TheSamba.com :: View topic - Rebuild Your FI wiring harness for less than $50

Mon May 04, 2015 12:11 am

mrcool wrote: Old thread, but has anyone found a good source for buying small quantities of the wire with the correct wiring color codes?
Not that I know of. You could try getting a harness out of some junked Busses, maybe some newer VW's have the same colors but that is a crap shoot. Small quantities?: read money that manufacturers won't spend for a few old cars that won't pay for the cost. Some new harnesses are available for AC VW's. For that matter; was VW the first to color code wires in cars? Some people have mentioned using wire from old washing machines, too.

Mon May 04, 2015 12:24 am

1967250s wrote:
Not that I know of. You could try getting a harness out of some junked Busses, maybe some newer VW's have the same colors but that is a crap shoot. Small quantities?: read money that manufacturers won't spend for a few old cars that won't pay for the cost. Some new harnesses are available for AC VW's. For that matter; was VW the first to color code wires in cars? Some people have mentioned using wire from old washing machines, too.

I've been trying to hunt down some old harnesses but they are all pretty expensive for some scrap wire. I should just go to a pink n pull, I'm sure I could find the wires needed there. I have no problem rebuilding my harness, I just wanted brand new wire with the right color code but it sounds like an expensive endeavor. The rebuilt harness's are usually all one color so might as just rebuild mine. Thanks!

Mon May 04, 2015 6:14 am

In the D-jet world....our harnesses were all one color wire. Its nice to have color coded wire...but as long as they are marked.....its no big deal. The whole point is to get the best quality new wire and dont worry about the aesthetics. Its about how it performs. Ray

Mon May 04, 2015 11:42 am

raygreenwood wrote: In the D-jet world....our harnesses were all one color wire. Its nice to have color coded wire...but as long as they are marked.....its no big deal. The whole point is to get the best quality new wire and dont worry about the aesthetics. Its about how it performs. Ray

That has to be THE biggest pain for trouble shooting if the ends aren't labeled. I guess I could do that or use different colored heatshrink and mark it in my Bible. I mean bentley.

Any idea what the general consensus is for best quality wire? I was just looking at stranded wire, can withstand 150C. Wasn't sure if Tin plated copper would be better then just copper, they both tarnish fast. All the OEM wire looks to be copper so maybe I'll just stick with that.

Mon May 04, 2015 12:10 pm

mrcool wrote: raygreenwood wrote: In the D-jet world....our harnesses were all one color wire. Its nice to have color coded wire...but as long as they are marked.....its no big deal. The whole point is to get the best quality new wire and dont worry about the aesthetics. Its about how it performs. Ray

That has to be THE biggest pain for trouble shooting if the ends aren't labeled. I guess I could do that or use different colored heatshrink and mark it in my Bible. I mean bentley.

Any idea what the general consensus is for best quality wire? I was just looking at stranded wire, can withstand 150C. Wasn't sure if Tin plated copper would be better then just copper, they both tarnish fast. All the OEM wire looks to be copper so maybe I'll just stick with that.

They make a wide range of wire markers that work great...and there are only 36 wires.

Wire qualith will depend on how you like to work. For instance with the D-Jet harnesses I have built...instead of using 3 diiferent but very similar wire gauges to be exactly like factory...I used a single wire gauge in the middle of the three. The up-to-date modern wire has lower resistance and cleaner signal than any of the three sizes of stock copper.

I personally use silver plated copper with teflon jacketing. You buy it at McMaster carr and other places. Its just a little less flexible....but the teflon jacket is tough enough and high temp enough that if you wanted fo you can use it, without sheathing.

I like tin plated copper. Its not as long term good as silver plated.....next best thing. the knly worry is that tinned connnectors can cause micro whisker growth between poles of contacts are very close together. Its why I opted for silver plated when I found it. Very nice stuff. But the wire for the sustem total length will likely set you back about $120 for enough for a harness. Still.....thats cheap for a new harness and dirt cheap for a new harness with yhat wire quality...which will outlast the bus. Ray

Tue May 05, 2015 10:28 am

Amazon is a pretty good source. That's were I bought my brown wire. I'm not sure where to go on an exact match.

Tue May 05, 2015 12:04 pm

Thanks Manfred and Ray.

The correct search I should have been using was GPT wire or Primary wire. This helped narrow the search on Amazon. This wire is to the automotive standard (all copper so no whiskers). Since the silver plated wire I am finding is around $50 /100ft I am going to go with all copper. But where I am not skimping is good crimps and a crimper.

I am getting an assortment of 20, 18 and 16 gauge wire in red, green, black, brown, and white. This will help me wire everything and later help with quick trouble shooting if necessary.

I just have to figure out which wire labels I want then I am good to go. I think I am just going to get numbers 1-9 and add two labels if I really want to label each circuit number.
something liek this http://www.amazon.com/ZipTape-Mity-Mark-Marker-Dis...wire+label
What I really wanted was labels on B-12 acetate cloth though.

Wed May 27, 2015 8:42 am

This has been a very helpful thread. After my electrical fire I was forced to rebuild My harness. I am almost done and have just a few questions....

I have followed the wiring diagrams very close but I am left with a little confusion. Most wires I was able to replace one at a time except for the aux air regulator, cold start valve, and thermo time switch as they were burned beyond recognition.

I understand that with the cold start valve the electro-magnet coil gets power from the starter and is grounded by the thermo time switch. But which plugs on the cold start valve are which?

The same question goes for the thermo time switch and the aux air. I understand the concept but am not sure which wire to place where. any pictures or info would be great!

Wed May 27, 2015 11:09 am

81NHAirCooled wrote: This has been a very helpful thread. After my electrical fire I was forced to rebuild My harness. I am almost done and have just a few questions....

I have followed the wiring diagrams very close but I am left with a little confusion. Most wires I was able to replace one at a time except for the aux air regulator, cold start valve, and thermo time switch as they were burned beyond recognition.

I understand that with the cold start valve the electro-magnet coil gets power from the starter and is grounded by the thermo time switch. But which plugs on the cold start valve are which?

The same question goes for the thermo time switch and the aux air. I understand the concept but am not sure which wire to place where. any pictures or info would be great!

There should be a FI trouble shooting section at the back of the Bentley if I remember correctly. I believe it tells which wires go to which sensor for trouble shooting purposes. I believe there is a diagram.

Here is a link to some FI manuals

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/fuelinjection.php

Wed May 27, 2015 11:52 am

there is a manual here in the technical section with wiring diagrams in it for different versions of FI

Wed May 27, 2015 6:21 pm

Awesome thanks for the tips guys. Getting closer...its fire for a few a few revolutions while sputtering then die out. After waiting a few minutes it'll do that again. I'll dive back into it tomorrow.

Tue Apr 05, 2016 6:26 pm

Old Thread -
But has anyone decided to make a couple of these and I'll buy one !

Thx

Tue Apr 05, 2016 8:15 pm

joegranzier wrote: Old Thread -
But has anyone decided to make a couple of these and I'll buy one !

Thx

http://kyleautomotivespecialties.com/

Mon May 16, 2016 8:45 pm

I made one after a fire that burned up my good one. I rerouted it along the firewall to create space.
Full write-up is here: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8082848#8082848

I followed everything suggested on the first page with regard to proper tools, connection pieces, and numbering with clear shrink wrap. I say go for it.

Wed Jun 08, 2016 4:21 pm

My bus came to me with burnt up, crispy wires in my double relay connector so decided to replace just the last 5 inches of wire leading to the connector. I wanted to do it without removing the harness. Hope this helps anyone else attempting to do this.

I decided to use solder butt connectors since I was going to be in a tight space. Expensive, but worth it IMHO.

First thing was labeling everything which turned out to be hard with burnt up wires. I think I've got them all numbered correctly now. I edited the wiring diagram which was missing a bunch anyway. Not sure if this matches other harnesses, but this is what I've got for 79 CA. My edits in GREEN. The ones with question marks are unverified due to fading or missing numbers.

I prewired and labeled my new double relay connector. Pulled the harness out as far as I could get it and bungeed it to a plastic container lid.

One-by-one I pulled wires off the old connector, cut and soldered the corresponding wire from the new connector.

Sun Oct 16, 2016 12:06 pm

Would did you do for the plugs at the double relay fuel, ecm etc. And what did you use to wrap the harness with?

Sun Oct 16, 2016 12:20 pm

I used a sonic cleaner for the plugs, but soaking them works too.

Sun Oct 16, 2016 2:26 pm

grtfldan wrote: I used a sonic cleaner for the plugs, but soaking them works too.
I meant to say, did you replace the old connectors or reuse them, and what about the rubber boot on AFM reuse or replace, and again what did you use for Sleeving on the new loom?

Sun Oct 16, 2016 2:54 pm

re use the old connectors, use heat shrink to connect the boots and such. they dont make the boots new so reuse when you can.

Sun Oct 16, 2016 3:05 pm

I saw mentioned that Kyle makes up these harnesses I just got the price of the new modern version of the L-Jet FI Harness is $399. And he also says no core required, so the question is where is he getting all of his new connectors for the ECM and AFM and other things?