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View Full Version : Relocating harness to engine bay

TokyoNights
10-19-2005, 03:17 PM
Well the tuck up method wasnt working for me anymore so I decided to cut the main harness and resplice it back together in the engine bay. Im almost done but there are some wires that are the same exact color/stripes. Does it matter if I get them mixed up? I got a feeling alot of them are for the dome lights, sunroof ,seatbelts and other stuff like that which I dont have anymore anyway,,anyone have any insight on this?
btw its a s13 coupe, drivers side fender harness.
Ritz S14
10-19-2005, 03:22 PM
Of course it matters, that's why you should label your wires before you cut them.

For the wires that are the same color, try and match up the splice and wire gauge before just randomly connecting them together.
TokyoNights
10-19-2005, 05:06 PM
Im an impatient bastard I just cut the shit.
I figured if there were repeating wires there would have been stripes on them to differenciate them at least.

So I tried guessing and now my cruise lights are on all the time even with the keys out(dont have cruise anymore) and my plate lights dont work.
COOL!

http://www.d-faction.com/pictures/mike/wires%20004.jpg
gonna have to get my fsm back tomorrow and have som fun. :wackit:
revat619
10-19-2005, 05:08 PM
FWIW, this process is a MAJOR PAIN IN THE ASS even when you label them all. My friends and I will NEVER attempt to do this crap EVER again!

Your harness probably doesnt have as many wires as mine (98 s14 so OBDII) but on mine the only wires that had doubles were the wires for lighting. The headlights, foglights, turnsignals, corners...were all red with a blue wire. But best thing to do is just label them. Even then its still sucks, but atleast you dont mix stuff up. Good luck!
chmercer
10-19-2005, 05:21 PM
just do like 5 wires at a time and pick groups of wire that are obviously different so you cant mix anything up. thats what i did.
A Spec Products
10-19-2005, 05:41 PM
aww butt connectors?

laaazy bonez, break out the solder! :)

looks like fun
S13FREEAAK
10-19-2005, 05:46 PM
Now you have me excited, thats my next project I'm going to conquer. I kind of want my wipers back.
Ritz S14
10-19-2005, 05:57 PM
yeah buttconnectors really do suck. After time, if you dn't get a good crimp on the wire, they'll fall out.
240trainee
10-19-2005, 06:28 PM
Yea, I've already started fraying wire on my car, I was gonna get a section of harness out of a junkyard car, so I cna be cool and use the right color wires, lol. Was also gonna run the wires inside the frame instead of in the engine bay/ tucked between frame rail and fender. stealth baby!!! :rawk:
TokyoNights
10-19-2005, 06:33 PM
ha yeah I started soldering them and shrink tubing then I ran out of solder wire thats when I decided it was taking to long anyway so I busted out the butt connectors. Half assed I know but this was supposed to be an afternoon project and now its been 2 days plus Im laaaazy ;) .

But anyway its a little too late to label or do groups of wires, mabie someone will learn from my mistake. Tomorrow I have to figure out which wires are mixed up.

I agree revat, 120 butt connectors and 50ft of wire later, NEVER AGAIN! Im gonna pay some asshole to do it for me next time.
ootranceformeroo
10-19-2005, 08:38 PM
haha id do it if you were in norcal. its pretty easy. well at least on a s14 zenki. s14 koukis are bitches to work on. ahaha sorry jay. probably would have been less paintfull if you disconnected the harness and fished it out and ran it through the engine bay and fished it back into the car and reconnnected it but either way works. that way ypu dont have to connect a buncha wires.
sideview_180sx
10-19-2005, 09:30 PM
muah haha. my car (base model s13 manual windows/mirrors). Counted approx 51 wires. I went ahead and split the harness in two. One consists of like 15 wires that tucks above the seam and fender. The other mother of a harness goes through the engine bay. I need to get a better sodder and remove the crimps I have. To make is ricer-roni-riffic haha. Hey Logan it's not that bad. Took me about 3 hours (took my time, breaks, TV, stretching).
Dousan_PG
10-19-2005, 10:38 PM
just pull it out and route it thru. takes longer but a hell of a lot cleaner.
brokeAs240sx
10-19-2005, 10:49 PM
just pull it out and route it thru. takes longer but a hell of a lot cleaner.

What are the steps for pulling it out?

Do you disconnect it from the engine side or interior side? That fuse box is huge, I don't know how I'm gonna pull that through anything and route it along.

Thanks.
Dousan_PG
10-19-2005, 10:50 PM
iirc from the interior side. my friend did his, anothre friends and ..well if i want mine
but my motor is out so i might do it my self

takse him a few hours iirc. i forget. ill try and find out in about 2 weeks when im back in town.
ootranceformeroo
10-20-2005, 01:34 AM
- Remove the dash and disconnect the harness from the interior. Its screwed in with a bolt on each box then unplug it(should be behind the kicker panel).

- Cut any wires that "are in the way" or not part of the MAIN harness such as alarm wires if you have one etc. and label them so you can reconnect them later.

- Feed it through the the opening behind the dash(should fit w/o a problem).

- Pull the harness out and feed it through the engine bay(note: you will have to have some kind of cutting tool to make the hole bigger. Metal cutters will work and just cut the hole a little bigger) and feed it back into the firewall hole.

- Plug it back in and install the dash and you should be set.

Its simple but takes some time. You can also run it around the side instead of over the strut tower so its "hidden" and looks cleaner. Thats what I did and had about 6-8 inches of extra slack in the harness.
breakindrifts
10-20-2005, 02:47 AM
A good write up on this : http://www.sillbeer.com/fenderharness.php
ootranceformeroo
10-20-2005, 02:59 AM
A good write up on this : http://www.sillbeer.com/fenderharness.php

he already pulled it over the lip and is now relocating it to through the engine bay.
95zilvia
10-20-2005, 03:10 AM
Don't have any finished products pics, but here's how many wires i got to play with.
I used butt connectors too since I didnt know how to soder back then. But I staggered the setup so the connectors are only in 2 fatty sections instead of just one.

Here's some pics :P

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a195/onathan525/DSC00015.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a195/onathan525/DSC00014.jpg
hotrodv
10-20-2005, 04:36 AM
iirc from the interior side. my friend did his, anothre friends and ..well if i want mine
but my motor is out so i might do it my self

takse him a few hours iirc. i forget. ill try and find out in about 2 weeks when im back in town.
I've seen this way to relocate harness in a drift tengoku video, I think is the better solution..If I hit again this shit I will do that!
MurdarioStomp
10-20-2005, 12:18 PM
i can't imagine butt connectors being too great of a connection down the line...i know when i used to wire my stereo stuff in with em they always seemed to come out from the vibration...
chokudoriS13
10-20-2005, 12:49 PM
Why would you do the cutting method when you could have just pulled it through the dash and relocated? It would probably add up to a lot less effort.


- Feed it through the the opening behind the dash(should fit w/o a problem).



The biggest problem is the huge box the harness goes into under the dash. It will come out through the hole in the firewall, but it won't fit through the hole under the fender. You'll have to cut the metal a bit.
kazuo
10-20-2005, 01:17 PM
Not soldering = asking for trouble later on.

I personally dont trust butt connectors and don't use 'em anywhere in my car.

+1 for this being archived, lots of good info, and will prevent people from chopping their harnesses in the future.

Anyone got any info/pics regarding bashing parts of the frame to clear aggressive tire/rims?

Might as well add it to this if we gonna archive it.
MakotoS13
10-20-2005, 01:40 PM
jeez, i hate installing radios, screw that.
ootranceformeroo
10-20-2005, 02:12 PM
Why would you do the cutting method when you could have just pulled it through the dash and relocated? It would probably add up to a lot less effort.



The biggest problem is the huge box the harness goes into under the dash. It will come out through the hole in the firewall, but it won't fit through the hole under the fender. You'll have to cut the metal a bit.


I never cut my harness to relocate it. I meant you had to cut the hole under the fender(which you mentioned) so that box can fit through it. haha no way would i cut and reconnect ALL the wires. PITA if you ask me.
TokyoNights
10-20-2005, 05:32 PM
Yeah this was the retard way of doing it
live and learn
Didnt get my fsm back so I spent all day guessing and using a chiltons :cj:
Got most of the important stuff working but I dont have reverse lights, one high beam, pop ups dont work unless I press the button, no horn ( didnt have a button anyway). I left a bunch of shit unplugged and wrapped it up, I can live with it.
This crap put me in the worst mood for the past couple days. I might grab another harness from the junkyard and do it right sometime down the road.

As for who was asking about the hit points theres a bunch of them on a s13, my wells look like mashed potatoes.

I have a question though for the not cutting way you guys are saying reroute it through the engine bay then back through the firewall hole, that might work on a s14 but close to full lock on my s13 the tire is right across that hole,I even had to hammer that back. Harness would rub going there again.
The way I did it here is I drilled a new hole next to the clutch master and fed it through there.

EDIT: went to go on a night run and I guess the other high beam does come on.....when I press on the brakes. Im fucked.
ootranceformeroo
10-20-2005, 09:04 PM
yeha my power windows dont work, power door locks, sunroof and partly the AC(doesnt blow but when I drive, you can feel the AC)

Sucks about the windows and AC but i can live with the rest...
krustindumm
10-20-2005, 09:24 PM
Yea, I've already started fraying wire on my car, I was gonna get a section of harness out of a junkyard car, so I cna be cool and use the right color wires, lol. Was also gonna run the wires inside the frame instead of in the engine bay/ tucked between frame rail and fender. stealth baby!!! :rawk:

Did that on my civic, it's a pain in the ass, but well worth it.
chmercer
10-20-2005, 09:40 PM
anyone know how to get it out of the back part of the wheel well? i cut mine and put it up in the engine bay but it still rubs on that little back section.
BOROSUN
10-20-2005, 09:50 PM
increace resistance plus corrosion & heat

great
TokyoNights
10-20-2005, 10:12 PM
anyone know how to get it out of the back part of the wheel well? i cut mine and put it up in the engine bay but it still rubs on that little back section.
Should have done what I did while you still had it cut.
The way I did it here is I drilled a new hole next to the clutch master and fed it through there.