Electrical Issues

LoveX1/9s

True Classic
This may be related to my car won’t start after driving issue.

These are the wires that are located behind the spare tire. The harness to the fuel injection looks burned but doesn’t smell like it is. Doesn’t look great though, does it?

I also found this un attached grey cable. Does anyone know where it goes or what it does?

My car has ground issues. I’ve been pulling off various cables that the previous owner has added. Is this one of them?

If I set the clock it flashes the next time I start the car. Anyone know where to start?
 

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Your wiring does look crusty. This is what my 86 looks like in the ECU area:
IM002966.JPG


Note the thick rubber cover protecting the "Y" split on my 86. Looking at your picture of the FU harness, it appears someone was in there looking for an issue.

I am not sure what that grey wire is, but could it be an abandoned antenna cable? It is odd that there is only one strand sticking out of a the "tube".

RE the clock. I asked in the other thread: What is the state of your battery? Even if it is new, do you keep the car on a battery tender? Low voltage can do weird things.
 
To me Jim's harnesses look significantly better than most that I find on cars of this vintage. Your pics seem more in line with what I often find....aside from the cutting that has been done to the sheath (your second pic) and that wire's insulation (your first pic). I really can't make out your first pic well enough to understand what's going on there. As Jim said there appears to be a single strand of wire remaining and the insulation whittled away? Where was it located and connected to? As for the discoloration in the harness (second pic), most of it almost appears to be soil, mold, or similar gunk? Are any wires actually burned?

I tend to find a lot of 'wire' issues with these cars. And I don't mean "wiring" issues (which also exists in abundance), but issues with the actual wires. For example the insulation has become brittle and broken off in spots, the wire was incorrectly routed/installed at the factory and therefore severely pinched under something else, the actual wire inside the insulation has corroded somewhere in the middle of things where you cannot see it due to the insulation still being intact, weak spots where the wire was allowed to bend back and forth constantly over the years, undersized (gage) wire was used and has overheated, etc, etc.

Your bad grounds are definitely the first thing to correct. That could even be affecting the clock.
 
I am not sure what that grey wire is, but could it be an abandoned antenna cable? It is odd that there is only one strand sticking out of a the "tube".
The antenna cable on my '85 goes through that area, and it is grey and about that size.

The wires in the FI harness do not look burned to me, but dirty. Or perhaps moldy, in which case I would look for signs of corrosion or water damage on the ECU connector (both cable side and ECU side).

If the voltage drops a lot during starting, the clock will reset itself and start flashing.

Some early cars came from the factory with the switched and unswitched supply to the clock reversed, and the clock would reset every time the ignition was turned off. This would not apply to an '85, but if the clock is not original to the car the is always a chance someone has switched the wires at some point.
 
This may be related to my car won’t start after driving issue.

These are the wires that are located behind the spare tire. The harness to the fuel injection looks burned but doesn’t smell like it is. Doesn’t look great though, does it?

I also found this un attached grey cable. Does anyone know where it goes or what it does?

My car has ground issues. I’ve been pulling off various cables that the previous owner has added. Is this one of them?

If I set the clock it flashes the next time I start the car. Anyone know where to start?
I agree with Bjorn, they don’t look cooked, just dirty.

However it does appear that one or more of the wires in the bundle has the insulation sloughed off or at the least, cracked deeper in the bundle.

I would unwrap it further and separate the wires to see what is going on there. Make any repairs with some paint on insulation and re wrap the bundle.
00E5A4B4-1DE6-47A6-BAF6-44108673FB4B.jpeg


 
I agree with Bjorn, they don’t look cooked, just dirty.

However it does appear that one or more of the wires in the bundle has the insulation sloughed off or at the least, cracked deeper in the bundle.

I would unwrap it further and separate the wires to see what is going on there. Make any repairs with some paint on insulation and re wrap the bundle.
View attachment 71246

Liquid electrical tape. Who would have thought? I'll give it a go.
 
Your wiring does look crusty. This is what my 86 looks like in the ECU area:
View attachment 71231

Note the thick rubber cover protecting the "Y" split on my 86. Looking at your picture of the FU harness, it appears someone was in there looking for an issue.

I am not sure what that grey wire is, but could it be an abandoned antenna cable? It is odd that there is only one strand sticking out of a the "tube".

RE the clock. I asked in the other thread: What is the state of your battery? Even if it is new, do you keep the car on a battery tender? Low voltage can do weird things.
It's pretty new but I'll check the charge. There is a different atenna in the car.
 
To me Jim's harnesses look significantly better than most that I find on cars of this vintage. Your pics seem more in line with what I often find....aside from the cutting that has been done to the sheath (your second pic) and that wire's insulation (your first pic). I really can't make out your first pic well enough to understand what's going on there. As Jim said there appears to be a single strand of wire remaining and the insulation whittled away? Where was it located and connected to? As for the discoloration in the harness (second pic), most of it almost appears to be soil, mold, or similar gunk? Are any wires actually burned?

I tend to find a lot of 'wire' issues with these cars. And I don't mean "wiring" issues (which also exists in abundance), but issues with the actual wires. For example the insulation has become brittle and broken off in spots, the wire was incorrectly routed/installed at the factory and therefore severely pinched under something else, the actual wire inside the insulation has corroded somewhere in the middle of things where you cannot see it due to the insulation still being intact, weak spots where the wire was allowed to bend back and forth constantly over the years, undersized (gage) wire was used and has overheated, etc, etc.

Your bad grounds are definitely the first thing to correct. That could even be affecting the clock.
The 1st picture is a close up of the mystery grey wire. Can't tell what it was connected to at some point.
 
Liquid electrical tape. Who would have thought? I'll give it a go.
You only want to use it on the individual wires and let if fully cure. Using a shrink tubing is far preferable but in this case it could be difficult getting the terminal out of the FI main connector.

Once the liquid insulation cures, wrap the bundle to protect if from future damage with a quality electrical tape. This stuff is really nice to work with.

 
There is also a type of insulation tape that is made of "heat shrink" material. After wrapping the wire with it you apply heat to shrink it and seal the wire, pretty much like a regular length of heat shrink would do.


I also love Tesa fabric harness wrap tape, as Karl linked.
 
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