85lebaront2 Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 Thanks Bill! I may need it still, but I finally crawled in the very back of the engine bay and got things cleared up to look at the bundle that is right behind the EGR against the firewall: You can see at least a couple wires with missing insulation. A wire (a white one?) that was attached to the engine ground broke off the terminal as soon as I moved the loom at all. I think the best thing to do is pull the harness and fix all the issues. How should I go about removing the harness? Any tips? Pull the connector from the cab through the firewall? Or the other way around? I haven't gone through the whole thing yet but it seems like I should be able to just disconnect everything and remove it, right? Lord knows what Ford used for wiring in the 80s, Lucas maybe? I have seen more absolutely cruddy wiring on these, most with crumbling insulation. There really isn't any reason for a vehicle that age to have crumbling insulation. I dare say if you know anyone with the last of the real Packards you will see how long good insulation will last. GM snapped up Packard's wire and cable division after they were taken over by Studebaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckuske Posted November 12, 2023 Author Share Posted November 12, 2023 Lord knows what Ford used for wiring in the 80s, Lucas maybe? I have seen more absolutely cruddy wiring on these, most with crumbling insulation. There really isn't any reason for a vehicle that age to have crumbling insulation. I dare say if you know anyone with the last of the real Packards you will see how long good insulation will last. GM snapped up Packard's wire and cable division after they were taken over by Studebaker. It is less than optimal for sure. My plan for now is to just cut out the parts that are damaged and put new wire in its place. I have just started looking but there don't seem to be any good aftermarket options. I don't want to rewire the whole truck, just the EEC wiring bundle. Maybe I'll see if I can find one in better condition on eBay and go from there? I really don't want to deal with this again. Suggestions welcome! I am almost tempted to build my own, but I don't want to buy 40 different spools of wire etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 It is less than optimal for sure. My plan for now is to just cut out the parts that are damaged and put new wire in its place. I have just started looking but there don't seem to be any good aftermarket options. I don't want to rewire the whole truck, just the EEC wiring bundle. Maybe I'll see if I can find one in better condition on eBay and go from there? I really don't want to deal with this again. Suggestions welcome! I am almost tempted to build my own, but I don't want to buy 40 different spools of wire etc... My ECU connector was cut from the harness. That wasn't a problem as the harness would have placed the ECU in the left kick panel and I wanted it in the stock Bullnose position right of the throttle pedal, so I had to add wire anyway. I just used black wire and extended the harness to the connector, soldered the connections and covered them with heat shrink tubing - lined with adhesive. My reasoning was that if you follow whatever black wire you are wondering about either way you'll find the proper wire color at the splice. So it doesn't bother me. Given that, I'd pull the harness out and see if it can be salvaged. Secure the ends of the harness on the bench so you know how long they have to be, and then start surgery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85lebaront2 Posted November 13, 2023 Share Posted November 13, 2023 It is less than optimal for sure. My plan for now is to just cut out the parts that are damaged and put new wire in its place. I have just started looking but there don't seem to be any good aftermarket options. I don't want to rewire the whole truck, just the EEC wiring bundle. Maybe I'll see if I can find one in better condition on eBay and go from there? I really don't want to deal with this again. Suggestions welcome! I am almost tempted to build my own, but I don't want to buy 40 different spools of wire etc... I probably have plenty of wires with the proper colors and even the correct EEC-IV connectors, problem is they are from 1987-1995 trucks so don't have the grommet nor the dash or dot or hash the 1986 and older used, but do have a weatherproof connector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckuske Posted November 13, 2023 Author Share Posted November 13, 2023 I probably have plenty of wires with the proper colors and even the correct EEC-IV connectors, problem is they are from 1987-1995 trucks so don't have the grommet nor the dash or dot or hash the 1986 and older used, but do have a weatherproof connector. I appreciate the offer! I will get the harness removed from the truck and evaluate how to move forward. After gently looking at the damaged wires, the truck won't stay running unless given a quarter pedal. I think I just forced my hand my touching the bundle and it literally falling apart in my hands... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpin Posted November 13, 2023 Share Posted November 13, 2023 I appreciate the offer! I will get the harness removed from the truck and evaluate how to move forward. After gently looking at the damaged wires, the truck won't stay running unless given a quarter pedal. I think I just forced my hand my touching the bundle and it literally falling apart in my hands... Good find! What a mess! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted November 13, 2023 Share Posted November 13, 2023 Good find! What a mess! 1985 was the transition year on wire colors. 1984 should have hash and dots as well as stripes. 1986 has all stripes. But in spite of the 1985 EVTM showing hash marks and dots on several wires I've found plenty of 1985s with stripes instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckuske Posted November 14, 2023 Author Share Posted November 14, 2023 I appreciate the offer! I will get the harness removed from the truck and evaluate how to move forward. After gently looking at the damaged wires, the truck won't stay running unless given a quarter pedal. I think I just forced my hand my touching the bundle and it literally falling apart in my hands... Not much done today. I labeled all the wires by circuit near their connectors, and got the 60 pin plug through the firewall. I also unplugged most of the stuff... hoping to remove the harness tomorrow. Although I am going to plan on salvaging, I am kind of thinking I should just got for it and build a new harness... I have found the female pins, and a good place to buy the wire (no hashes or dots, but they have all the colors, and with stripes). I'd be into the wire for about $300 total, less if I reused colors in various spots etc. I'm not sure on using TXL or GXL insulation. Anyway, my thinking isn't about how to fix it for "today" but more about what happens to the unpatched sections in a few more years... maybe I just build it from scratch and not have to worry about it. More progress tomorrow (hopefully) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 Not much done today. I labeled all the wires by circuit near their connectors, and got the 60 pin plug through the firewall. I also unplugged most of the stuff... hoping to remove the harness tomorrow. Although I am going to plan on salvaging, I am kind of thinking I should just got for it and build a new harness... I have found the female pins, and a good place to buy the wire (no hashes or dots, but they have all the colors, and with stripes). I'd be into the wire for about $300 total, less if I reused colors in various spots etc. I'm not sure on using TXL or GXL insulation. Anyway, my thinking isn't about how to fix it for "today" but more about what happens to the unpatched sections in a few more years... maybe I just build it from scratch and not have to worry about it. More progress tomorrow (hopefully) I understand your thinking. But I'd wait until I got the harness out to decide. It may not be as bad as you think, but it may be worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckuske Posted November 14, 2023 Author Share Posted November 14, 2023 I understand your thinking. But I'd wait until I got the harness out to decide. It may not be as bad as you think, but it may be worse. I'm sure you're the voice of reason in this situation. Hopefully I'll get it out completely today in between work calls. My plan (if it really is that bad) would be to repair the existing harness and use it as a reference when building the new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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