TXL for wire.
Crimp, 3:1 heat shrink with the glue inside (BMotorsports.com)
For connecting sections, GM weather/metripack are great. Easy to use in tight spaces. Basically the easiest IF you're going to crimp them yourself.



IMO don't bother making your own connectors. Get pre-made pigtails from BMotorsports, and just crimp in extension wire to get the 12in pigtails where they need to go. It's not THAT much more money (like $10 for a built pigtail, $4 for all the pieces), removes 100% of headache, and eliminates time spent doing wiring stuff.

Only downside, is that all the lead wires are black. But basic knowledge of the car, and multi-meter and retractable test leads can solve that equation quickly. Or, mark pin 1 (as indicated by OEM wiring diagrams) on each plug with a silver sharpie on both sides of the connector.



Another idea, strip down your harness to reveal the wires Mazda made for your brake lights, etc. Already the right size, length, and connectors.

I agree with everything you said except the pigtails. Making your own isn't bad, and looks better and fewer connections.

The big downside to pre-made pigtails is that you now have three times as many crimps in your harness, and that's three times as many places for it to fail. Also those splicing crimps are fatter than wires and if you don't want a big fat bundle in the middle of the harness you need to space them out which is a pain.

I have a box of deutsch AT-compatible connectors that I bought for use in the engine bay, they work well:

http://www.delcity.net/store/Deutsch...r-Kit/p_799834

The crimp tool that they sell also works really nicely.

TK and I have been making a bunch of adapter harnesses for the various things that I have connecting to my MS3 (LC-2, wideband CAN bus module, DL1 data logger, arduino, dash panel, EBC solenoid, etc). It's mostly molex .093 and .062 connectors which are cheap, easy to get, and easy to crimp. The downside is that they're not weatherproof, which is why it's only for stuff that lives under the dash.

--Ian

Link to molex stuff you use? I needs.

Here are the Molex pages:

.062: http://www.molex.com/molex/products/...e=Introduction

.093: http://www.molex.com/molex/products/...e=Introduction

The .093 is good for 9 or 10 amps, the .062 for 5. I mostly buy it at Fry's (brick and mortar), but Mouser carries it too.

--Ian

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I've got a lot of reading to do.