Taking out the main harness/ fusebox etc and engine harness.. Anyone done this ??help
03-23-05, 06:30 AM
#1
Taking out the main harness/ fusebox etc and engine harness.. Anyone done this ??help
Im probably going to swap wiring harness between my two cars....seems to me that rx7s seem to have the opposite qualities when looking at them.... especially after starting to take the engines out...
One looks like its been beat and the other looks like its been well taken care of .... The one that looks beat has only 113,000 miles but looks like everything is is worse condition (rust underhood in the engine bay and on the underbody etc) it was also running on one rotor
The clean car has 146,000 miles and everything under the hood looks cleaner and there is really not any rust anywhere, expecially on the body...the paint is very clean. When getting my engine rebuild , kevin(rotary resurrection), took it apart right in front of me, all my apex seeals were intact, the housings looked good, the only problem was a blown coolant seal on my front side housing ... but the main problem with the car is the wiring is toasted inside the car and all the wiring has been tampered with by someone (wires cut, wires spliced into, wires spliced into and ran into the fuse box, and the worst is the fried wires)..although i didnt really see any fried wires under the hood on any of the harnesses , it seems all the fried wires seem to be inside the car ...oh and the car never started up when the engine was in there before i took it out with all the bad wiring... it would turn over but wouldnt get any spark/ignition ...( power to crank angle sensor etc)
Im looking to defintely fix this and swap whatever i need between cars to make it start and run. If needed I can take some pictures to better show which wires have been toasted/melted.... i have no clue what could have caused these wires to ground out either...other than the fact that this guy had tampered with it all and left stray cut wires all over the place ready to ground out on the body...
One looks like its been beat and the other looks like its been well taken care of .... The one that looks beat has only 113,000 miles but looks like everything is is worse condition (rust underhood in the engine bay and on the underbody etc) it was also running on one rotor
The clean car has 146,000 miles and everything under the hood looks cleaner and there is really not any rust anywhere, expecially on the body...the paint is very clean. When getting my engine rebuild , kevin(rotary resurrection), took it apart right in front of me, all my apex seeals were intact, the housings looked good, the only problem was a blown coolant seal on my front side housing ... but the main problem with the car is the wiring is toasted inside the car and all the wiring has been tampered with by someone (wires cut, wires spliced into, wires spliced into and ran into the fuse box, and the worst is the fried wires)..although i didnt really see any fried wires under the hood on any of the harnesses , it seems all the fried wires seem to be inside the car ...oh and the car never started up when the engine was in there before i took it out with all the bad wiring... it would turn over but wouldnt get any spark/ignition ...( power to crank angle sensor etc)
Im looking to defintely fix this and swap whatever i need between cars to make it start and run. If needed I can take some pictures to better show which wires have been toasted/melted.... i have no clue what could have caused these wires to ground out either...other than the fact that this guy had tampered with it all and left stray cut wires all over the place ready to ground out on the body...
03-23-05, 08:58 AM
#2
Rotary Enthusiast
You have to pull off the dash board to get at the dash harness. The dashboard harness is secured to the dash board by plastic snap-in clips. The ECU or engine harness comes out by disconnecting at the ECU at every connector from that point.
Depending on the year/model cars, if they're S4 to S5, vice-versa or the car you're swapping into lacks or has options the other car doesn't, you may want to swap other harnesses.
Depending on the year/model cars, if they're S4 to S5, vice-versa or the car you're swapping into lacks or has options the other car doesn't, you may want to swap other harnesses.
03-23-05, 10:42 AM
#3
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well im currently in the middle of this right now and let me just say it sucks butthole. IF youre doing what i did anyway its pretty tough getting the entire harness(interior through the small firewall holes. Basically just take you're time and if you get frustrated easy then have someone else do it or maybe make someone else do it like youre good mechanic friend lol. It sucks, good luck have fun,kevin.
Last edited by Everlastingboost; 03-23-05 at 10:57 AM.
03-23-05, 10:48 AM
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to remove everything take off the dash and unclip the engine harness from main. Disconnect ecu and remove interior harness. Its not really all that hard just a pain when it comes to removing it through the firewall. Oh yeah if you have s4 then its probably a good idea to remove the passenger seat. Its easier that way to get to the ecu and stuff. The fusebox is also PITA but not impossible. I just took both my seats out and removed my dash and steering wheel as well, makes it alot easier. Good luck,
kevin.
kevin.
03-23-05, 11:19 AM
#5
Rotary Enthusiast
I have an S4 and getting at the ECU isn't a problem at all. You don't have to pull out the passenger seat to disconnect the ECU harness--though it would give you more space. The pain is getting at the plugs under the dash board before you can pull the ECU harness out.
03-23-05, 12:04 PM
#6
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It really helps to have two people while threading the engine harness through the firewall. One person on the engine side making sure the many plugs find their way through the hole in some sort of order, and the other to actually pull the stuff through on the inside. The entire dash does need to be removed to pull the harness completely as well. Also, I reccomend taking the time to label all the plugs, it just smooths the operation out when you are putting it back in.
03-23-05, 01:44 PM
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well i had to take my seat out to remove my ecu. I probably could have done it without removing the seat but it just makes it easier and the seat is what 4 bolts. I didnt label anything lol im so screwed when i put everythin back in ahahah good stuff.
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03-23-05, 08:29 PM
#8
Old Rotary Dog
As you are no doubt aware by now, there are several different harnesses. There's the engine harness, the emissions harness, the very large front harness, the dash harness, the rear harness, and an assorment of small side harnesses. Watch out for the terminology because not everyone calls them the same things (the front harness or emissions harness being often referred to as the engine harness).
If you are working on getting things back into shape, I would highly recommend going through the online wiring diagram (part of the FSM for the S4's, but not the S5's). The above recommendations about having some helping hands to get the emissions and front harnesses back in is dead on.
If your cars are S5's, the wiring diagrams can be ordered from MazdaComp for about $40. Well worth the investment.
Good luck,
-bill
If you are working on getting things back into shape, I would highly recommend going through the online wiring diagram (part of the FSM for the S4's, but not the S5's). The above recommendations about having some helping hands to get the emissions and front harnesses back in is dead on.
If your cars are S5's, the wiring diagrams can be ordered from MazdaComp for about $40. Well worth the investment.
Good luck,
-bill
Last edited by wrankin; 03-23-05 at 08:40 PM.
03-24-05, 05:35 AM
#9
Originally Posted by wrankin
As you are no doubt aware by now, there are several different harnesses. There's the engine harness, the emissions harness, the very large front harness, the dash harness, the rear harness, and an assorment of small side harnesses. Watch out for the terminology because not everyone calls them the same things (the front harness or emissions harness being often referred to as the engine harness).
If you are working on getting things back into shape, I would highly recommend going through the online wiring diagram (part of the FSM for the S4's, but not the S5's). The above recommendations about having some helping hands to get the emissions and front harnesses back in is dead on.
If your cars are S5's, the wiring diagrams can be ordered from MazdaComp for about $40. Well worth the investment.
Good luck,
-bill
If you are working on getting things back into shape, I would highly recommend going through the online wiring diagram (part of the FSM for the S4's, but not the S5's). The above recommendations about having some helping hands to get the emissions and front harnesses back in is dead on.
If your cars are S5's, the wiring diagrams can be ordered from MazdaComp for about $40. Well worth the investment.
Good luck,
-bill
03-24-05, 09:46 AM
#11
Originally Posted by cluosborne
Check the FAQ, it's available online, S4 and S5 with wiring diagrams.
03-24-05, 10:01 AM
#12
Rotary Enthusiast
Pictured diagrams, there are no instructions in the wiring diagrams section for removal/replacement.
If you want to buy one, the best suggestion is to check eBay for an original FSM since they are considered to have the best print quality.
Honestly, once you start work on this and get it back together, it's not as complex as you think. I reworked my dash wiring harness so I can run three auxiliary gauges and retain my idiot lights, which allowed me to use two existing fused circuits and only run four new wires.
If you want to buy one, the best suggestion is to check eBay for an original FSM since they are considered to have the best print quality.
Honestly, once you start work on this and get it back together, it's not as complex as you think. I reworked my dash wiring harness so I can run three auxiliary gauges and retain my idiot lights, which allowed me to use two existing fused circuits and only run four new wires.
03-24-05, 10:19 AM
#13
Originally Posted by cluosborne
Pictured diagrams, there are no instructions in the wiring diagrams section for removal/replacement.
If you want to buy one, the best suggestion is to check eBay for an original FSM since they are considered to have the best print quality.
Honestly, once you start work on this and get it back together, it's not as complex as you think. I reworked my dash wiring harness so I can run three auxiliary gauges and retain my idiot lights, which allowed me to use two existing fused circuits and only run four new wires.
If you want to buy one, the best suggestion is to check eBay for an original FSM since they are considered to have the best print quality.
Honestly, once you start work on this and get it back together, it's not as complex as you think. I reworked my dash wiring harness so I can run three auxiliary gauges and retain my idiot lights, which allowed me to use two existing fused circuits and only run four new wires.
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