Chevy LS Stand-Alone Engine Wiring & Swap Harness

LS Engine Stand-Alone & LS Swap Wiring Harnesses

Whether you’re doing an LS engine swap or working on the LS motor already in your ride, you won’t get far without a good electrical system. That’s why many gearheads opt for a new stand-alone wiring harness.

What is a Stand-Alone Wiring Harness?

A stand-alone LS wiring harness kit is a complete replacement for that original engine electrical harness, using all-new components that’ll eliminate the complications and frustrations that often come from using the old, original engine wiring.

Stand-alone LS engine wiring harness kits are available for the 4.8, 5.3, 5.7, 6.0, and 6.2 liter versions of the LS engine.

Why Use a Stand-Alone Wiring Harness?

If you’re pulling your LS swap engine from a junkyard, it’s going to be several years old already, which means the factory wiring harness will probably be pretty worn out—if it’s not missing or hacked up by the previous owner to begin with. And if you have any problems removing the LS from the vehicle, there’s a good chance you’ll snap a few connectors and break some wires in the process.

An all-new stand-alone wiring harness means you don’t have to worry about creating any electrical gremlins by re-using the worn-out original LS wiring. Instead of fiddling with brittle connectors and wires, by using a fresh stand-alone wiring harness for your LS engine swap, you get all new, reliable components.

Better still, many of the LS stand alone wiring harnesses you’ll find at Summit Racing have improved labeling, easy-to-follow instructions, and color-coded wires to really help simplify your LS swap or LS electrical repair.

And stand-alone LS wiring harnesses are often cross-compatible with several engines in the LS family as well, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of picking the best wiring harness for your particular LS engine.

What Does a Stand-Alone LS Wiring Harness Include?

Depending on the exact one you choose, a stand-alone LS wiring harness will typically include all the essential wiring and connectors you need to hook up the individual engine components (like the vehicle ECU, injectors, crank/cam sensors, etc.) and get your LS motor running. Many of these LS stand-alone harnesses come with OE-style connectors so you can retain the original factory LS electrical components too.

While all harnesses here are different, it’s likely that you’ll probably need to provide things like your own ECU, sensors, coil packs, and other necessary electrical system components—but to be sure, please check each specific harness’ product overview page for exact details on what’s included.

How to Choose the Best LS Stand Alone Wiring Harness Kit

For starters, you should determine the exact LS motor you have—because there are dozens of different variations of the Gen. 3 and Gen. 4 LS engines in 4.8, 5.3, 5.7, 6.0, and 6.2 liter displacements. We have a handy LS Engine Identification Guide to help you out.

A big distinction you’ll also have to recognize is whether you’ve got a drive-by-wire throttle body or a drive-by-cable mechanical throttle body, and since they may use different connectors, knowing the type of fuel injector you have in your LS is vital as well.

Next, you should also consider what transmission you’re using with your LS engine. An electronically controlled automatic transmission will have different wiring demands than a manual transmission.

Again, the good news with using many stand-alone wiring harnesses is that there may be some cross-compatibility between different variations within the LS engine family. But always check to confirm that the wiring harness you’re looking at is the best one for your needs. The Summit Racing tech department will gladly help answer that question.

What About Sub-Harnesses for Other LS Electrical Systems?

If you’re just repairing your LS engine’s wiring, the good news is that you may not need to replace your complete stock engine harness. The better news is that Summit Racing offers several sub-harnesses for connecting things like your ignition coil packs, brake ABS sensors, and more.

In many cases, you simply remove the OE sub-harness from the rest of the main harness and replace it with the new one. These new sub-harnesses for the LS typically use factory-style connectors for an easy, plug-and-play install—one that will save you the hassle and expense of replacing the entire engine writing harness too.