1996 Ford Countour Wiring Harness Improvisation

Here is the factory wiring harness. Notice the spots where the red insulation has completely been corroded away. Ford wanted $91 for a complete engine wiring harness kit, which was the only way to replace this, so they said.

Here is a closeup of the plate that attaches directly to the positive battery terminal. Yes, that is bare wire you are seeing.

To creat the equivelent harness I made a trip to Lowes. After waiting for over twenty minutes for the guy who cuts bulk wire to show up, I ordered ten feet of 8 guage conduit (red insulation) along with two feet of 4 guage (black insulation). I also purchased two ground blocks to link all of these wires. Total cost, $12.

Here is my new harness. The two fuse block connectors I cut off of the old harness and spliced into this one. The short ground block (far left) is what connects to the battery.

Here's a closup of how I connected four 8 guage wires to a 4 guage and a single 8 guage. I used two wires on the battery side to try and equal the throughput of four 8 guage wires.

A closup of the opposite ends of the harness.

Connected to the main fuse block.

An overview of the wiring routing. The battery sits right above the red wires.

And here we are. A nifty way to save $79 dollars, I might add.