Since I took the engine out to re-seal the oil pan, along with remove and replace some other things, I figured I'd simplify my ECU wiring harness while I'm at it.

This job started out alright, but after your hands get sticky and slippery it is no fun, now my back hurts and i have a gash on my finger and I'm only about 2/3 of the way done. Since I really don't have any emissions equipment or just about anything else for that matter I figured why not remove the un-needed wires and connectors from the harness. Now all I have to do is figure out what type of tape/wire covers I should use to finish this baby up, then i gotta tape the driver side harness back up.....I took a few pictures of my progress....soooo here they are

before:







during:



after:






now I just have to figure out what to use to tape it all back up, btw all of that took probably about 4-5 hours.

 

and the rest

 

Nice work Dan! I must say, you're a brave one

BTW, I like the "carpeting" job you did in the "garage" I spotted a sideskirt in that pic too. Ditch the harness, more pics of the car!!

 

I see a pair of jeans in the background, do you work with your jeans off?!
We want more pics of the car!!

-Alex

 

Actually that was right after i got changed for bed....it depends...I work naked when there aren't any shop objects that could cause permanent damage to certain body parts. Why do you wanat more pictures of the car? The engines out and it's on jack stands...if you insist I will take some tomorrow

 

Could you list everything that you removed with a very brief explanation why?
I take it either you live where there is no emissions testing or your car is a trailer queen? Nice work, good pics. Thats something I'd do. lol

Shane.

 

A friend of mine did the same thing, got the harness and started chopping away at worthless emmisions and sensors and other sh*t, he's running a single with a standalone so he can do that.

 

When I did mine Dan I wrapped it all back up in friction tape then went back over all of that with black duct tape. It's held up pretty well. I have a spair harness if you get into trouble along the line and need something.
Good luck.

-Chester Elegante'

 

pro'rotobot-boy: I'd have to check exactly which cables i removed, but I can tell you which ones i kept I have emissions testing where I live, and my car is definatley not a trailor queen. I'm still trying to figure out passing emissions....but I think i've got a solution. If it works out I will post what i did for that also.

Dave, I'm pretty sure I grabbed some friction tape at home depot along with just about every other style electrical tape, I'll give it a try. It's much thicker then regular electrical tape correct? I was just going to use some wire loom in certain places and regular electrical tape to hold it in place. You didn't use the loom and friction tape together I'm assuming?

Thanks,
Dan

 

looks good, ive been debating doing this or running a flying lead kit for my e6k, (i have the factory plug in harness adapter)

just be careful about the connectors when you put the wiring back in, they old ones can be brittle as hell

 

http://www.mcmaster.com/ctlg/loadpag...ne+Rubber+Tape

I used the 7643A45 tape. Works amazing, isn't sticky except to itself and can resist up to 500*.

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...n+manipulation

 

Dan...this may be a newb question...

Why are you wrapping it in tape, when you can use the plastic material seen at the end of the harness in this pic? Usually these plastic tubings are split down the middle too, so if you ever needed to gain access to a part of the harness, it wouldn't be hard to do. Plus I'd think that plastic stuff would do fine under the heat of the engine bay, no? I have my audio wires enclosed in it, and it's just fine... (this is assuming you're not already using that plastic tubing and wrapping THAT in tape, which case I'm curious why you'd do that as well )

~Ramy

 

Ramy, he may be doing a quick wrap with the tape (to keep it all tightly together) then using the plastic tubing with the split down the middle. Or completely wrapping it in tape and then the tubing. If that wasn't the plan and didn't think about doing that, you could.


EDIT: Nice work Scrub. Good luck with reinstalling it.

 

Thanks lol

 

I did that to mine also. There is a wire that is brown with a white line that mixed me up. It goes to the map senor and the tps. When i eleminated one of the connections it took out of the 2 places that was sopposed to go on the ECU. But thank fullly i put the harness back on the car and tried to fire it up before i wrapped it.

 

I've been doing mine with the engine still in the car and it's a PIA. Is there a pin out diagram that shows what is what?

 

No Dan, I really dont care for the loom stuff. Just tape on mine thanks.

 

Looks good dude, your engine bay should look nice when it's all done......

-Adam

 

Thanks everyone,
Adam,
your wiring harness will be mine!!
Ramy,
I am just wrapping it loosely to hold the wires together and mark spots where cables split off. I will be putting loom over some places then tape over the loom NOOB!
Dave,
I thought I didn't see any tape on yours...the Loom tends to keep everything a little more rigid, so I'll probably use it in some places.

Now I just have to re-solder a few lines that I messed up earlier when removing it with my new coldheat tool. I'll take more pictures when everything is done.

 

ROFL....Dan, did you buy that "Coldheat!" tool as seen on TV?? From hot to cool in seconds!

 

No Problem

 

Not sure when you mean Dan. I did mine maybe a month before I saw you last at the Maryland BBQ. Best of luck dude.

 

I did the same thing, But all I had to do was jump it from one pin on the ecu to the other. It took me a while to figure out what was wrong with my car. Power fc said all my sensors we F*ed.

 

Ramy hell yeah man!

Dave, sorry I meant i didn't see any loom on yours.

 

I did a similar job to the harness on my TII a while back. Looks like you're on the right path! I did mine shop manual in hand - I actually pulled ALL of the emissions-related wiring out, actually backed the pins out of the electrical connectors and totally eliminated the circuit altogether.

A lot of the wire is VERY greasy and sticky, as I'm sure you've discovered . I used Armor-All orange cleaning wipes - I actually use them for a ton of stuff, but they're really easy to use to clean up the goo and stuff off the wiring, making it a lot easier to handle and work with.

If you want to get extra nuts, DEI makes a "cool tape" that's an aluminized heat-reflective tape. I used it on my TII where the wiring went over the downpipe to minimize heat baking of the harness in that spot.

Mazda used a lot of PVC tubing over a lot of the 1 and 2 wire runs from the harness to the connectors - this is what ends up looking all crappy and getting brittle. Simply replacing that with split loom tubing and wrapping in tape goes a LONG way toward making the harness nicer. Make sure to use split loom tubing that can take the heat!

I've always used tons of 3M Super 33 electrical tape. The cheap stuff just doesn't cut it - that 3M tape does VERY well. I've found some self-fusing tape that works OK, but a lot of it is gummy, and ends up collecting a lot of dirt and grime over time - a slick tape sheds it much better.

Dale