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View Full Version : Re-routing Wiring Harness


Heartwork
02-07-2005, 01:31 PM
heres some photos of the wiring harness relocation process....the pics dont seem to be all there, but it gives you a good idea whats involved...you can either cut and solder every wire back, or you can go with the unplugging and "stuffing" method..

i did this last year with help of the same person, Daniel (ootranceformeroo), and highly suggest relocating it if u have large wheels, slammed and whatever kind of driving you do because your harness will get fucked up! S14 guys arent as fortunate as the S13 guys who can just pull over the harness and tuck it...

-take dash apart
-unplug everything
-stuff it through the hole that the wire passes through from the fenders
-route it back to the front of the car
-pass it through the engine bay
-stuff it back into the hole (you're gonna have to make the hole bigger, use tin snips or a vise grip)
-route it back to the dash board and plug everything back
-put dash back together
-use some sort of caulk or build a cover for that hole where the harness passes through
-since the harness is only so short, you will have to lay the harness on top of your driver side strut mount (don't worry cause the hood wont crush it)

here is Mark's re-routing process with the unplugging and "stuffing"
http://www.driftunit.com/photos/S14/harness/

Fatlace
02-07-2005, 02:25 PM
thanks jerry, it did take a while.. i guess cause the pizza came. hehe.. it's definitely worth it.

Drunk Bastard
02-07-2005, 02:29 PM
couldnt you also move it higher up than where its originally mounted. Luke did this before he went crazy with wiring and engine bay cutting :rawk:

Doriftomodachi
02-07-2005, 02:29 PM
Nice! However, I just used some beefy zipties and ziptied the harness and hood cable up higher inside the fender well on my s14. There are 2 holes that will hold it up there and it doesn't rub at all.

Heartwork
02-07-2005, 02:50 PM
Nice! However, I just used some beefy zipties and ziptied the harness and hood cable up higher inside the fender well on my s14. There are 2 holes that will hold it up there and it doesn't rub at all.

me and four of my friends did this at first, but our cars are pretty slammed with big wheels and started noticing that our wiring harness kept getting eaten up...thats the key here, BIG WHEELS and LOW....if you u tucked it up like that chances are you arent low or have big wheels and/or both...we tucked up our harness when we had 17's and had no problems then, but then when we moved on to 18's or 45 series tires on 17's ourrness was getting eaten up

like i said, the S13 guys have the luxury of tucking it way up in their fender wheels and pulling down that sheet of metal to cover it...on the S14 there is nothing up there except a few holes to ziptie and where teh hood latch line follows

projectRDM
02-07-2005, 04:30 PM
I've never had to do that on either on my cars. There's a nice flat lip behind the fender, just drill a few holes in the lip and set the harness on top of it, instead of hanging underneath where it sits from the factory. It sits nicely behind the fender and is protected by the lip, which is double metal. At the rear edge I cut a triangular section of sheetmetal out to run it up. 18x9, +19s with 245s never came close to any of it. There's also no need to unplug, stretch, or cut anything in the harness.

Fatlace
02-08-2005, 12:39 AM
I've never had to do that on either on my cars. There's a nice flat lip behind the fender, just drill a few holes in the lip and set the harness on top of it, instead of hanging underneath where it sits from the factory. It sits nicely behind the fender and is protected by the lip, which is double metal. At the rear edge I cut a triangular section of sheetmetal out to run it up. 18x9, +19s with 245s never came close to any of it. There's also no need to unplug, stretch, or cut anything in the harness.

oh cool. more power to ya. 18x9 with 245s! wow, that's a chunky tire to be putting under there. anyways, jerry as well as the most of the crew drift our cars with tires tucked. at full counter, not only does the wiring harness get eaten up, but the paint burns right off the fenders.

i drift at this height. haven't adjusted my coils since install.
http://driftunit.com/team/arcenal/car_images/10.jpg

Doriftomodachi
02-08-2005, 12:51 AM
Wtf is 18x9.3 +13 et rear? Never seen a 9.3" wide wheel before. I saw it on the "drift unit" website. The fronts look like they stick out more than the rears in the top pic. You either have a typo on the website or you got some weird wheels. Just wondering about that. Nice car though =)

projectRDM
02-08-2005, 10:41 AM
oh cool. more power to ya. 18x9 with 245s! wow, that's a chunky tire to be putting under there. anyways, jerry as well as the most of the crew drift our cars with tires tucked. at full counter, not only does the wiring harness get eaten up, but the paint burns right off the fenders.



There's no need to be an ass, I was making a point that the amount of work that was done is not really necassary. With the harness tucked behind the lip, no amount of tire travel will ever come close to it, ever. The tires I was running came with the wheels, I have since gone down to a 225 for more clearance, and no, I'm not a DrIfTeR like you cool guys, I autocross and track my car as well as daily drive it.
Your 'holier than though' attitude because you drift is just stupid.

nigel1
02-08-2005, 12:23 PM
ouch :rofl:

Doriftomodachi
02-08-2005, 12:47 PM
me and four of my friends did this at first, but our cars are pretty slammed with big wheels and started noticing that our wiring harness kept getting eaten up...thats the key here, BIG WHEELS and LOW....if you u tucked it up like that chances are you arent low or have big wheels and/or both...we tucked up our harness when we had 17's and had no problems then, but then when we moved on to 18's or 45 series tires on 17's ourrness was getting eaten up

like i said, the S13 guys have the luxury of tucking it way up in their fender wheels and pulling down that sheet of metal to cover it...on the S14 there is nothing up there except a few holes to ziptie and where teh hood latch line follows

Personally, I don't think it matters. I rewired my harness high enough so that it is FLUSH with the frame rail. My coilovers are rated at 9/8 so i don't ever worry about compression allowing the tires to wear through the harness but hey it's a nice touch =)

Fatlace
02-08-2005, 12:53 PM
There's no need to be an ass, I was making a point that the amount of work that was done is not really necassary. With the harness tucked behind the lip, no amount of tire travel will ever come close to it, ever. The tires I was running came with the wheels, I have since gone down to a 225 for more clearance, and no, I'm not a DrIfTeR like you cool guys, I autocross and track my car as well as daily drive it.
Your 'holier than though' attitude because you drift is just stupid.

not trying to be an ass.. and yeah, 9.3 is a typo. oh.. and we autoX as well so if you're really pushing your car and if it's as low as mine, then yeah, you'll need to redo the wiring harness..

Heartwork
02-08-2005, 12:55 PM
more power to you guys who can tuck your wiring harness further up than me and my friends can. I didnt intend this to be a holier than thou DYI or drifting supremacy mod, but simpy some info on peopl who want to go the extra mile to hide their harnesses away from the fender wells...... i wish i can tuck my wires far enough, but my tires just keep eating up my harness so this was my only other choice without sacrificing other equipment i had on the car...

all is good :ughug: