to buy or not to buy.

[joegreen]

As some of you may know i am not getting good data from my ecm when i have my laptop plugged in and the engine running. right now my wiring harness is just a mess of wires and we think i am getting interference from my spark plug wires. I can take the harness out and get it all neatened up but i am seriously considering just getting a new harness. I hate buying things when i can make the thing i have work but here is why i am considering a new harness.

1. The wires will be new and clean. On my current harness the wires are all stiff and some of them are tarnished even when cutting back the casing around the wires.

2. I will have to unsolder some wires and rearrange them.

3. Some of my connectors that plug into the sensors are old, broken, or brittle. The new harness would have nice new plug ends.

What would you do in this situation. I dont have a problem fixing my old harness its just that i am contemplating the time required to fix it and then still having an old harness vs spending the money but having a known good harness. Thanks guys

when you guys did your tbi swaps what did you use. An old harness or a new harness. If you bought a new harness is there anything i should look out for. Where did you get yours? How much did you pay?

[fastacton]

There are plenty of original harnesses out there that are still in good condition. I rework them and I do come across quite a few that I wouldn't waste my time on, though. It just depends on how much time vs. money you want to spend and what kind of condition your harness is really in. Why would you have to unsolder and rearrange? Most of the connectors can be easily replaced (the CTS and distributor connectors are more difficult, but nothing solder and heat shronk can't take care of).

A few months ago, I reworked the chassis harness on my '75 280Z. Most of the wire looked like it was still brand new! Just because time has passed doesn't make something bad, but vehicles that were in hot climates and ran hot can do a number on wire along with chafing and other issues, so it just depends. I have found that some of the '94-95 harnesses seem to have lower quality insulation on the wires and are more likely to be a problem. I also don't like the harnesses in the '87 body style trucks just because they're not laid out as well.

[dave w]

Because I have the tools and parts, I would build myself a new harness.

Attached are some pics of a LS 5.3 harness I recently built.

dave w

[joegreen]

Because I have the tools and parts, I would build myself a new harness.

Attached are some pics of a LS 5.3 harness I recently built.

dave w

that harness came out awesome.

[joegreen]

There are plenty of original harnesses out there that are still in good condition. I rework them and I do come across quite a few that I wouldn't waste my time on, though. It just depends on how much time vs. money you want to spend and what kind of condition your harness is really in. Why would you have to unsolder and rearrange? Most of the connectors can be easily replaced (the CTS and distributor connectors are more difficult, but nothing solder and heat shronk can't take care of).

A few months ago, I reworked the chassis harness on my '75 280Z. Most of the wire looked like it was still brand new! Just because time has passed doesn't make something bad, but vehicles that were in hot climates and ran hot can do a number on wire along with chafing and other issues, so it just depends. I have found that some of the '94-95 harnesses seem to have lower quality insulation on the wires and are more likely to be a problem. I also don't like the harnesses in the '87 body style trucks just because they're not laid out as well.

Here is the condition of my harness. First off its from a 1987 v30. A lot of the wires are stiff to the point where you can bend them at any angle and they will stay. I know thats what wires do but its like the casing is heat bakes hard. I know i can buy new ends for the wire harness. A lot of the ends of the wires are sort of tarnished like they wont accept solder and flux wont clean them up. I will have to unsolder a lot of my connections so i can separate each circuit from each other like dave w's harness. I have to do a little research on harnesses but i am leaning toward a new harness. I am not thinking of the like $450 painless harness, i am thinking of those $250 harnesses. I like the idea of using the same wire color and style as the oem harnesses so that way i can troubleshoot if i need to. Also if anyone could make me a harness for a good price i could pay them. Again i am still thinking about it. Thanks guys

[dave w]

Wires that are stuck / baked together, I use non-chlorinated brake cleaner to get them flexible and unstuck. Spray the brake cleaner onto the stuck bundle of wires, then gently flex the bundle and the wires will loosen up and be free.

dave w

[joegreen]

Has anybody used a harness from http://fuelinjectionconnection.com/index.html. They look pretty good.

[joegreen]

I ordered my harness from fuel injection connection today. I called and ordered and it was $245 total with free shipping. Ill do an update when i recieve it as to the quality of the harness.

[joegreen]

Well my harness was ordered Wednesday around 3:30pm and it arrived today all the way from golden colorado. I cant believe how fast it came especially since it was shipped by the USPS and the fact i did not have to pay shipping. Anyway i dont have the harness in my possession yet because you had to sign for the package and i was not home at the time of delivery but i will pick it up from the post office tomorrow and ill give a short review with some pictures.

[joegreen]

I was surprised how long the harness was when i opened the box. I measured from where the end plugs into the ecm to the other end with all the plugs for the sensors and it is 7 feet and a couple inches. I have so much length i think i can mount my ecm under the bench seat and run the harness up the engine.

[dave w]

Lately, 18 AWG TXL wire is going for about $50 @ 1000 ft roll, slightly higher for stripped wire.

dave w

[joegreen]

I have some pics i might post up later tonight or tomorrow. I think the harness is a great value for the money. So far i am very pleased with how it looks and feels. Alot of the harnasses i see for sale are pretty basic as far as what sensors it is wired for. This harness comes with the a/c, egr, oil pressure, torque converter lockup, vss, ect on top of the standard map, tps, knock sensor, ect. I would have to sit down and write a list of each connection but i would say it is good for someone looking to replace their harness on their factory truck with all the factory sensors. Also i am not sure about this at all but they might have used the factory color coding on the wires. I would have to sit down with the pinout diagram to be sure. I am going to see if i can find a spot under my seat for the ecm but i am concerned about mice. I dont drive my truck every day and i have had mice in it a couple times making nests under my seat.

[fastacton]

Does it have a connector for a VSSB/DRAC? I wouldn't mount the ECM on the floor for multiple reasons and since you've had mice before, I'd stay away from under the seat. Under the dash or on a kick panel are my favorite locations.

[joegreen]

I do not believe it has the vssb/drac plug. This harness is for the earlier tbi. It has a two wire vss plug. I read the first page of the manual that came with the harness and it said they do use the same wire color coding as factory. Besides the mice why wouldn't you mount it on the floor. I am not even sure the harness is long enough to have the ecm under my seat but if i mount it on the firewall ill have 7ft of harness hanging out in the engine bay.

[fastacton]

The earlier TBI still used a DRAC, but most of them were built into the gauge cluster. I just looked at a Painless harness I have and it's the same way, I never noticed that before.

In the junkyards I sometimes see vans with the ECM mounted on the floor and they are normally in the worst condition with debris, mold and corrosion on them. If you get creative with the firewall pass-through location and routing of the harness, you shouldn't end up with too much extra length.