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86 engine --> 88 body...dilema

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Old 04-05-10, 10:06 AM
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86 engine --> 88 body...dilema

Well....A short story, i owned a 86 na, and i bought a semi cleaner body from a 88, with the idea i can just drop my motor in and be ready to go....

Well, i was wrong.....

Here's what i have done, and realized i cant do unless i completely swap to a 88 intake and ecu setup....

The ecu i have is a N326 (out of the 86)


All the wiring thats left inside the 88 is a single wiring harness located where the ecu would be, this in my guess is the wiring for the coils/starting/charging and misc power wires ect........

Now my question is, is there away to make this work without striping the main harness of what i need (coil wires blah blah blah)

I have both cars..........Everything i need for the tranny, starter, headlights and coils appear to be inside the 1988...............However, it appears that the distributor wires are not run down the same side?

Basically i need to know what each wires in the 12 pin connector does, and where i can splice it into the 1986 harness....


Or would it be simpler to just pull the main harness and make it everything 1986.................................

Im lost, i did the engine/tranny swap in 4hrs, and took 8hrs the day before prepping everything..
I can get pictures of what i need to do.........

I found the service manual online, and i have one...But both seam to lack the information i need, or have completely different colored wires....(im looking for a 12pin connector with a corner pin thats Black/white stripe .....)







Ok....1986 na motor w/ n326 ecu transplaneted into a 1988 na...........Tell me how to redo the wiring for inside the car to work with my ecu...........

Ive owned this car for 4yrs, and it still runs...................
Old 04-05-10, 10:18 AM
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Somebody lied to you then and sold you an 89 RX7, or since you are talking about distributors you really have a 1985 gsl-se. 86- 88 should be a direct swap, no questions asked unless its a weird late 88 model. And exactly what distributor are you talking about?
Old 04-05-10, 10:26 AM
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thats what im thinking...............The distributor in the 86 is wired thru the drvier side behind the dash with 4wires (green,red,blue, and black?)
But, in the 88, there arent any distributor wires run thru the firewall on the driver side.......

Theres also 4 extra connectors on the engine harness that plug in behind the kick panel...which are not in the 88.............

There has to be a way to make it work

Would my best option be to buy the intake, engine harness and ecu from a 1988 and swap everything over?




I can get a picture of the plugs im talking about........

But the main harness where the ecu is for the 88---> what are the wires in the 12pin connector

And what are the wires in the 11pin connector on the 86........................

Money isnt a problem...........Just need a little insight and maybe put in the proper direction...
Old 04-05-10, 10:40 AM
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ok, it turns out, i was sold a 89 rx7, and swapped my 86 motor into it....

Guess im buying the injection system harness and ecu from an 89...........
Old 04-05-10, 11:25 AM
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If you are looking to get detailed wiring diagrams that include coloring of the wires, there is a website called "alldata.com" which can be very helpful but it cost around $20 for a one month subscription for just one make/model.

I also recently swapped an 86' engine into a 87' body and **** is just rolling downhill from there for me. But looking at your post, would I need to buy a 87' ecu and injection system harness even though it matches up beautifully? My problem was with the driver side wiring from the battery to the transmission and to the starter.
Old 04-05-10, 11:35 AM
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well, i dont know how to answer that...

Im guessing the driver side main harness would also differ from auto to manual....

Im missing distributor wires and alt wires...........And other than that, if i could figure out what this plug was, and what the wires did, and what the other 3-4 connectors on the 86 engine harness actually do...i could probably figure it out....

Im giving it a week, and if i cant figure it out...I have a buddy with a sbc 350.........
than i wont need a computer.......................................... .................................................. ......................i think...........



anyone who has done an 86-88 na motor into a 89, needs to come out of hiding and help me!!!!
Old 04-05-10, 12:04 PM
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well I guess im asking if both the engine and the car are originally manual transmission, shouldnt the wiring be exactly the same for 86-88 cars with the exception of anti-theft system?
Old 04-05-10, 12:26 PM
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dont destroy your 7 with a small block 350 lol
Old 04-05-10, 12:29 PM
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No. The series five and series four Front harness wiring is quite a bit different.

Plus if you put a series five EM harness on the engine and install a seires five ECU.........it won't work because the ECU is looking for a signal from the electric OMP which your series four engine does not have. The ECU will go into what they call limp mode after a short drive.

All series four and five wiring diagrams can be found in the FAQ thread on this site.

FYI.......The Engine harness is on the left side of the engine bay..........the EM harness is the one on the engine.........the Front harness runs from the passengers foot well to the drivers foot well, to the left side of the engine bay and across in front of the radiator area. The Rear harness goes where it's name implies plus also goes to the front left side of the drivers foot well.

You might buy a series five ECU with the EM harness. Then to overcome the ECU not seeing the lack of OMP, buy a device from Digital Tuning that overcomes this problem. Then god forbid, mix oil with your gasoline each and everytime you fll up and make a mess. What a drag and waste of time.
Old 04-05-10, 01:46 PM
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well what if I have a series 4 ecu in along with the series 4 harnesses in the engine bay?Or would I have to re-wire the whole car?
Old 04-05-10, 02:00 PM
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The series four EM harness will NOT connect to the series five FRONT harness unless a lot of dicing and spliciing is done. See wiring diagrams for which wires to slice and dice.
Old 04-05-10, 02:01 PM
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by the EM harness, you mean the driver side harness, right?
Old 04-05-10, 03:06 PM
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EM harness = emission harness. This is the harness that plugs into the ECU and runs along the passenger side of the engine bay to almost all of the engine electronics. On the driver side you have the engine (E) harness and the front (F) harness. The engine harness is largely for the starter, gauges, transmission switches & the front harness sort of ties everything together from all over the car.
Old 04-05-10, 03:17 PM
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I have a N350 ecu, and most of all the s5 n/a parts, if you want to buy some parts. PM me. Also it would be easier to switch front covers and run a omp. But imho your in way over your head.

Here's what has to be done.

1)Get the emissions harness for the motor 89-91 front cover with omp, ecu and injectors. S5 run high imp injectors. +12volts no resistor, the 86 (I believe runs a resistor box) Peak and hold. (Low imp)
2) Buy the intake manifold set up and throttle body with sensors.
Old 04-05-10, 06:45 PM
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well.......after 6hrs worth of pulling...

I pulled the main engine harness (the one with the headlights, and blah blah) from both cars and am currently working on swapping everything s5 out with my old s4 stuff.................................thank god for having a parts car..........................

Be posted for the why wont my car start thread....oh wait...no, im wiring it and checking to see if it cranks tomorrow.... than i can go for running a couple days later...
Old 04-05-10, 08:48 PM
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if you've got the S5 engine, just swap all the intake and crap on the S4 short block, no wiring, just fresh gaskets...
Old 04-05-10, 09:00 PM
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after you swap all the wiring from your 86 over to the 89, you'll have one of the best s5s around.

swap every thing even though some harnesses look the same. (like the little one behind the dash). swap idiot clusters, gauges, and the gauge surround with the blinker switches, etc.
Old 04-06-10, 09:59 AM
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Lol, one of the best s5's......i dunno....the engine paint got kinda dinged up putting the motor in, still looks clean..Ill have pictures and videos of everything...


Right now, i have the L2T2 coil, fuse box, that capacitor on the driver side by the clutch master cylinder, and a couple other wires hooked up.....It looks like the headlight and turns will all just plug in.....

I have the heater removed, the ac is still in, cause it was a little tight to get it out....
Just have to bolt the fuse box and the flasher box in, and run the wires to the passenger side.........

The rear harness (for the taillights) actuall wraps around the rear of the car, i have it torn out of the 86 and ready to go into the 89....The only thing i need to do after everything is in, is trace the entire harness and look for the little ground inside the vehicle....

all in all, im about 12-14hrs into the swap, most of which was spent pulling the main harness out of both vehicles, Im really thankful for my younger brother helping me out, it went alot faster with 2 ppl..




Ive had the 86 for about 3-4 yrs now...it has a new act clutch, 75,000mile tranny and about 90,000 on the motor.....Most everything is new in it........And i actually managed to turbo it a few years back....i know, i know.....Who turbo's a 6port....
Well, when its streetported makes it alot easier, its a .50/1.14 t4, 2.5" dp, 50mm wastegate and a 255ltr/hr walbro pump.....not to mention the IC and all that other fun stuff.....

time to do work.........................
Old 04-06-10, 12:53 PM
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aaroncake turbocharges 6ports, quite well actualy....
Old 04-08-10, 10:32 AM
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Originally Posted by gear_grinder
aaroncake turbocharges 6ports, quite well actualy....
Yeah, i wasnt planning on putting a turbo on it, but than i lost my license for 2yrs and had all kinds of time and excess money...and Aaron's 6port was the whole basis of my build.....Granted i didnt have to notch the frame.....i bought a different manifold and just flipd it upside down and got rid of the clearance issue....

Ive drove it 2 and from storage in the past year......its definantly put together, minus the little things like popping hoses off and blowing exh mani gaskets...

Anyway, im about 3hrs away from have the whole car wired up.....
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