Where do I start?

Hi, wondering if you guys can shed some light on where I should start, I'm looking to build a complete set of looms for my car from scratch, but would you tend to have everything from 1 loom or create separate looms all together?

In my instance the car is used for drag only, however i need to keep it as close to road legal as possible (so i can enter street class), whilst eliminating any electrical circuits I can.

I know most of these devices will require a small loom for themselves but will also splice into other looms and thats where my mind goes foggy, I just see everything ending up as one loom.

Devices I have include motec m400, motec cdl3 dash, m&w pro14 cdi, ams2000 boost controller & its air compressor.

And fairly generic circuits include lights, indicators, 2x fans, 2 x water pumps, starter motor and maybe more.

Id like to keep wiring and relays to a minimum, looked at the motec pdm's but simply cant justify there cost, however a much cheaper version called pdm60 http://pdm60.com/ offers 60amps over 6 circuits, i can always use 2 of these and offers canbus.

I guess I just need some help seeing how my overall layout should look so I know where to start, currently working my way through the wiring course but wanted to start a discussion in the mean time, I do panel wiring at work so confident I can create a descent setup but at work Im handed a pack of wiring diagrams, schedules and core sheets to work from, Im currently trying to create the same paperwork in preparation to starting the wiring.

So far ive only created a simple spreadsheet of each pin on the main devices which I have attached to this topic.

cheers guys

There isn't strictly a single 'right' way to approach this sort of job. Personally I like to separate the wiring into an engine harness and a chassis harness. This in my mind makes the most sense to keep the systems separate and simplify the wiring. If you're wiring a dedicated drag car then your chassis harness is typically quite simple making this even easier.

The thing to keep in mind is that the engine is likely going to be in and out of the car with some kind of regularity so making it easy to do this from a wiring perspective makes sense - If budget allows then an autosport bulkhead connector is a smart option to streamline this.

Where you should start depends on what your comfortable with honestly. I like to do the engine portion first, then move to chassis stuff. I agree with Andre on using a bulkhead connector, however, Autosports connectors get pricey, so if already pushing the budget, you can go with a standard MS3474 connector as well. But, seeing the equipment you are using, budget may not be to huge of an issue for you, and in that case I would stick to Autosports (they are really nice).

Keeping it road legal is mainly lights and a horn, all very simple circuits. What you can do though to make life a little easier... Draw up all your circuits and awg sizes etc, then figure a way to make sub-harness for each branch. I.E. the gauges termed to a single deutsch connector... the headlights to a single deutsch connector etc... that way you can build each section individually and then tie them into the cabin harness at the end. There's slightly more planning involved, but when it comes to actual wiring, it would be much simpler to assemble.