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Wiring repair Question

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Old 05-24-2016, 05:02 PM
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Imjosh
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Default Wiring repair Question

On my new to me 84 944 there were a few hacked spots in the harness.

I've come across one spot that is a bit troublesome, this is the lead for the speed or reference sensor. The lead coming off the connector is 3 stranded wires this poorly soldered and spliced to the harness. When I looked closely I realized the harness is actually a 2 conductor with a stranded shield (I think).

So my question is whats the best way to repair this?


There are a couple of images here http://imgur.com/a/8vEAz

Thanks in advance for any help.
Old 05-24-2016, 05:16 PM
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Van
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Originally Posted by Imjosh

So my question is whats the best way to repair this?


Best way: http://www.lindseyracing.com/LR/Pors...4-HAR-REF.html

Cheapest way: soldering iron, razor blade and heat shrink tubing.
Old 05-24-2016, 06:23 PM
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mytrplseven
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Just buy a replacement and move on knowing it's not going to fail again.
Old 05-24-2016, 08:00 PM
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Imjosh
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I'm totally willing to give solder and heat shrink a shot...

My main issue is with the soldering of the 2 different wire types. 3 stranded conductor vs 2 conductor shielded. I guess I was really looking for tips on that front more than anything.

I'm confident in my soldering ability, just not in the amount of wire I have to play with. Hopefully I wont end up ** but if I do where does that new Lindsey harness tie in do you run it back to the DME?

Thanks
Old 05-25-2016, 01:26 AM
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Van
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If you're going to solder it up, trim everything back, keep it clean, and use flux.

If you use the Lindsey harness, it has pins that go right to the DME plug so the entire wire is replaced.
Old 05-25-2016, 10:23 AM
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V2Rocket
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The OEM wire is a 2-conductor shielded wire, the grounded end of the shielding hooks to an existing ground pin at the DME.

The Lindsey kit as Van said replaces the ENTIRE wire from DME pin to reference sensor.
They sure charge a lot of money for not a lot of money's worth of parts, but is your time NOT spent soldering worth the $80 premium? Up to you.
I hate soldering, so if I needed it urgently I'd just buy it.
Old 05-25-2016, 10:32 AM
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Imjosh
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Originally Posted by V2Rocket
The OEM wire is a 2-conductor shielded wire, the grounded end of the shielding hooks to an existing ground pin at the DME.

Since the shield is ground what are the chances I would be able to solder the 2 conductors and then ground the 3rd the conductor out of the connector to the mani where the bracket mounts.

I realize that this is not the "corrrect way" to do it, and I may very well end up buying the piece from lindsey. But I can be a bit of glutton for punishment and I'm curious.

The car is a low budget project/ toy so it's not an urgent matter by any means.
Old 05-25-2016, 11:19 AM
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V2Rocket
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It's better for the shield to ground at the DME end - this way it is "shielding" the signal conductors the whole length of the wire from sensor to DME.

There are a bunch of other wires running in the harness and the EMF could potentially mess with your signal.
Old 05-25-2016, 12:15 PM
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konakat
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If you want to do it yourself, just buy some shielded cable and replace the whole thing. There is no reason for there to be 3 conductors and those sensors really do need the shield to prevent running issues. Wire is cheap so put the effort into a good solution instead of fixing the previous owner's terrible solution.
Old 05-25-2016, 12:47 PM
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thomasmryan
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Any issues with installing the connector at the splice?
Old 05-25-2016, 01:11 PM
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Imjosh
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Originally Posted by thomasmryan
Any issues with installing the connector at the splice?
Not alot of room to work, but I have the intake off and will have the AOS off so I'll have the most possible room with the engine in the car...

It wouldn't reach back to the mounting bracket but I could figure something to support it.

Any tips on unpinning and repinning the connector?
Old 05-25-2016, 02:07 PM
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V2Rocket
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Originally Posted by Imjosh
Not alot of room to work, but I have the intake off and will have the AOS off so I'll have the most possible room with the engine in the car...

It wouldn't reach back to the mounting bracket but I could figure something to support it.

Any tips on unpinning and repinning the connector?
A regular "push pin" or a small eyeglasses screwdriver is sufficient to de-pin the DME plug.

Put some pressure from the backside of the plug on the wire (as if you were installing the pin to the plug), use your tool to push on the little "finger" on the pin, and then the pin slides out the back of the plug.
Old 05-25-2016, 02:22 PM
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thomasmryan
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The pins have a little tab. If you push the pin from the wire side, it will flatten it to be able to extract that particular wire. Bend the tab back up before you re-insert it. Like plug wires, do one at a time.

If the plug is brittle, Ian and others sell just the plug kit with a boot and new spades for a twenty spot.
Old 05-25-2016, 02:24 PM
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odonnell
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When I was in a rush to fix my messed up connectors one time (finals week, last semester of college) I cut out the connectors on both the harness and the sensors and used butt splices to complete the connections. I twisted up the ground sheath on both sides and shoved them into one of the splices and crimped it, and then used self-fusing tape around everything to waterproof it. Got me around for a few weeks until I started building the new harness for MS.

So really, as long as you complete all 3 connections and your unshielded area is small, you should realistically be fine. I'd go for a new connector on the harness side (I have URLs for buying the Bosch 3 pins online if you can't find it). Here's how I would have done mine if I wasn't in a rush:




...with heatshrink over the whole bundle. I forget what color those wires are, so I just made them up.

If you want to shield the area between the existing harness and the new connector, a cheap trick is to use aluminum foil (make sure it doesn't contact bare signal wires). You can use heatshrink to keep it in place. Then make an electrical connection between the foil and the sheath wire (orange in the above pic).
Old 05-25-2016, 03:56 PM
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PaulD_944S2
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It's really not that critical.

Cut back, strip and solder the two inner wires, maintaining the same colors.
Twist the shields from both wires together and solder.

Or you can butt splice the wires.

It's just not that critical. Period.



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