ry

for those of you guys out there...

i was told that the wiring harness is a plug-n-play type of thing. was also told that the hardest part of replacing it was getting it thru the firewall.

honestly i think he is full of BS!! NOTHING on this darn car is that easy! you know what i am talking about too. anyways... any tips or hints to make this process any easier then i think it will be????? :banghead:

mapman

ry,

There are several wiring harnesses on the car. The engine harness on my 1980, for example, plugs into a connector on the firewall. It doesn't go through the firewall. On the otherside of the firewall (under the dash) is the other side of the connector attached to another wiring harness.

Don't remove the current wiring. Buy high quality wiring harnesses specifically made for your car. The connectors on the new harness will be identical to the old harness - the wire color and gauge will be identical to the old harness. With the new harness alongside the old harness, unplug the old connector, and plug in the new connector.

I would get a catalog from Lectric Limited (search the archives for other vendors) and look at all the wiring harnesses available for your car.

The A.I.M. will also be a useful tool to help you determine how the wiring was originally routed. Wiring diagrams available from NCRS (and others) are very useful as well.


[Modified by mapman, 2:07 AM 1/28/2003]


[Modified by mapman, 2:08 AM 1/28/2003]

ry

when i first got the car i reversed the polarity on the battery... (didn't realize that red was ground and black was live) as far as i know the only one that needs replacement is the engine harness. but i could be wrong... has any one ever done this or am i the only idoit on the forum? :)

lyonsh

How do you know it's the engine harness? I'm not trying to flame you, but it sounds like you aren't really sure what the problem is - if that's the case, just throwing parts at it isn't likely to fix it.

Seldom does an entire harness burn out; in fact you may have just fried a fusible link - about a $5 repair. You need to get some diagnostic help and figure out what your problem really is before you start ordering harnesses.

Just my $0.02 :cheers:

ry

the fuseable like blew going to the starter. and i tried to reconnesct the wires but no luck. i used a multi-meter and the entire engine has power... but when i turn the key...nothing. no click or any thing. i just had a locksmith come out and replace the key ignition and already replaced the normal stuff (alt,batt., starter, and horn relay) and gave it a tune up (replaced all fluids, wires, distro. cap and rotor. ect.) anyways... looking at the diagrams the only thing i haven't replaced is the wiring harness. i called a mechanic and he told me to check some wire comeing from the key to the starter for current...but couldn't find the wire.

Mack

There are a number of harnesses in your car and you may end up replacing a bunch of them before you solve the problem. Or it may not solve the problem at all. By the time you pay for all the harnesses, you could have the car fixed by an automotive electrical shop. There's Wheat's down here in Lufkin. They have a pretty good reputation. There's Tanco on North street there, but I don't know anything about them. At least go talk to them. You may be able to talk them into going to the car (House call? :) ) an giving it a quick check to tell you what's wrong.

A C

Have you replaced the battery cables? This might sound strange, but in my Ranger, I had the same symptoms as you did....out of the blue. Turns out, even though my cables looked good and showed continuity on the ohmmeter, they were bad. I had given up and brought it to the dealer, and they even replaced the battery and did a few other things before they figured out it was actually the old cable. Just a thought.

AC

NHvette

Good point AC - I get that lots on my old cables with clamp on top term clamps.
They get oxidized at the connection, and pass a little current OK -
enough to run the radio,interior lights, etc. Then, when you turn the key to
start it, the whole thing goes dead.

I'm afraid the problem(s) (being that the battery was intalled backwards)
are too complicated to speculate from here. It sounds like you need a guru
at the car to solve this one quickly. I would bet on more than one issue here.
Also, any serious damage to the wiring harness should be visible in most cases.

I have pictures I took - 2 days ago - removing the fuse box and engine/front
wiring harnesses from the firewall. It's pretty easy to do, but the harnesses
aren't cheap, and they may not even be the problem. If yu are SURE you
want to replace it(them) - let me know and I'll get the pictures up.
:seeya


[Modified by NHvette, 12:27 AM 1/29/2003]

ry

thanks all for the info. i think ill change the battery wires and then just take it to an electrical shop and see if i can get a free estimate, and then go from there. is anyone near houston that knows this stuff? (thats where the car is) If i find out its the harness then ill prob. try to do it myself. i might have to take you up on your offer for the pics :) thanks again everyone