Do truck manufacturers use standardized wiring harnesses regardless of the model?
Asked by
rojo (
24179
)
February 27th, 2017
Do they use the same harnesses whether it is a baseline model or a fully loaded model and just not put on the additional parts?
For instance if the model you bought did not have a backup camera but that is an option on other models and you wanted to come back and add one later could you do so by adding the camera and screen without needing to add all the wiring from front to back?
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4 Answers
A lot do nut it of course, depends. It’s much easier to use the same harness for each vehicle in the product line. It also makes upgrades easier. This type of thing came up frequently when I was a teenager working in a car audio installation shop.
I can tell you from personal experience – NO. My previous vehicle was a low end Chevy Silverado pickup. It had XM, but not navigation and not touch screen and not the fancy sound system.
When I wanted to upgrade to a different electronics console, I had to purchase an enhanced wiring harness for the audio side in order take advantage of the aftermarket stuff.
The cost of copper and labor for making harness means each one will made with least amount of wires and connections.
Yes, on heavy duty trucks from the same manufacturer, like International. It’s cheaper to make a single harness, and, like @ARE_you_kidding_me said, easier to upgrade. Some small vehicles are the same, like my Nissan pick-up. The truck came with a mono radio with one speaker. When I changed the radio to a stereo unit, the other speaker wire was already in the door where I had to install another speaker.
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