White vinegar and table salt - let it soak for a few hours then rinse well with fresh water followed by boiled water.

Internet lore suggest that Ketchup is even better than vineger thank god I rarely eat it.

 

Good info on the "stakes" on the 2,3 & 6 pin conenctors Ben ! They looked as though they were heat staked, but obviously were not.....

As the insulation on the wires is usually embrittled with the heat I usually cut the old connector offf and use a new connector/pins.

I can confirm that the comb like stake for the 35 way connectors is the same as you found on the 25 way. They are off-white plastic, one each side, easily hooked out.

 

Not to be too much of a perfectionist but for the AMP ends I cannot find the different colors. The 78 harness has a brown, blue, lt gray and black connector. It would be nice to find these colors. Anyone have an idea?

As far as wire there is plenty of wire available. What would be a nice upgrade? And is it possible to find wire that matches the original colors with the correct stripes.

Thanks

 

Dan,
The original wire insulation is, I believe, PVC. It's junk. It doesn't take heat well and if crushed will give way and expose bare wires. Check out the wire from http://www.kayjayco.com/ I used the TXL type and even though it is the thinnest he has, it is tough and seems very durable. Many colors are available, but not in the color stripe type.

 

Eagleday.com has TXL wire in the correct DIN color coding. Make sure you tell them to measure lengths exactly, they sell by the meter ( 3.28 ft) and i had a few colors come up short of what i ordered. For example, i ordered 2 meters and they sent 1.8 meters and it happened on a few different wire colors. It's not a good thing when your wire comes up 200mm short of the sensor/connector. I think it's kinda BS selling it by the meter too, say for instance you need 4 feet, you end up buying 2 meters. That gets to be a waste of wire if you're ordering 20-some different colors/sizes. As far as i know ( and i have searched) Eagleday is the only place that offers DIN colored wires in less than bulk quantities. There are places you can get DIN wire at great prices but you have to order in 1000' reels.

 

Matt. Replace that old irritating crap with VW style units, they are much nicer, with press-clips either on the sides or the top.

 

The wealth of information on Rennlist is amazing. I am stuck with getting the injector connectors off, but this might be the ticket.

 

That procedure is to remove the terminal from the housing, not to separate the two housing pieces.

If you have removed the metal retainer and they still refuse to separate then they are simply stuck and need more persuasion.

Try wiggling, twisting and pulling. Be careful, they break or crumble easily.

 

Since this thread was started I've rebuilt a few harnesses.

IMO just replacing the plastic is only half the job, need to replace the metal pins too. Just cleaning them up is not going to ensure they are still making good contact. The spring pressure wears out over time and best to crimp on new ends.

I also use the newer style connectors with weatherpac style seals, no need for a boot.

 

You’ve probably said before, but where are you getting your connector parts?

I plan to “re-wire” my 86.5 soon.

 

I buy them wholesale through a friends company, very inexpensive and 100% Tyco/Amp brand, no knock-off's.

Roger sells them for a good price too.

You really need a good crimp tool to do the job right, I have this one for the non-weather pac style:


This one for the wather pac style:


Local guy used these for his engine:

I really like them, they are the "pull back" style and don't require the small rubber seals like the weatherpac's.
The only reason why I don't use them is I cannot find 3+ pin connectors in this style and I want them all to match.

 

Thanks Hacker.

I work in electronics and have access to all the proper crimpers and have sources for most connector parts. Problem is determining the correct pieces. Some connections warrant themselves to non OEM replacements and some don’t. Has anyone ever seen a cross reference from Porsche part to Tyco/Amp, etc.?

 

I understand, that's exactly what I want to do.

If that's the case, then it seems it's just easy to cut the wires just behind the connector since the terminals end is close to the connector end. Is that how you do it?

 

I have all the part numbers for the newest style connectors with the weatherpac seals and push to unlock / remove feature.

When I find that database I'll send it over.

That's what I do in most cases. Usually the exposed wire in the crimp isn't worth saving anyway.

I still pull out the metal tab since you will lose less wire that way.

I also make my own harness cover using this stuff and shrink tube:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/118/817/=helvat
I have a spool of every size.

I have enough materials to re-do 3-4 harnesses.

Next time I'm going to buy the sleeving that requires a hot knife to cut. This stuff I used is easier to cut but you have to seal the ends with something like shrink tubing or it will fray apart. Kind of annoying.
I used some military grade shrink tubing with a built in, heat activated seal. Overkill since the mesh sleeving isn't sealed....

Actually, my next harness will be for the track car and I plan to cover it with this:
http://www.designengineering.com/cat...eeve-tape-kits

 

Thanks, I'll give it a shot today.

I ordered some of this stuff: http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.e...php#heatresist