Small bit of info for 83 owners - engine wiring harness differences
Small bit of info for 83 owners - engine wiring harness differences
In case anyone has ever looked for an engine wiring harness for an 83, please know that ONLY an 83 engine harness will work.
Reason being: In 1982, Mazda had a different alternator as well as a few other misc different sensors, etc. This means that there was a DIFFERENT PLUG for the alternator, etc. Also, the harness itself enters the engine bay on the drivers (US) side. In 83 Mazda changed the alt, etc and then there is the new plug for these items. Mazda also kept the Main plug and also kept the harness on the driver side. In 84 Mazda changed it up a bit, by changing the main plug (unhooks the harness itself from the rest of main wiring) and also changing to the passenger (US) side.
It is possible to use a 81-82 harness and just change alt and sensor plugs, if need be. Another option is to get an 84-85 plug and simply change the main plug and shorten some wires. Either way wouldnt really be ideal as some people dont know how to solder correctly and most others dont understand how crappy (normally) a crimp connector is. Granted, most times it wouldnt be a problem, until you start having some weird problem that seems like a vaccuum leak, but "just cant find it" for some reason. Finally tracing it down is the 3rd owner after you, realizing that the connection is the engine harness that you made was what the problem was and causing your rats nest to not work correctly (its a stretch I know, work with me here).
Yeah, so that is my rant about the half-series 83 (S2.5). But, lets not forget the 83.5!!! I doubt anything was changed there as I have not seen an 83 (I own an 83.5 - as per mazdatrix vin number on their site) I have not had a chance to compare differences between the two. I suppose its possible for an early 83 to have the 82 style harness, which is why it hooks right up for some people and others it doesnt. Perhaps this gives some insight on this annoyance that a few of us may have (or possibly will have sometime down the road). I hope me going off about this helps someone in the future.
IanS
Reason being: In 1982, Mazda had a different alternator as well as a few other misc different sensors, etc. This means that there was a DIFFERENT PLUG for the alternator, etc. Also, the harness itself enters the engine bay on the drivers (US) side. In 83 Mazda changed the alt, etc and then there is the new plug for these items. Mazda also kept the Main plug and also kept the harness on the driver side. In 84 Mazda changed it up a bit, by changing the main plug (unhooks the harness itself from the rest of main wiring) and also changing to the passenger (US) side.
It is possible to use a 81-82 harness and just change alt and sensor plugs, if need be. Another option is to get an 84-85 plug and simply change the main plug and shorten some wires. Either way wouldnt really be ideal as some people dont know how to solder correctly and most others dont understand how crappy (normally) a crimp connector is. Granted, most times it wouldnt be a problem, until you start having some weird problem that seems like a vaccuum leak, but "just cant find it" for some reason. Finally tracing it down is the 3rd owner after you, realizing that the connection is the engine harness that you made was what the problem was and causing your rats nest to not work correctly (its a stretch I know, work with me here).
Yeah, so that is my rant about the half-series 83 (S2.5). But, lets not forget the 83.5!!! I doubt anything was changed there as I have not seen an 83 (I own an 83.5 - as per mazdatrix vin number on their site) I have not had a chance to compare differences between the two. I suppose its possible for an early 83 to have the 82 style harness, which is why it hooks right up for some people and others it doesnt. Perhaps this gives some insight on this annoyance that a few of us may have (or possibly will have sometime down the road). I hope me going off about this helps someone in the future.
IanS
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Jul 1, 2023 04:40 PM