# Deere 140h3 Wiring Harness



## wba1949 (Jan 6, 2004)

Hello All! First of all I'd like to say that I've really enjoyed reading the posts on this site. Lots of great information and it's good to see many old faces that took a trip to Disneyland a few months back with me and others from GW. Great to meet new people as well..lots of talent!

My question is this....I bought an old 68' John Deere 140h3 with intentions of bringing the old girl back to glory with a partial rebuild and fresh paintjob. I can only say that this has been a learning experience and a costly one as well. You can only imagine the mess the wiring harness was in. I bought a service manual off the net to assist in rewiring the main harness and felt that the book, with all it's wiring schematics, each color-coded, would be a real asset in the rewiring process...WRONG! The old farmer that bought the tractor new was one of those guys that never replaced switches, terminals, fuses, etc. with original equipment. Everything was cut, spliced, bypassed, and jerry-rigged, lol! What a mess!

Well I finally replaced everything with original equipment and have all electrical circuits replaced and in proper perspective with one another. $$$! My question is (sorry this is so long) most of the wiring in this old girl was done with 16 gauge wire. I don't know what it came with originally, it had mostly been all replaced. Would there be any disadvantages in developing a complete new harness using a heavier gauge (14) wire for longevity? It's a 12 horse Kohler mag system. Was just curious as to your opinions on going to a heavier wire. Thanks for any/all suggestions! Bill


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## Michael (Sep 16, 2003)

Going from the orginal gauge wire to a heavier gauge wire can cause some problems. The biggest is the parts, switches, the starter relays and assorted other areas were all designed for the gauge wire with the proper resistance. By going to heavier gauge you decrease the resistance and you may decease the resistance which means more current at the electrical item and you may burn out the switch electrical item. I highly reconmend to keep it orginal with the gauge wire the tractor came with.


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## wba1949 (Jan 6, 2004)

Michael, Thanks for the reply. I haven't rewired the main harness yet. I had heard both pro's and con's concerning using a heavier wire. I think you're probably right on this matter and I guess I'll stick with the higher gauge wire. Thanks again for the response. Bill


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## Michael (Sep 16, 2003)

Your welcome!


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