As an owner of a car, I find myself becoming educated on the subject of automotive wiring. Since I am just about the last person who should be playing with anything that has electrical current running through it, I was hesitant to attempt to tackle the issue of automotive wiring.
However my vehicle decided otherwise when it started to randomly select electrical systems that it wanted to me tamper with. When the electric seat belts started to slide back and forth without reason as I drove down the highway, I decided I better figure out how to tamper with the electric systems, considering the exuberant rate of automotive repair.
I found myself with a decision to either, break down and spend $100 an hour for a so-called expert to look at it and try to repair it, or I could learn how the electrical system of my car worked. Considering my level of ignorance I probably was going to try to conquer the impossible. After all the only thing I knew about electrical systems is that AC/DC was a rock band and that dummies and wiring usually did not get along.
However despite my reluctance, I set out to learn what I could about automotive wiring. I quickly learned that there is a huge supply of information available on the subject of automotive wiring. A quick search on Google provided me with an array of information. There are many different levels of sites offering information.
Some sites provided a basic overview of the average electrical system of most cars. A company named Long Island Customs offered some great basic information. They stated that their information was simply for a basic understanding and not for a detailed explanation of particular models. However they actually provide some thorough information on basic systems such as AC and lighting. They also provide some great trouble shooting information.
Another site for general information on electrical systems is . This educational website offered general programs on electrical systems in their integrated publishing section.
considers itself the leading source of professional diagnostic information. They offer full diagnostic flow charts of automotive electrical systems. Their charts offer both system and component perspectives.
I found a great site for individual systems that covered all American made cars from 1985 to 2009.
breaks it down by system, such as headlights, computer data lines and AC systems. Their individualized charts start at $5.99. They also offer information on 1960-1984 models starting at $6.99. They print the information into an Adobe PDF document and offer rushed service guaranteed to provide you with the diagrams for your particular car in less than 24 hours.
offers a basic explanation of electrical information in an MS Word document; however they do not supply charts or schematics.
Two other sites that I found to offer great information were and . provides complete color diagnostics for most makes and models. What I found interesting(?) is freeauto will provide you these color automotive electrical charts and all the other information on their informative website for $11.99. They also assist you with basic electrical theory, electrical harnesses and test equipment.
offers a CD-ROM that contains wiring systems for every car from 1979 to 2009, for only $17.98. They also offer CD-ROMs and instant downloads for specific models of cars. They only charge $14.98 for this information.
I also decided to look around to see if I could find manufacturers’ manuals that offer automotive electrical diagrams for particular makes and models. What I found was that Haynes Auto Repair Manuals offer a repair manual for just about every major make and model of car. These thorough repair manuals explain every system on particular models in an easy to understand format. I found that these manuals offer electrical charts for their models. I found Haynes manuals available at several sources including their own website for $24.95 and Barnes and Nobles for $22.95 with a membership. The best deal I found on these manuals was Books-A-Million, who offers most Haynes manuals for only $16.45.
So whether you are like me and you don’t know the first thing about automotive electrical systems or even if you are educated in electrical systems you will find these sources to be of great help. If you still desire additional information you may want to contact your local car dealer or mechanic.
