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Rebuild or simplify fc engine harness

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Old Oct 26, 2016 | 12:09 AM
  #1  
GreenMachine's Avatar
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From: Olds
Rebuild or simplify fc engine harness

I am going to install a adaptronic pnp ECU this winter into my s5 fc, my one concern is my engine harness, I have not taken it out of the car yet but I assume it is crispy and in need of at the very least some new insulation. Plus there are lots of unused connector for emissions, omp, o2 etc. (I run a simple setup)

Is there currently a company or somebody personally making fc harnesses? I've seen glimpses of fd products on this forum but nothing for fc. I would certainly consider buying one even if I had to ship my old harness abroad to reuse some hard to find connectors.

If no alternative to reusing my current harness exists then I will be looking to clean up my existing harness personally. Any body have experience, tips or pics to removing unneeded connectors?

The reason I am not really looking for a flying lead kit with the new ECU doesn't matter what brand is just shear cost of getting it done or complexity of doing it my self. I've been quoted $1000-1500 just for harness plus the ECU. Whereas the fd products I am referring to were in the 500 range.
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Old Oct 26, 2016 | 10:21 AM
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From: Mile High
Originally Posted by GreenMachine
Any body have experience, tips or pics to removing unneeded connectors?
*raises hand and waves frantically* Me! Me!, call on me!

I've pulled lots of wiring from cars in the yard and most of it has been fine. The outer wrap/loom/covering is frequently crispy and broken but the wires inside were fine.
Connector blocks are sometimes crumbly, depending on location.
Unneeded connectors imply unneeded wires and won't you be removing both?
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Old Oct 26, 2016 | 11:42 AM
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Yes im thinking just cleaning my current harness is going to be best, easiest and most cost effective, meaning more money for fun stuff like turbos haha. But when removing wires from the harness are there any words of caution or is it just snip what you think? or is it better to tread lightly and just remove the easiest non interconnected wires?

Im not really an electrician and dont know how simple or complex the wiring in these cars can be
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Old Oct 26, 2016 | 11:53 AM
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Clokker, can you point us to a reference somewhere on removing all the unneeded connectors? I am super new and purchased my car as a shell and it is getting slowly pieced together. I know there is ALOT of fluff in the efi harness and would like to thin it out. Thanks!!
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Old Oct 30, 2016 | 10:26 AM
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From: London, Ontario, Canada
Originally Posted by GreenMachine
Yes im thinking just cleaning my current harness is going to be best, easiest and most cost effective, meaning more money for fun stuff like turbos haha. But when removing wires from the harness are there any words of caution or is it just snip what you think? or is it better to tread lightly and just remove the easiest non interconnected wires?
OK, wait...Are you saying you want to upgrade the car and turbocharge it? If so, then don't bother messing with the stock harness yet. When you go to standalone, you'll be eliminating the EFI (emissions harness in the manual, the big one connecting to most parts of the engine) harness and replacing it with the standalone harness. So all those connectors will go away anyway.

Im not really an electrician and dont know how simple or complex the wiring in these cars can be
Electricians wire houses and have to adhere to a 100 year out of date electrical code that says things like wire nuts are acceptable. Car wise, making modifications to automotive wiring is nothing like and I have seen electricians perform some truly scary stuff when thinking they know how to wire a vehicle. So not being an electrician will be nothing but a bonus for you.

The nice thing is, for the most part, wiring in a standalone is just a matter of soldering/crimping the appropriate connectors to the appropriate wires. You will be surprised how simple it becomes when you are looking at a bare engine without any of the OEM wiring in place. All you have to do is connect up injectors, TPS, MAP, CLT, IAT, coils, CAS and power. The nice thing is that everyone on the forum is very helpful so if you get stuck, all it takes are a few pictures and a question.

Or if you decide to go with a standalone like the Megasquirt (I'd suggest MS3-Pro for the beginner) then complete guides exist:

How To Megasquirt Your 2nd Gen RX-7

Actually that guide is of great help to anyone installing a standalone because the procedure is largely the same car-wise.
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