black bear e harness melted in extreme heat

[candyman74]

ive had about enough with this harness it blew another relay. luckily i ordered 12 more cause im going to make my own harness with direct leads not the wiring harness. the guy who builds them wired mine backwards as so i cant mount it with the mounting tabs of the relays to the pcm cover. also he used too small of wire. since the weather has cooled down i am able to run the truck and observe the harness without the hair on my hand melting and all works fine till i turn the ac on and the power wire on the ac relay gets really hot. i hooked everything up to the locations the wires say to mount them to. so just to give you an example if i turn my truck on then kick my ac on ,the relay thats in the middle which runs fan 2 on high will get extreamly hot and eventually blow. i have the smaller pully and voltage only goes down to 13.2 when both fans on high. now i know its not black bears doing its the suppliers.

 

[RonG423]

Guys let me introduce myself. Im Ron the harness builder for Blackbear. Some of you my know me from GMFullsize as ratt ron. Ive been in the auto electric industry for 17 years and design and develope all the high amp alternators for DB Electrical.

I like would appologize to anyone that has had and issue with the harness, I would also like to note those that have, have had them replaced without hesitation. Let me address each concern one at a time and Ill take care of this head on.

First Length:

Ive built every harness for Blackbear since day one dating back to about 2005 or 2006. I build them in lots of 20-30 at a time to keep them consistent in dimention and quality control upon bench testing before looming them up. Every harness(appox. 800-900) has been built by the same exact length, using the same brand wire everytime EXACTLY the same consistantly.

I think there is some of the confusion as to mounting and I think it has come from people looking how a Nelson harnesses are mounted and installed.

Here is how it was intended to be installed with the current layout. All connections are plenty long enough when installed as intended.

Melting Issues:

There are a few things that will cause this. A bad ground, insufficient low voltage causing resistance, tapping the WRONG green A/C wire, pushing the spade terminal out the backside of the relay terminal barely making connection when pulling a relay, or the possibilty of just a bad relay.

Since my first response, I have made alot of revisions to the harness.
First was doing away with the fuselink and adding sealed fuse holders.

Second Im using nickel plated steel 900* Molex ring terminals at the ground and pos. connections moving away from tinned alum.

Third I have reversed the layout for the harnesss to hang instead of sitting on the relay

Fourth Ive added a ground to reduce resistence.

Fifth was to lengthen the connection leads 4 inches.

The end result:

Candyman, once again I would like to appologize for you troubles and frustration and send you a updated replacement harness. Send me a pm with your address and Ill get one out for you if you want just lmk.

 

[sparks]

I'm curious as to how often both of your fans are on high. Even in 100+ degree weather my fans only trigger from temps after sitting still for a few minutes. Otherwise they rarely come on.

I replaced a leaky radiator, replaced thermostat, flushed coolant and even replaced my coolant temp sensor and the fans don't work as hard as before. Make sure you not treating a symptom to a bigger problem.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

good call, but honestly, my ac is on all the time, so its going to run in high mode more or less the entire time the truck is on

 

[RonG423]

caddyman. I recieved your message and tried to reply but I guess I dont have enough posts to pm anyone but a mod. I got your addy and the replacement will go out late today or early in the morning Tuesday, You'll have it 2-3 days.

 

[Riff Raff]

im looking to order a BB harness for my new e-fan set up

the only thing im afraid of is the 12v wire not being long enough

i dont have the red junction box next to alt.

its been moved

so i was gonna hook up 12v wire to my battery on drivers side

positive post on the battery is right next to fender

is the 12v wire long enough to reach there??

or can you make one with added length???

 

[BlackBearPerf]

im looking to order a BB harness for my new e-fan set up

the only thing im afraid of is the 12v wire not being long enough

i dont have the red junction box next to alt.

its been moved

so i was gonna hook up 12v wire to my battery on drivers side

positive post on the battery is right next to fender

is the 12v wire long enough to reach there??

or can you make one with added length???

Just sent you a PM!

 

[Riff Raff]

Thanks Julie

 

[chistoso]

Julie, I'm having issues with mine also. I just replaced the relays that went bad, twice in the last 3 months. The relay sockets are melting away gradually. How can I have the harness repaired or replaced? I also need the relays replaced. You guys recommend Beuler relays on your harness right.?

 

[BlackBearPerf]

Julie, I'm having issues with mine also. I just replaced the relays that went bad, twice in the last 3 months. The relay sockets are melting away gradually. How can I have the harness repaired or replaced? I also need the relays replaced. You guys recommend Beuler relays on your harness right.?

PM sent.

 

[JayXSP]

Put me on the list of harness issues as well. Yesterday the i turned the truck off and fans were still on low. So played with the A/C and finally got them to turn off. Drove the truck again and the fans stayed on again...this time i opened the hood and figured that maybe a relay was "stuck" so I tapped it and the fans shut off. Havent had time to run to the parts store to get replacement relays (keep in mind the harness is not even 3 months old). I get to work today and the fans stayed on again...this time i went to tap the relay and noticed it smelt like burning plastic...i immediately ripped the positive terminal off and looked at the harness...half of it is melted...luckily i saved it in time to be able to tape up the melted wires so at least the truck will not over heat...

wondering what would be the best plan of attack here...without rewireing the whole harness..

thanks
-Jay

 

[JennaBear]

Sounds like a bad ground. Please contact ls1fans.com and they will get you taken care of.

Black Bear Performance no longer supplies these harnesses.

 

[bottomline2000]

Put me on the list of harness issues as well. Yesterday the i turned the truck off and fans were still on low. So played with the A/C and finally got them to turn off. Drove the truck again and the fans stayed on again...this time i opened the hood and figured that maybe a relay was "stuck" so I tapped it and the fans shut off. Havent had time to run to the parts store to get replacement relays (keep in mind the harness is not even 3 months old). I get to work today and the fans stayed on again...this time i went to tap the relay and noticed it smelt like burning plastic...i immediately ripped the positive terminal off and looked at the harness...half of it is melted...luckily i saved it in time to be able to tape up the melted wires so at least the truck will not over heat...

wondering what would be the best plan of attack here...without rewireing the whole harness..

thanks
-Jay

Is your truck an 00-01?

Sent from my marble slab!

 

[candyman74]

new harness

i just installed the replacement harness and ill be damn if it didnt cut in and out. these need to be directly connected with terminals instead of the wiring harness. when i pushed the relays onto the harnesses it works so i electrical taped the shit out of it. if i had to do it over again id use the factory wiring harness. or i might start making my own with connectors only.

 

[JayXSP]

Thats weird cuz i installed mine over the weekend and haven't had any issues. Working as its supposed to

 

[tx tahoe z71]

Anyone have RonG423's contact info? Sent him a Pm on here and another couple of forums a week ago, but no word back.

My harness has melted and stopped working. Checked the relays, fans, ground and power, and had Wheatley command the fans on, no luck. Wanted to see if he would be willing to replace it or give me a discount on repurchasing one. Need to get this addressed as my truck is my DD.

 

[JennaBear]

ls1fans.com

 

[tx tahoe z71]

Thanks Jenna

 

[ferr1s]

Same Here

For the record, I've had the same issue but on a 2004 Tahoe. I've had 3 harnesses in the last 18 months and each one has had various changes to them. Justin sent me the 2nd one free of charge and the 3rd one I didn't have time to screw around, so I just ordered it online. Darn relays are hot like my wife, (except when the a/c isn't working becasue the fans are out!!!)

I've sent an email to ls1fans.com and am awaiting a reply.

 

[tx tahoe z71]

Ron emailed me back and we are figuring out how to get it working or get it replaced. I'll update as it progresses.

 

[tx tahoe z71]

Seeing if he will be willing to diagnose what is wrong with the harness if I pull it off and mail it back to him. Waiting on reply...