replaced heater core, now having a wiring NIGHTMARE!

Chuckman · Jan 29, 2006

ive been installing a new heater core in the stang over the weekend, seemed to all go back together again pretty good untill i got to wiring. ive got a couple connecters that i have no idea what to do with. theres a big green one (6-8 pins) that seems to already have both ends of a connector in it, but no wires coming out the other side, also a gray on exactly as above, and a small, two pin gray male conector coming out near the center console (ive got a pic of that one, its the one im most concerned about,but for some reason my camera doesnt want to turn on transfer pics). seems a couple previous owners have left basically a hackjob of the whole harness (the stereo was held in by just a couple of hose clamps put together for cryin out loud, ive got a new faceplate on the way because of that), motor cranks but wont start, no power to stereo, headlights/flashers dont work (forgot to check brake lights), dome light and warning buzzer DO work, but thats about all. anybody have any ideas about anything i may have missed? do those connectors above do anything? help me please im

iblue · Jan 29, 2006

I had somewhat of a similiar problem when I replaced all of my interior. Do your turn/parking lamps turn on but not your headlights? That happened to me and the problem was that I didnt have one of the ground wire hooked back up to the metal frame of the dash. There are two thick wires (one red and one black if memory serves) that are supposed to be attached on the drivers side of the metal dash frame. They have metal eyelets attached to the end of them and should be somewhat easy to spot.

I also had the square green connector plugged into nothing, its still unplugged and everything is functioning AFAIK this isnt used in my 88 LX vert. As for the small two pin grey connetor, I *think* that goes to the HVAC control panel to provide light to it.

Hope this helps!

wazazzle · Jan 30, 2006

See you have a '89 like me. I did the heater core and harness last summer. So if you actually posted pics of what your talking about I might be able to help you. Is this your replacement harness or hackedup stock? auto or stick? year of donar harness does make a diff, some yrs had diff connectors. Take note there is going to be connectors that won't be connect to anything, especially around the center console. If it's cranking, but not starting you might want to check the harness part that comes through the firewall. I took a wire brush and cleaned up all the terminals. Make sure everything is connected. If you light/flasher isn't working it's usually the connector that is fried from overheating. Double check the connector and wires because they are prone to overheating and melting. Did you make sure that all of you secured all the grounds behind the dash. I think there's 2. Let me know. (subscribed)

Chuckman · Jan 30, 2006

hey guys, thanks for the help (and the nice little IM i found when i woke up this morning). when i was tearing it apart i found the two grouond locations, on going to the column support bracket, on under the hvac controls (two wires going to this one?). the first one i origanally forgot to hook up, and the car wouldnt crank, but i have fixed that. none of the front lights work at all, i forgot to check tails (they probably dont work either). as far as i know, this is the origanal harness. ill try to post up a couple pics here in a min, like i said my camera isnt work too well right now, ill see what i can do to help you guys help me.

iblue · Jan 30, 2006

I tossed you the IM last night . Glad the car will crank over at least now. As for the lights, I am assuming you just double checked your connections for the turn signal/headlamp switch along with the fuses? There is a fuseable link located somewhere in the headlight setup that will burn out if it sees to much voltage. It needs to be clipped out and a new one crimped in place. Here is a wiring diagram for the headlamps:

http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/MustangLights-Horn.gif

Hope you get her sorted all out soon.

Chuckman · Jan 30, 2006

alright, been looking at wiring diagrams all afternoon, the one you linked to, a couple more on that site, and the haynes diagrams, but none of em have wire colors matching the headlight switch, or are otherwise complete. did some more tests though, reverse lights work, turn signals work, dome light works, warning lights work, windows, locks, and wipers all work. but dash lights, brake lights, park lights and headlights still do NOT work. i did find there are two brown wires coming out of one pin on the headlight switch, no idea where they go to (not on any wiring diagrams ive seen). also, i finally got a digicam working around here, so heres a couple pics of where im stuck:
this is that one connector i was talking about earlie, near the factory amp:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v177/chuckman/mustang/?action=view&current=pics025.jpg
and as best a shot i could get at behind the cluster cover at the headlight switch:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v177/chuckman/mustang/?action=view&current=pics026.jpg

Chuckman · Jan 30, 2006

remember how i said that the harness was hacked to heck, well i seemed to fixed it around the headlight switch, found the wires those two brown ones go to, and a couple other loose ones there, looks like someone had just cut those wires instead of pulling the connector off and then just taped the wires together anyway, so now headlights, corners, park, and taillamps work, but brake lights still dont. and i still could use some help.

Chuckman · Jan 30, 2006

nevermind, looks like the brake light fuse died on the install, all works well light-wise now, thanks for the help guys.

ColdAudio · Jan 30, 2006

glad to see it worked out, ive run into a few electrical problems and my harness is also a hack job from the past 17 years, its definitely not fun

Chuckman · Jan 31, 2006

yup, definetly a PITA. fooling around with that crap wiring left by some moron who knows how long ago took two days. and i didnt even check to see if it started last night, which it doesnt. still cranks, and i can smell gas after a bit of trying to start it, so its getting fuel, seems like a spark issue. gotta be at work here in about 45mins, will see what i can find later tonight, but if yall got any ideas, let me know.

Chuckman · Feb 1, 2006

so the car still wont start......it is getting a fuel (start smelling it after a while), starter keeps cranking but motor just will not run. checked dist and coil for loose wires, checked to make sure nothing got yanked apart in the engine compartment and everything there checks out. i am just totally stumped right now. anybody know what that wire connector does? i also found a black two pin connector with a red center thats just floating around between the hvac controls and the glove box. help please

Chuckman · Feb 1, 2006

replaced heater core, now having a wiring NIGHTMARE!

Chuckman

GTFO you fat, heavy bastard

iblue

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wazazzle

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Chuckman

GTFO you fat, heavy bastard

iblue

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Chuckman

GTFO you fat, heavy bastard

Chuckman

GTFO you fat, heavy bastard

Chuckman

GTFO you fat, heavy bastard

ColdAudio

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Chuckman

GTFO you fat, heavy bastard

Chuckman

GTFO you fat, heavy bastard

Chuckman

GTFO you fat, heavy bastard

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