, etc. The PCU is coming out, all I'm gonna save is the main fuse block, etc. This is strictly a mud/hill machine that will never see a road again, and may never even get shifted into D, and we can handle all that with the shifter. It's got a 42re, but was recently totally overhauled with a shift kit, so I'm gonna leave that in.

As far as I know, all we really need is Ignition/starting & fuel/injector controls, and Alternator/Charging systems. My concerns are steering & braking, as they are both power, and I'm not sure what kind of electronics they require (if any). 4WD also, I haven't figured out how to maintain the interconnect for that yet, but I believe it's strictly mechanical?

Anyone ever gone this far with a ZJ before? I've done it several times with older carburated machines like Ford & Chevy trucks, but never with something that was manufactured with all the power accessories and what-not like this critter. Here's what we have so far:



Any advice on where to look for quality but reasonable electrical parts & tech support for a build like this?

Thanks in advance, and Jeep On!

Glenn

[Ken L]

I have not done a re-wire (or unwire as it looks like you're trying to do) but I believe OverkillZJ has done something similar as his ZJ progressed from a driver to a buggy. Search his tech and see if he can offer any help. I haven't seen him on here for a while, so searching his archives may be your best bet.

Good luck with the project, and welcome!

[OverkillZJ]

I pretty much went wire by wire... I left a lot of the stock stuff intact, and just removed everything behind the firewall except for the brakes / turn signals / fuel pump. It was a lot of time with a voltage meter and a service manual, but I didn't remove everything / start over: the stock wiring was still there, just lightened up a good bit!

[Yjsaabman717]

Painless wiring makes some really nice hot rod harness kits that give you a good start with a fuse panel, pre-labelled wiring, etc.