Gone stand-alone, no PS or AAS. Ever wonder how many spare wires?
11-01-08, 11:32 PM
#1
Banned. I got OWNED!!!
Thread Starter
Gone stand-alone, no PS or AAS. Ever wonder how many spare wires?
Pulled these out of my front harness. Not for the faint of heart though as it requires being able to take the entire harness apart at once, feed it through the firewall after you have removed the entire interior. A ridiculous amount of work for very little gain. There were alot, I mean A TON of splices that are done inside the harness so it needs to be completely unwrapped to gain access to them. In case you were ever curious about the amount of wires that are in there, that are not needed for alot of cars, here it is.
11-02-08, 06:47 AM
#5
That wire nest pictured tells an interesting story about the life cycle of your car.
Since Mazda decided (much to their credit, I think) to install a full harness into every car, during the first half the the RX's history life was very simple for the ambitious owner.
I remember going junkyarding with a friend in the mid-nineties and finding a rear hatch with the wiper. How sweet it was that we could just bolt it on and viola!, all the necessary wiring was already there- along with mount points for reservoir, etc,- and the install was just like factory.
It was also possible to find functional AAS components, so basically it was possible to start with a base model car and end up with a fully optioned unit.
Now, much further down the road, the trend is to strip out much of the excess, the extra wiring- so convenient 15 years ago- is now seen as a liability.
No one is still lusting for the AAS upgrade and since most of the second gens have been relegated to "weekend toy" status, the (semi) useful rear wiper option is judged more on looks than necessity.
No real point to this...just an observation.
Since Mazda decided (much to their credit, I think) to install a full harness into every car, during the first half the the RX's history life was very simple for the ambitious owner.
I remember going junkyarding with a friend in the mid-nineties and finding a rear hatch with the wiper. How sweet it was that we could just bolt it on and viola!, all the necessary wiring was already there- along with mount points for reservoir, etc,- and the install was just like factory.
It was also possible to find functional AAS components, so basically it was possible to start with a base model car and end up with a fully optioned unit.
Now, much further down the road, the trend is to strip out much of the excess, the extra wiring- so convenient 15 years ago- is now seen as a liability.
No one is still lusting for the AAS upgrade and since most of the second gens have been relegated to "weekend toy" status, the (semi) useful rear wiper option is judged more on looks than necessity.
No real point to this...just an observation.
11-02-08, 10:23 AM
#7
Engine, Not Motor
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I've done similar to strip emissions harnesses down to nothing so that a rotary can be installed with the stock ECU in any car with nothing but a power and ground connection. A whole tonne of wiring comes out, but nothing like the body harness! Hell of a lot of work.
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11-02-08, 11:07 AM
#8
The mystery of the prize.
There were plenty better things I could have done with my time though, it's not worth it.
11-02-08, 03:48 PM
#10
Banned. I got OWNED!!!
Thread Starter
only a few pounds. The point was not for weight reduction. I can loose more weight after a few minutes on the can 
It was for cleanliness, & I'm more than a little OCD
Yeah it does. There are alot of connectors in the engine bay that are no longer needed once you've gone standalone. All my check, initial set, CAS, Coils, all that is gone gone gone.
Not concerned about heat or any of that crap, although it is exposed to alot of oil of you've ever owned CorkSport oil lines. Again, it was to tidy everything up and make life a little simpler.
I agree. I've already started stripping **** out from the other harnesses as well. Speaker wire, Cruise (although that's in the front harness) and like you said, all the wiring for the factory rear wiper and washer. I don't have one, won't use one becuase just like you said, I don't like the looks of it. Why have the wires there if they;re not needed? Just adds confusion and unneccessary potential rattles.
Yup, on and off for a week or so now
For weight reduction or simplicity, absolutely not. For a cleaner engine bay I suppose you could just snip the the connectors off and stuff the wiring back into the harness but to me and my OCD ways, that's not right so I just didn't do it.
It was for cleanliness, & I'm more than a little OCDThat wire nest pictured tells an interesting story about the life cycle of your car.
Since Mazda decided (much to their credit, I think) to install a full harness into every car, during the first half the the RX's history life was very simple for the ambitious owner.
I remember going junkyarding with a friend in the mid-nineties and finding a rear hatch with the wiper. How sweet it was that we could just bolt it on and viola!, all the necessary wiring was already there- along with mount points for reservoir, etc,- and the install was just like factory.
It was also possible to find functional AAS components, so basically it was possible to start with a base model car and end up with a fully optioned unit.
Now, much further down the road, the trend is to strip out much of the excess, the extra wiring- so convenient 15 years ago- is now seen as a liability.
No one is still lusting for the AAS upgrade and since most of the second gens have been relegated to "weekend toy" status, the (semi) useful rear wiper option is judged more on looks than necessity.
No real point to this...just an observation.
Since Mazda decided (much to their credit, I think) to install a full harness into every car, during the first half the the RX's history life was very simple for the ambitious owner.
I remember going junkyarding with a friend in the mid-nineties and finding a rear hatch with the wiper. How sweet it was that we could just bolt it on and viola!, all the necessary wiring was already there- along with mount points for reservoir, etc,- and the install was just like factory.
It was also possible to find functional AAS components, so basically it was possible to start with a base model car and end up with a fully optioned unit.
Now, much further down the road, the trend is to strip out much of the excess, the extra wiring- so convenient 15 years ago- is now seen as a liability.
No one is still lusting for the AAS upgrade and since most of the second gens have been relegated to "weekend toy" status, the (semi) useful rear wiper option is judged more on looks than necessity.
No real point to this...just an observation.
Yup, on and off for a week or so now
For weight reduction or simplicity, absolutely not. For a cleaner engine bay I suppose you could just snip the the connectors off and stuff the wiring back into the harness but to me and my OCD ways, that's not right so I just didn't do it.
11-02-08, 04:16 PM
#11
The mystery of the prize.
I've looked back on this project a few times now and I really think it's just not worth stripping the stock harnesses if yer just making a gutted simple fc based play car. If I did it again I'd order a painless wiring harness from painless performance: http://www.painlessperformance.com/ this replaces the old 80's chassis wiring mess, and use the standalone harness for the engine management wiring.
Even after you've stripped down the harness, it's still a wiring harness with 20 year old wires crimps and assorted junctions.
11-02-08, 09:16 PM
#12
Smoke moar
11-03-08, 06:29 AM
#15
BTW, RainX will do wonders for rear visibility (as well as forward, for that matter) in all but heavy snow conditions. The time I really long for the hatch wiper is during snowfall- about half my heating element is broken and the rear glass is a real snow magnet.
11-03-08, 07:05 AM
#16
The point I was making is that now that most of our cars are not DDs, useful accessories- like the rear wiper- are being discarded because of looks..."form over function", as it were.
BTW, RainX will do wonders for rear visibility (as well as forward, for that matter) in all but heavy snow conditions. The time I really long for the hatch wiper is during snowfall- about half my heating element is broken and the rear glass is a real snow magnet.
BTW, RainX will do wonders for rear visibility (as well as forward, for that matter) in all but heavy snow conditions. The time I really long for the hatch wiper is during snowfall- about half my heating element is broken and the rear glass is a real snow magnet.
You drive yours in the snow???
That's madness. It bothers me when my car is covered and there is snow just on the cover.
11-03-08, 09:47 AM
#19
Banned. I got OWNED!!!
Thread Starter
I'm generally a function over form guy but my car is not a DD. & she'll hardly ever see rain and definately not snow. I have a Lifted Cherokee for that 
As far as opening hte read hatch, a little grease on the hinges and the WD on the struts and my originals almost always have enough force to open them once popped.
As far as opening hte read hatch, a little grease on the hinges and the WD on the struts and my originals almost always have enough force to open them once popped.
11-03-08, 10:00 AM
#20
Just smear it on, let it sit a few minutes and then wipe off the excess with a rag.
While you're waiting, clean off the hatch surface that the seal seats against.
This will reduce the "stiction" of the seal dramatically.
First time I did this the hatch almost took off my jaw it opened so quickly.
11-03-08, 10:24 AM
#21
One more thing that can really help is treating the hatch seal with Vasoline.
Just smear it on, let it sit a few minutes and then wipe off the excess with a rag.
While you're waiting, clean off the hatch surface that the seal seats against.
This will reduce the "stiction" of the seal dramatically.
First time I did this the hatch almost took off my jaw it opened so quickly.
Just smear it on, let it sit a few minutes and then wipe off the excess with a rag.
While you're waiting, clean off the hatch surface that the seal seats against.
This will reduce the "stiction" of the seal dramatically.
First time I did this the hatch almost took off my jaw it opened so quickly.
11-03-08, 11:39 AM
#22
Emerald Triangle for life
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Vaseline may (temporarily) keep your weather seals from sticking, but it's a dust magnet and will cause the seals to break down more quickly. Use silicon spray lube instead. Just spray a little onto a shop rag and wipe your seals down with it. Repeat about once a year and you're good to go.
11-03-08, 12:15 PM
#23
Vaseline may (temporarily) keep your weather seals from sticking, but it's a dust magnet and will cause the seals to break down more quickly. Use silicon spray lube instead. Just spray a little onto a shop rag and wipe your seals down with it. Repeat about once a year and you're good to go.
There is absolutely no reason to expect that Vaseline (or generic petroleum jelly) would cause the seals to break down.
I've been using petroleum jelly on all my seals and interior plastics (yes, including the dashboard) for quite a while and, if anything, think that it repels rather than attracts dust.
I also prefer the matte finish it leaves to the artificial "wet look" that so many silicon based products produce.
11-03-08, 04:28 PM
#24
****** of disaster
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If I did it again I'd order a painless wiring harness from painless performance: http://www.painlessperformance.com/ this replaces the old 80's chassis wiring mess, and use the standalone harness for the engine management wiring.
Even after you've stripped down the harness, it's still a wiring harness with 20 year old wires crimps and assorted junctions.
Even after you've stripped down the harness, it's still a wiring harness with 20 year old wires crimps and assorted junctions.
