Newbie Electrical Troubleshooting Questions

[gazzerr]

He shouldn't get pinged for duty. I think you can declare at least a $1000 AUD of value and you'll be fine. The shipping will probably be about $75 to $100 US each way. I wouldn't imagine anyone other than timmy2 doing that wiring. Do yourself a favor and just have timmy2 do you a section of harness at a time. The savings in grief will be worth the investment alone.

[911pcars]

Originally Posted by HarryD

You need to check the wiring diagrams since for some reasons, occasionaly the wire color will change at the connector.

Need wire, try Eagle Day (https://eagleday.stores.yahoo.net/elparandtool.html).

Yes. Thanks. Use the factory wiring diagram as a road map to duplicate (as much as possible).

[Adrock]

Originally Posted by timmy2

I would assume the person that did the conversion did not have the 100’or so different wire size and color combinations on hand.
Likely made their own wire map up with what they had...

Just some of my wire assortment.

Jeepers! 100 different colour wires! I would never have expected that the car had so many!

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[Adrock]

Originally Posted by gazzerr

He shouldn't get pinged for duty. I think you can declare at least a $1000 AUD of value and you'll be fine. The shipping will probably be about $75 to $100 US each way. I wouldn't imagine anyone other than timmy2 doing that wiring. Do yourself a favor and just have timmy2 do you a section of harness at a time. The savings in grief will be worth the investment alone.

Things have changed mate and there is no $1000 threshold where you don't get charged duty. I would get stung on conversion rates, GST and import duty, plus shipping. If I was paying a US person in USD, the cost is quite reasonable. After all the additional costs, it adds up to money I don't have at the moment. See post #1.

I have to mention that most things that I have tinkered with in the car so far seem to work just fine. There are some dash lights that don't work which I suspect may also have something to do with the side mirrors not being connected and other bits not connected up just yet. If I can get every thing working for the time being, then that will be fine. I can look at re wiring once the Porsche fund has been topped up and the car is running.

I pulled out all of the horrible plastic wire wrap that was in the car. Such an improvement already. Hahaha



I rebuilt an engine with no experience, rebuilt a transmission with no experience (but some help from a pro), im sure I can have a go at this and learn a lot in the process.

Now, back to my newbie questions. What harness wrap is best to neaten this mess up?

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[HarryD]

Originally Posted by Adrock

Things have changed mate and there is no $1000 threshold where you don't get charged duty. I would get stung on conversion rates, GST and import duty, plus shipping. If I was paying a US person in USD, the cost is quite reasonable. After all the additional costs, it adds up to money I don't have at the moment. See post #1.

I have to mention that most things that I have tinkered with in the car so far seem to work just fine. There are some dash lights that don't work which I suspect may also have something to do with the side mirrors not being connected and other bits not connected up just yet. If I can get every thing working for the time being, then that will be fine. I can look at re wiring once the Porsche fund has been topped up and the car is running.

I pulled out all of the horrible plastic wire wrap that was in the car. Sick an improvement already. Hahaha



I rebuilt an engine with no experience, rebuilt a transmission with no experience (but some help from a pro), im sure I can have a go at this and learn a lot in the process.

Now, back to my newbie questions. What harness wrap is best to neaten this mess up?

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Wow! That is a lot of Red wires!

I would recommend as you trace them, you label them with the starting and ending points for future reference. Some thing like:
Fuse 6 to Left Headlight; or
F6 to L1 (using the codes from the wiring diagram)

A quick look at Amazon shows several options. In my opinion, The tapes and braids look the most professional. The spiral wrap and split tubing is easy to use. Tie wraps are effective and easy but, at times, can look amateurish. In the end, I would defer to Dennis on this topic.

[tirwin]

I’ve been using techflex on wiring. Another idea is to use color coded heat shrink. You can get clear for protecting labels.

I’d suggest labeling your wiring with the naming convention used on the factory diagrams even if you don’t have the proper colors so you can match them up easier and avoid confusing yourself down the road when you forgot what this or that meant.

[timmy2]

Use anything suggested for wrapping up the mess.
Labels are very important.
Looking at the recent photo makes the original split loom look good!

[Adrock]

Originally Posted by tirwin

I’ve been using techflex on wiring. Another idea is to use color coded heat shrink. You can get clear for protecting labels.



I’d suggest labeling your wiring with the naming convention used on the factory diagrams even if you don’t have the proper colors so you can match them up easier and avoid confusing yourself down the road when you forgot what this or that meant.

Awesome! Great tips, thanks! I'll go out and buy a label machine this weekend.

Thought I'd try something easy and work out why the front right indicator wasn't working. Opened it up and found this. Lots of white oxidation or corrosion (?) I assume. It's rock hard and super hard to remove. Its all over the housing and connections. The globe was cemented in with this stuff. I had to smash it and pull it out with pliers. I cleaned it up and managed to get it working again but it's a bit hit and miss. Needs a proper clean. Wire brush on drill didn't work too well.



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[tirwin]

Is it possible the car came from someplace where they use road salt in the winter?

[Adrock]

Originally Posted by tirwin

Is it possible the car came from someplace where they use road salt in the winter?

It's a Japan car. I havent heard of them using salt in all the years I've been there in winter. I think I researched it as well and found they don't use salt.

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[3rd_gear_Ted]

IMO; Calcium Carbonate deposits from being by the ocean
soak in vinegar, clean with wire brush

[tirwin]

Huh. It looks odd. Only other thing I can think of is the kind of corrosion that comes from exposure to salt air.

Edit: Ted beat me to it.

[Adrock]

Also in the ignition box.
Funny, because I'm yet to find a single piece of rust on the car. Maybe it went for a swim at some point?

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[HarryD]

Tsunami car?

[3rd_gear_Ted]

Those low voltage circuit traces are the part most affected.
Next would be the termination points and the connectors.
Would advise identifying each functional block of circuitry with its associated wiring and approach in that type of focused manner.
The process of functional block elimination will allow the process to go faster after the first couple of hurdles.

I did this on a 35 ft boat with lots of electronic and electrical stuff, a 14 ft car is possible also.
Shout out to ORVAC electronics for parts support

[Adrock]

On the weekend, I did a quick whip around the frunk and put yellow tape on all the unconnected wires and wires that were joined poorly and needed attention. There was a lot of yellow!

Also thought I'd have a go at installing the side mirrors. I took the switch apart and gave it a clean out. Connected all the wires up to their matching colours in the new harness and it works! The only thing I wasn't sure about was the two brown wires. Will need to research further.


Also, does most of the wiring when complete, live behind the blower box? I assume I should be removing that so I can work on the wires behind it and then route them behind there once complete?

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[tirwin]

Yes, most of the wiring lives behind the blower box. I actually happen to have mine out right now so I’ll snap some pics for you later today.

[Adrock]

Originally Posted by tirwin

Yes, most of the wiring lives behind the blower box. I actually happen to have mine out right now so I’ll snap some pics for you later today.

You sir, are awesome! Thanks so much!!

Something else I wanted to ask everybody. What is the best option for crimping connectors? The last guy used the squeezy plier type and it looks super dodge and like they won't hold for very long. Any other options?

Also, this little wire junction box thing seems a bit average and the copper wire seems a bit exposed for my liking. Any better options for those?

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[HarryD]

Originally Posted by Adrock

You sir, are awesome! Thanks so much!!

Something else I wanted to ask everybody. What is the best option for crimping connectors? The last guy used the squeezy plier type and it looks super dodge and like they won't hold for very long. Any other options? .

I use these and then solder the critical joints. Be sure the wire is fully seated and the crimps are tight.

Also, this little wire junction box thing seems a bit average and the copper wire seems a bit exposed for my liking. Any better options for those?

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Those are actually very good connectors. I used to work at an airport and we require the use of those for connectors in place of wire nuts or crimps in our life safety systems. The wire need to be trimmed so they are fully covered by the insulator and not mangled inside the connector.

[timmy2]

Non insulated butt splices installed with the correct compression crimper and heat shrink is best for the singles. Solder the ends or install ferrules (again with correct tool) on the terminal wire ends and trim to fit properly as Harry mentioned. The copper strands compressed alone will eventually fatigue, break and come loose from the terminal.