bureau13

Do these come all in once piece, with the plug that connects to the barrel connector in the wheel well? Or is there an intermediate connection somewhere? None of the diagrams I see make this clear to me for some reason.

worf928

Each is one piece with the o-ringed connector for the 'barrel.' Then... the barrel is connected to a short harness with a barrel at the other end. These four 'short' harnesses plug the body harness. The other end of the short harness (with the other barrel) are: in the front next to the shock towers and in the rear in the spare tire compartment.

HTH.

EDIT: Made text more clear. Hopefully. There are eight 'barrels' in the 928. One in each wheel well and then four in the 'interior'.

bureau13

Thanks. I had previously ordered a used short harness but what I should have ordered was the sensor side of things, I guess. My broken wires are at the barrel, on the sensor side. However, what is this flat piece on top of the barrel, that the wires seem to come out of? Just looking at it in place, I don't see two separate connectors, although on my spare short harness, it's clear that two connectors plug in there.

Here's a not-very-good pic of what I mean:





Top of the barrel connector in my passenger wheel well. The wires are broken right at the top of the barrel, hard to see here.

worf928

I don't think so.

In your picture, the end of the barrel that is visible is the harness side. The sender-side is on the other end of the barrel and is not visible.

That is the barrel. The harness side wires are bonded into the barrel. The barrel is that entire 'tan-colored' piece.

The black plastic around the barrel is an snap-fit holder. On the upper side (upper as in: on top in your picture) in the middle of the black plastic you will find a clip that you can disengage with a small screwdriver. Then the holder folds away and you can withdraw the barrel enough to pull out the sensor-side connectors.

If you're replacing the short-harness (which should have a barrel at both ends) you'll need to unbolt the ground connection (big brown wire) from the wheel carrier.

Not hard at all. Your 'short harness' is toast.

Take a picture of what you ordered and post it...

bureau13

Ugh, I think you're right. I don't know why I was assuming the harness side was on the bottom? Silly. I think the insulation has deteriorated so it looks like multiple wires, whereas the one I ordered has intact insulation.

Here is what I ordered:

worf928

Right. That's the short harness.

I realize now that my descriptions above are fubar'd (I will correct for posterity.)

You've got two barrels on the short-harness and o-ringed connectors for the senders and body-harness connections.

When you put it all together note that the sender connections are keyed so that you can't put the wrong sender in the wrong hole. And the black plastic holder is 'keyed (in a way)' that makes it difficult to get everything lined up correctly so that you can snap the holder back together.

worf928

Also, order an extra black plastic barrel 'holder.' You will break one. Or two. After 20+ years that plastic ain't plastic anymore.

ammonman

Are the "keyed" sensor connectors in the wheel well the same as the "keyed" connectors on the main harness in the engine bay or in the rear of the car? I'm looking for alternatives for replacing these main harness connectors as mine are starting to crumble badly. I've protected them from water using urethane bumper repair epoxy but the need for a more permanent solution is looming.

Mike

bureau13

I actually do have a couple new ones that I bought back when I first noticed this.

FWIW my standard operating procedure seems to be (1) notice something broken or missing, (2) order replacement (3) wait six months, minimum and the finally (4) perform work. I have no idea why I do that.

Not sure you can tell from the pic, but the real root cause of all of this is that the bracket, which the clamshell holding the barrel mounts to, is broken, which allowed the wires in the short harness to get pinched in the suspension. Replacing that bracket seems like it's going to be a real PITA, although I suppose I could be wrong..

worf928

For everyone else the root cause is the nylon twine around which the wires in the stub harness are wound. Over time and heat cycles this nylon twine shrinks and 'cuts' its way out of the harness casing.

My SOP is to clip this twine as soon as it makes 'an appearance.'

I *think* that they are. Easy to check though. Unclip the holder on one of the engine bay barrels and check.

In the end we're either going to have to re-manufacture 'original' stub harnesses or come up with a kit for Weather Pak connectors.

I seem to recall that he OEs harnesses are NLA. But, I wouldn't bet a coin flip on it. Best check with one of the Big 3.

bureau13

Interesting....my harness casing has pretty much vanished at all the wheels. I put some split casing stuff...I forget what it's actually called...around the wires on the other front wheel, need to do the rest.

ammonman

The engine bay side of my connections are so brittle I don't dare look a them let alone touch them for fear of complete disintegration. Hence my question to confirm the plugs are the same on both ends. If so, I'll buy some pad wear sensors and some used ABS sensors to harvest the plugs and fix the whole lot in one go.

Mike

bureau13

OK, I was all set to finally fix this today, but...I really don't think the bracket I have that I bought is anything like what is on my car. Here is a pic of my car...for reference, the front passenger wheel is off and I'm lying with my head in the wheel well, shooting up at the back of the wheel hub. I'm holding the loose barrel connector out of the way so you can see the bracket. A piece of it that presumably held the clamshell holder for the barrel broke off, but what's left is fairly small and simple and does not resemble the replacement at all. Could my replacement perhaps be for the rear?

A second question, while we're here...GOOD GOD HOW TO I GET TO THE GROUND CONNECTION FOR THE SHORT HARNESS IN THE ENGINE BAY?! I can't even see where it goes...what all has to come out? Ugh. Electrical tape over the warning indicators* is sounding better and better...





Backside of bracket, which seems to have two retainers for routing the short harness, and a piece to mount the barrel connector, which is broken and missing





Replacement bracket. I actually have another one that is the mirror of this. Neither resemble what is actually on my car.<br/>

*This was a joke. Everyone knows the correct hack is to remove the bulbs from the pod and NOT replace them with LEDs.

worf928

... but, you have an 86.5 which is half S4 and S3. You best bet is to invite some 86.5 experts to this party. But, if I had to guess you 'ordered' stuff for an '86 but need stuff for an '87 since the 86.5 has S4 brakes?

However, I could be wrong, so don't bet on anything. It could also be that once you get enough stuff out of the way you'll see what's what.

Short story: I suspect you'll be better off if you remove the calipers and brake discs. That should allow sufficient access to the wheel hub so that you're not doing a ship-in-the-bottle on this.

As far as the engine bay is concerned... I'm going to guess this is the passenger side?

bureau13

Yes it is. I can see the barrel connector tucked in there, but have no idea where the ground wire goes..can't see it from the top or the bottom.

You're undoubtedly right about taking the caliper and disc off. I was trying to avoid it but that's probably foolish.