Eninge wiring harness

[bbh03]

Does anyone sell replacements? Mine (3.0) is hacked up pretty bad by the PO and I'm not sure it will pay to reinstall it when my rebuild is finished.

Thanks,

[Porschekid962]

Why not make your own? I am its pretty straightforward. Are you running cis, carbs, aftermarket stuff? I bought all the stuff at an electrical supply stuff, changing from the 14 pin connectors to sealed rotary connectors and its been pretty easy.

Ill post pics with the engine build once all the parts show up and get back from the machine shop. 'til then, best of luck.

[bbh03]

Sounds like an idea. Yeah I'm running CIS, but the ignition is direct coils. Please do post some pics and do you have pics or info on this rotary connector?

Thanks!

[Porschekid962]

I will be posting lots of pics as soon as my build gets underway. Just waiting for parts to come back from the machinist and the throttles and electronics to show up as well. Its getting tight but I will manage. Rotary connectors are very common in top flight motorsports. You can go all out and get Beru machined alu connectors with shielding or Deutsch connectors or the funky abs plastic ones I picked up for 22 dollars. The electrical shop is called du vac electronics dont know if they have a website. http://www.deutsch.co.uk/corporate/default.asp
those are silly expensive and overkill for what we need.

FWIW, I started with the stock engine harness and took it apart, took off all wrapping, tape or shrink and laid it out nicely on the bench. Then had a wiring diagram from a factory manual and from the PParts website to refer to. Also came up with my own diagram for what I think/thought would be then end result. You find some extra wires if you arent running a rear window defrost or cis (in my case) so you eliminate them. I would keep the CIS connectors for cold start and warm up and whatever else, then substitute the 14pin if you wish.

Just be patient, its not terribly difficult, you arent trying to eliminate relays or fuses or connectors so take your time. I wanted to relocate the connectors to another spot in the engine bay so I left every way much longer than needed and wont wrap it with shrink wrap until the motor is in and I can be sure of all the lengths I need. Sitting down with a couple diagrams and what you have and need for your engine and coming up with your own diagram help with understanding whats going on and what you need. Then you feel more confident in what you are doing as you cut wires and label them and so on and so forth. I went with my own colors partly because they were out of some that were used by the factory and because I really didnt care too much as long as it works, this car isnt stock by any imagination, but are any of ours?

The 14pins that are stock are nice but leave something to be desired. One I wanted to be able to firewall mount the connector, yes you can with 14 pin but its not that great. Its a pain to pull them apart and reconnect things as well. The newer stuff is great, cheap, available and easy to use. Plus it brings a look of professionalism into your car if you arent worried about stock stuff. Dunno, I like it, if its not for you then do your thing.

cheers, ryder

[bbh03]

Thanks for the info! What is the benefit of mounting the harness to the firewall rather than the stock location on the left side?

[Porschekid962]

Slightly less wiring, less weight, looks a lot better, keep in mind the rest of the engine electronics are in a seperate harness because of the ECU. I just think it looks a lot cleaner than that huge plate with the cheesy plastic cover, plus I didnt need all that space anymore and would rather mount my fuel pressure regulator there.

Cheers

[bbh03]

Aha. Where exactly on the firewall are you planning to put it? Also, are you planning on buying all new connectors, or are you going to reuse them off your old harness. I can seem to source them easily so far..

[David]

Here's a place I've been looking at for getting harness parts: http://www.eagleday.com/

[Porschekid962]

I am going to use all new connectors. Not a huge problem for me because the only things this harness is going into is the alternator, starter, voltage regulator, oil sensors, a ground and then it plugs into the chassis harness. The EFI harness is totally seperate. The only connectors this harness has is the rotary pin connector, spade connectors and the funky little connectors that to on the oil sensors.

As far as where it is going on the firewall has not been determined. Somewhere near the mounting plate for the coilpacks most likely. I am going to shorten the chassis harness and will probably just make a bracket or incorporate it with the coilpack mounts. So just imagine a large stainless steel plate in the back of the engine bay with 6 coilpacks, bosch ignitor modules and a rotary connector on it all looking very smart.

The right rear of the bay is getting the oil breather tank and the left side is getting the fuel filter, accumulator and pressure regulator so electronics are relegated to the rear, also this leaves the wires from the brain to the coils and engine shorter. Anyways best of luck with your mod.

[bbh03]

Looks like I have some planning to do myself as I have coil packs to mount as well. However, I may arrange it nicely on the left where the factory harness is. I have nothing else to put there anyway, unless there is a reason I should save that space for future "items"???

David, thats a good site, but looks a little pricey for plugs and such. I'll look around for cheaper places and post if I find one.

[David]

Here's my coil setup:





I'm also building a stripped down engine harness and separate EFI harness. Here's my plan for the engine harness:

[bbh03]

Are you missing a wire to the alternator? I think I remember 3 plus ground...

[bbh03]

Nevermind, looks like it is three contacts. Why is the small wire split into three?

BTW, nice setup. I have an older coilpack (3 larger coils) that would not fit in that location.

[Porschekid962]

David, does your alternator have an internal voltage regulator? Lucky you in that case if not dont omit it lol! FWIW on my harness the rotary connector is a little small for my likes so my power from the engine harness to body harness has its own connector just on the side. I will make lots of progress next week because I am on break from school so plenty of pics for all to see haha. Have a great weekend

[David]

I'm changing to a later 90 amp alternator so it'll be internally regulated.

[mtelliott]

My harness was so cooked that I actually got a new one from Porsche in Germany. Had to go to the local Porsche dealership to get one. Could I have rewired and what not, absolutely. But I didn't want to diagnose a problem if I screwed up a connection. For me, engines are easy, electronics are the hard part.

[David]

I'm trying to get motivated to start my engine harness. For those of you electrical experts out there, what type of wire should I use? I've had one recommendation to use Tefzal like Motec uses for their harnesses. They recommended getting it from Whitmore Electronics, but I haven't been able to find them. Any other ideas?

[bbh03]

I need to get back to this part of the project too. I've been procrastinating. I will probably go to some sort of Megasquirt EFI system plus electromotive for the ignition. Are there any wiring maps in existance already for this type of system?

[304065]

Tefzel (correct spelling) is widely used in the aviation industry. It is most usually available in white, which means you will need a wire labeling key like airplanes use. Also, tefzel has been suspected of arc tracking which is why it's no longer specified for commerical aircraft, these use TKT (teflon-kapton mixture). Way, way overkill for use in all but the most esoteric GT race cars where every ounce matters IMHO. It is in such a car, however, where one might be expected to find a MoTec box.

Here's the problem with "updating" electrical components: once you go off the beaten path it makes diagnosis for YOU and for any subsequent owner more difficult. If you ask me a question about which wire does which in the factory harness for a particular year I can probably whip out the diagram and tell you, which makes diagnosis easier. When considering a car for purchase, one of the first things to check is for original wiring. A couple times I've opened the trunk and seen all manner of crazy stuff, including replacement harnesses made with the same color wire for every circuit! Talk about angering the Porsche G_ds.

Anyway, my recommendation is that you go on the eagleday site or rhode island wiring and purchase identical metric wires and the 14-pin shell and pins from Pelican and fab an exact factory replacement, down to the exact colors, tracer color and diameter. Fabricating a new one will take a few hours but it will be worth it in the long term.

[David]

Originally posted by john_cramer Anyway, my recommendation is that you go on the eagleday site or rhode island wiring and purchase identical metric wires and the 14-pin shell and pins from Pelican and fab an exact factory replacement, down to the exact colors, tracer color and diameter. Fabricating a new one will take a few hours but it will be worth it in the long term. [/B]

This was my original plan as I've already purchased the 14 pin connector. I agree with keeping the wire colors the same even if I'll have less of them. I would like to have tinned copper wire, but the original harness didn't have it and it still worked when I pulled it off (most of the copper wires are green and black though).