Making an engine harness myself

[crazysupra2JZ]

:squint: ..... so yeah, thinking about making my own engine harness. maybe a lot of work, but cheaper than paying $900 for a new Toyota harness. i "might" be able to get some high quality aircraft wire, so all i need are the plugs. anyone know if i can get all the plugs for a 2jz engine, or 7M. you know, everything that plugs into the engine.

i'm more or less...ok with wiring and following diagrams and such... so i can make a high quality engine harness, that will have stronger connections so they don't pull out of the plug. wires can also withstand more heat and are treated against corrosion.

anyone ever try this?

 

[tissimo]

yes when doing a standalone.. You're going to make a new harness for the stock ecu? why not just use the aristo? canabalize it to what you need. I will be doing this with my aristo harness converting it to my mkiii...

 

[Ric]

Toyota's harness is perfectly fine. $900 is damn cheap compared to HOURS and HOURS of labor, because that isn't free either.

 

[Jacob]

Toyota's harness is perfectly fine. $900 is damn cheap compared to HOURS and HOURS of labor, because that isn't free either.

I how the same veiw of time, but a $900 dollar harness doesn't teach me jack diddly about anything. Sometimes it's more than a dollars and cents thing.

I wish that I was down in melbourne. I just need someone to point me in the right direction with wiring.

BTW I almost forgot . .. here's a guy selling a harness and ecu (aristo)

http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47620

 

[Ric]

If you don't know how to make a harness, and have a background in electrical, i wouldn't make one. One bad connection will either make the car not run, or you'll blow it up

 

[lagged]

Toyota's harness is perfectly fine. $900 is damn cheap compared to HOURS and HOURS of labor, because that isn't free either.

...id have to disagree.

maybe its just me, but wiring is trivial. i dont understand why people find the electrical side of things so daunting.

in my old 86.5 i had an engine fire that destroyed half of the wiring harness. it only took me 4 or 5 hours to repair the whole thing. fired right up the first time, no shorts, no bad connections.

 

[Ric]

As you get older and work 50+hrs a week, have a home to take care of, etc....it's just alot more cost effective to pay $900 and have one in a week thats ready to go rather then spending 20hrs of labor, 1hr a night, and having the car down for that much longer.

 

[tissimo]

As you get older and work 50+hrs a week, have a home to take care of, etc....it's just alot more cost effective to pay $900 and have one in a week thats ready to go rather then spending 20hrs of labor, 1hr a night, and having the car down for that much longer.

we're poor.. thats why we have mkiiis :lmao:

 

[GeneStarWindGSW]

we're poor.. thats why we have mkiiis :lmao:

:rofl:

Sad but true. :nono:

By the way justin wanna do my wiring harness for my car ?

 

[OneJoeZee]

I think I'd rather shoot myself in the foot than attempt to create a harness from scratch. :hs:

 

[lagged]

I think I'd rather shoot myself in the foot than attempt to create a harness from scratch. :hs:

heh, call me crazy but id enjoy it and look forward to doing it when its time for a standalone.

 

[OneJoeZee]

heh, call me crazy but id enjoy it and look forward to doing it when its time for a standalone.

Well, you're crazy. :biglaugh:

I wouldn't trust my electrical or soldering skills enough to bet my main engine harness on it. I need my car to start and run correctly everytime. I don't have the time to experiment and learn on my own car and have it down the whole time while doing so. Mechanical stuff I can do... but I tend to leave electrical to someone better.

I can do stuff like gauges and other electronic parts but the main harness, no thanks... I'll leave that to someone I know will get it done correctly. It's worth my money.

 

[crazysupra2JZ]

i do a lot of wiring on planes. now the wiring i deal with doesn't affect aircraft performance, it just deals with the main reason the aircraft exists,

so i trust my own wiring, only thing is, if i wire up something wrong in my car i have to pay for it, not the gov.

but if i am able to get this wiring for free, then i think i'm gonna give it a shot. it's oh so satisfying when you do your own work. i remember the first head gasket i changed, when it started and ran good. i was like, hell yeah, i did that, i made that engine...lol

 

[Ric]

I had my harness extented by a professional hot rod car electrican that makes harnesses as his job. When it comes to electrical things that important, yeah sure I can do it myself, but 2 years down the road, I want to know it will still work.

 

[tissimo]

I had my harness extented by a professional hot rod car electrican that makes harnesses as his job. When it comes to electrical things that important, yeah sure I can do it myself, but 2 years down the road, I want to know it will still work.

then you can't do it if you dont trust your own work

 

[GeneStarWindGSW]

I've done some electrical work just that im not sure how exactly everything works & where it goes, so i'd have a hard time doing it.

 

[SupraMario]

I'm not looking forward to this part of the swap....at all.
Why would you pay $900 for a new harness when you have to chop it up anyways? Or am I missing something?

 

[speed]

Wiring harnesses are pretty easy to make- I made them for a while at motorhome factory. The trick is to keep everything organized. If yo'ure going to do it, setup a pegboard with nails/pegs every 6" or so in a grid. As long as you do things step by step, and use common sense, they really aren't hard to make. Just take a LONG time (esp. if you're building one from scratch)

 

[Ric]

the only way I'd have a custom harness made was for a show car where I wanted it hidden, or a CUSTOM swap.

My buddy had a custom harness made for his 2UZFE-TT into a MKIV using a stand alone, thats a case where i'd say it's needed.

 

[RacerXJ220]

I think I'd rather shoot myself in the foot than attempt to create a harness from scratch. :hs:

It will destroy you!