Ever wondered what your wiring harness looks like.

Ever wondered what your wiring harness looks like.

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Discussion

ClassiChimi

Original Poster:

12,424 posts

148 months

Wednesday 22nd June 2016
quotequote all
Here's my original Tvr Engine wiring harness off my 2000 year car,
The first pic is what you see in the footwell




The second shows what you see in the engine bay.




If I was clever with computers I'd identify all those connections and relays etc and mark them up, very useful for people to be able to picture where it all goes, but I'm useless on the things, if someone can use these pics to do the same your more than welcome.

I've replaced the original harness as part of an Mbe Ecu upgrade that Powers Performance installed for me last year,,

its amazing how much stuff gets chucked out,
This box contains old injectors Ecu and sensors galore, more wires and stuff no longer needed.





Everything other than the stepper motor works perfectly, including the harness,,
I'm edging my bets and storing it all away just I case for some utterly ridiculous reason my car might be worth 10k more with all this re installed someday. scratchchin

There's a huge length of fragile looking power cable for the starter somewhere too,, jeez I'm glad I replaced all this in one hit.

Anyway I hope by using this you guys on the CUX system can identify what's what if you have an issue and need to check connectivity etc.

I've had a goof look at the harness, it's connections are all in good fettle, wires aren't crispy,, and everything's remarkably clean considering it sat in my car for 15 years.

Hopefully someone will find this lot interesting. smile

Edited by ClassiChimi on Wednesday 22 June 14:13

blitzracing

6,387 posts

219 months

Wednesday 22nd June 2016
quotequote all
AFM plug wiring is a weak point as its a bit tight on the TVR. Otherwise its down to corrosion on any connectors, or an odd one I came across the other day- there is a blue multi pin connection that nothing plugs into. This is a loop back connection that grounds / joins various bits of the loom, and if it gets wet in a TVR footwell, it can corrode enough to go open circuit. There have also been a few cases of looms chaffing through and causing shorts. The throttle pot connections go brittle where the wires enter the pot and can break and the ECU connections corrode, and sometimes get pushed back into the socket. The loom is not inherently bad, its mostly just down to damp and heat destroying it in the harsh environment.

ChimpOnGas

9,637 posts

178 months

Wednesday 22nd June 2016
quotequote all
I've got a box of bits like that too, not looked at it for years and to be honest and I doubt I will until I come to flog it.

I think to be fair you'd need to put all your new MBE bits in a similar box side by side to see the true comparison, and I'm not sure that water pump was an essential part of the engine management swap Alun?

The 14CUX isn't such a bad old dinosaur really, it makes a pretty good fist of fueling and idle duties when it's working as designed, the TVR wiring where it meets the Land Rover loom is another story altogether and with all the wiring getting on in years replacing it with new can do no harm.

The biggest advantage with these aftermarket engine management systems is that you now have proper control over your ignition, this offers big advantages over the very antiquated distributor system these cars were burdened with. If installed and mapped correctly you get the reliability improvements of a new part loom, drivability improvements of 3D ignition management, and a system that finally allows you to easily make changes to both fueling and ignition calibrations.

But the way I see it people don't need to change to an aftermarket system, but when they do they improve their car in multiple ways.

Finally I'll add that my mate's 5.0 litre Chimaera on the 14CUX and distributor is still a good bit more rapid than my 4.0 litre on the Canems system, his car drives really nicely too. Saying that I normally sail right past him as he makes yet another fuel stop while I still have another 100 miles of fuel in reserve.

This comes to mind hehe


ClassiChimi

Original Poster:

12,424 posts

148 months

Wednesday 22nd June 2016
quotequote all
snigger,,, there's two front Calipers and discs in that box too Dave wink
My only reservation when replacing this lot was not having the AFM IN VIEW,, I really like the look of it hehe
All the plug leads are new,, I've wasted a right load old brown mash,, looking at this lot I needn't have bothered,
Lucus rotor arm and cap barely 800 miles use etc etc,
I'm attached to all that comes with my car, even this little lot,,
Saying that I'm also rather fond of my new wiring harness and bespoke mapping,

Since replacing the CUX ive removed the painful memory of not the CUX itself but my paranoia of the system,
It's perfectly usable and works well considering the age and extremes it all goes through and I recognise some of the connector blocks from a very early 3 series Jag I owned, 1980 first fuel injection XJ6 and mine ran perfect for years.
It's rather hot in a Jag bay so it's well proven.


ChimpOnGas

9,637 posts

178 months

Wednesday 22nd June 2016
quotequote all
ClassiChimi said:
snigger,,, there's two front Calipers and discs in that box too Dave wink
Ha Ha, those lovely cast iron callipers.... we do seem to have similar boxes of the same old toot mate, not even sure why I'm keeping it all silly

Following your last two posts I'm left in no doubt you're really enjoying your recent upgrades and improvements mate smash

And your car is for enjoying.... so good on ya thumbup

ClassiChimi

Original Poster:

12,424 posts

148 months

Thursday 23rd June 2016
quotequote all
Cast iron Calipers,,, that box I've moved around with ease a few times,, put the Calipers and discs in the box then carefully put the CUX in there,, I can barely lift it off the floor????
The freaking pads in there have done 2500 miles,, nowt. hehe
For the love of cars
For the love of a big sexy pair of Brembo's biglaugh

The last time I felt this good about an investment, and I do mean some good brakes, was when some shares came in years ago hehe

The real question I must be posing here is should I hord these or sell them on to someone who can make good use of them now,,
Brakes incl discs are 6 months old!
I almost feel guilty to keep them if there needed elsewhere but at the same time maybe when I'm long gone and someone in the family wants to put 15/16 inch wheels on and install the CUX to choke themselves with,,, hehe and sell the car for a million quid I think maybe I should keep it all.
It's a nice fall back in a way though,, ha.
Ttfn chaps;)

ou sont les biscuits

5,086 posts

194 months

Thursday 23rd June 2016
quotequote all
ClassiChimi said:
snigger,,, there's two front Calipers and discs in that box too Dave wink
My only reservation when replacing this lot was not having the AFM IN VIEW,, I really like the look of it hehe
All the plug leads are new,, I've wasted a right load old brown mash,, looking at this lot I needn't have bothered,
Lucus rotor arm and cap barely 800 miles use etc etc,
I'm attached to all that comes with my car, even this little lot,,
Saying that I'm also rather fond of my new wiring harness and bespoke mapping,

Since replacing the CUX ive removed the painful memory of not the CUX itself but my paranoia of the system,
It's perfectly usable and works well considering the age and extremes it all goes through and I recognise some of the connector blocks from a very early 3 series Jag I owned, 1980 first fuel injection XJ6 and mine ran perfect for years.
It's rather hot in a Jag bay so it's well proven.
As someone who is seriously thinking about an MBE install, it would be nice to see some underbonnet photos to see what it all looks like smile



ClassiChimi

Original Poster:

12,424 posts

148 months

Thursday 23rd June 2016
quotequote all
Aaaarrrh, OK Biscuits,,, will do but you'll have to wait until early next week as I'm now away from the car until Sunday.

Be warned though,, there's nothing to see,, hardly any wiring to be seen, footwell just has a fuse box and not much more.
That's the real beauty of it, the engine bay looks tidier and neat.
The Ecu is tucked up behind the glove pouch for instance.



ou sont les biscuits

5,086 posts

194 months

Thursday 23rd June 2016
quotequote all
ClassiChimi said:
Aaaarrrh, OK Biscuits,,, will do but you'll have to wait until early next week as I'm now away from the car until Sunday.

Be warned though,, there's nothing to see,, hardly any wiring to be seen, footwell just has a fuse box and not much more.
That's the real beauty of it, the engine bay looks tidier and neat.
The Ecu is tucked up behind the glove pouch for instance.
Thanks for that thumbup

I'm not really after a photo of the wiring inside the cabin - one ECU box is going to look pretty much like any other I suspect.

It's the under bonnet aspect I'm interested in - where the coil packs go - how many of them there are - what they do with the space where the MAF sensor was - what the injector loom and the new loom in general look like - how they blank off where the dizzy was - that sort of thing.

If you haven't any photos handy, don't worry, I'll contact Power direct. I'm sure they will have some knocking around somewhere.

ClassiChimi

Original Poster:

12,424 posts

148 months

Thursday 30th June 2016
quotequote all
ou sont les biscuits said:
Thanks for that thumbup

I'm not really after a photo of the wiring inside the cabin - one ECU box is going to look pretty much like any other I suspect.

It's the under bonnet aspect I'm interested in - where the coil packs go - how many of them there are - what they do with the space where the MAF sensor was - what the injector loom and the new loom in general look like - how they blank off where the dizzy was - that sort of thing.

If you haven't any photos handy, don't worry, I'll contact Power direct. I'm sure they will have some knocking around somewhere.
Here you go.



Coil packs are hidden behind the plenom and considering how reliable they usually are im not bothered about having to remove plenum to access them.
They don't get wet from rain water either.



You can just see where the distributor used to reside.




AFR hehe


throttle pot sensor wiring connector into the new loom ( tucked under plenum usually )




Crank trigger wheel viewed from o/s of car




Injector wiring o/s




The new air gap where the distributor used to be,, it does seem to have better air flow up there and seems cooler most the time?

And finally where the battery sits, no other wires or relays visible and the Ecu is tucked up behind the two screws that relive the glove pouch, with a bit of foam padding to keep it snug and dampened from road shock.




The car lives outside and these pics taken today.
9 months since install, never garaged through this last winter and I've not touched the wiring or associated parts other than once risking my jet wash over it, it fired up instantly afterwards, I only did it as a risky experiment to be honest!

We removed the plug extenders and protected lead ends with socks and so far I've not had a misfire.
10,000 miles so far and it's utterly brilliant as far as I'm concerned.