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Thread: Electrical Harness Replacement.

  1. #11
    Administrator Ron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bitsyncmaster View Post
    You would need to come up with a way to put stripes on the wire to make your own harness. I did a little looking into that and did not come up with anything. If you could stripe the wires, all you need are the basic 10 solid colors to stock.
    FWIW, this used to be a good place for striped wires HERE. I haven't used them in a long while...

  2. #12
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    Late to the party, but had this same experience myself, here's my take on it.

    DMCH sells NOS harnesses. That means that yes, the wires are as aged as the cars are. Generally speaking, if you're having electrical issues from bad wires, NOS isn't going to help any. Now, if you're simply missing a bunch, or a crime took place that damaged a lot (vandalism, theft, etc.) or perhaps a fire or two damaged some, there's still a good case for them. But ultimately, the question you should be asking yourself is this:

    Are you confident enough in correct assembly and hookup that you are willing to completely redo it? And are you willing to pay more to do it more properly?

    If so, then to be blunt, don't go DMCH. The connectors are mostly available still (even reproductions), but the bigger issue is the insulation. 80's wiring used some form of rubber compound in the insulation or something, whatever it was just didn't age well and it's nasty nowadays. Recently we're seeing lots of silicone-insulated wires. These are far better, rated the same, but retain their flexibility and don't succumb to the same "hey let's just chip off a bit of insulation in a spot you won't notice and cause a bunch of headaches for you" issues that 80's wiring has. From a cost perspective, it will be more expensive (full-car harnesses are purpose-built for a niche, I doubt you can get that much wire cheaply, even if you replaced correct coloring with colored heat-shrink tubing), you'll need to assemble every connector yourself, there's more work involved.

    It's completely worth it if you're fully capable and willing to pay the premium, but that's a personal choice and I can't guide you one way or the other on that. But again, you're mostly benefitting on 40 years of wiring advancements and still missing out on 40 years of connector advancements (nobody uses the kinds of connectors this car has, not since the IDE-to-SATA transition that removed the 4-pin power connectors), 40 years of good electrical practice (high-power fusebox by battery, low-power fusebox on interior, segregating parasitic draw from high current) and other areas of possible electrical improvements (who the hell was the intern that designed the taillight boards seriously? Even by 80's standards, they were electrically clueless, those trace widths speak for themselves). It's certainly a start, but it's another cat-and-mouse game of "how far do you go?" DMCH harnesses will get you 95% of the way there. The rest is adapting to your specific VIN most likely.

    That said, this part did catch my eye and I wanted to clarify something:

    Quote Originally Posted by DMCVegas View Post
    I'd also love to see about installing heater circuits on a set of convex mirrors as well. So that's why I ask if there are any revisions on the '83 wiring harness vs. my '81.
    The circuit for the heated mirror (a plug already exists in the door, it's the black/green one) is tied to if memory serves ACC, it might just be "key to ON" though, I need to check. That's how mine are wired, and I have the ones from DeLoreanA.com, Tom in Poland's batch. Can't recommend them enough, but holy shit it took me THREE DAYS to fish the wires through from mirror to inside the door, even with the access panel on the mirror itself off! Probably needed to drill something somewhere, but it's just such an insanely tight squeeze on that pivoting arm that if you haven't already, and have time, fish wires through now and wait for later, you won't regret it.

  3. #13
    Senior Member DMCVegas's Avatar
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    I have confidence in myself to install a new harness, yes. Constructing one from scratch myself? No. I don't have the time, patience, nor proper experience for that. But am I willing to pay someone else to create one for me that I can install? You bet I am.

    Modern connections would be a plus, but I'd accept a plug & play OEM harness that used all new wires and pins. I've seen some places online that state they can rebuild harnesses, but none I've seen so far list a product for the DMC-12. Price wise I hate throwing out an amount I'm willing to pay to give someone carte blanche billing power over me, but I'd absolutely be willing to pay more than what DMCH is selling their NOS stuff for. Which hell, I don't even know if it includes the upgraded fusebox or not. Speaking of which Houston also says they have a new harness in the works for the replica vehicles coming out, but no updates there let alone information on if it'll even have the same amount of circuits to be compatible... But that's a whole other rabbit hole I don't want to go down.

    I've still got some time before I order parts since I want to first acquire a secure garage space to begin work on the vehicle. But what was the solution you settled on in your case?

    Also, thank you for the heads-up on the mirrors! I've got to replace the glass, swap the door lock & launcher solenoids, and finish with reupholstering. So I'll add that wiring to the list.
    Robert

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  4. #14
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    A healthy mix of both. I don't know the where and how much of new vs. NOS, but that's largely because I paid DPI Josh upfront and got a smoking deal on the labor costs as a result of a miscalculation in my serious favor.

    I do know the spot in the engine bay opposite the fusebox on the interior, with all the connections, was replaced outright with new wiring. Kept testing fine one time, then bad the next, too reliable to make sense of (by the way, Bluetooth multimeters are amazing things, I have one and LOVE its graphing capabilities in the app). With the conversion to EFI, much got removed too, ultimately that might be a good idea though: test every wire individually and decide from there.

    Connectors: British Wiring has a bunch, including the one for the mirrors. Eastern Beaver has the radio connector, maybe a few others. Some are still being made and readily available (the clock is a TE Connectivity plug on DigiKey), others are NLA, some are purpose-built (taillights), depends on where you go, but that should get you started.

    If you find an easy way to install the mirror wiring, update us please! I want to upgrade to flashers in the mirrors, but the fit is too tight already, so I may need to widen the hole somehow.

  5. #15
    Senior Member DMC5180's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shep View Post
    If you find an easy way to install the mirror wiring, update us please! I want to upgrade to flashers in the mirrors, but the fit is too tight already, so I may need to widen the hole somehow.
    I have The Deloreana heated mirrors and have done a partial install of a signal indicator behind the mirror glass. The wires for the indicator were small 22 or 24 awg wire. It was a tight fit getting all the wires through the Mirror pivot point, but it was doable. I have yet to finish the signal kit installation fully. I still need to add the feed wires from the fusebox to the door. Its a low priority project so I have no idea if or when i’ll finish it.
    DENNIS

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  6. #16
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    Heated mirrors use I think 18 AWG, maybe even 16. Remember, it's a giant resistor, lots of current needed compared to LED's, so if 22 AWG was a tight fit, God help us

  7. #17
    Senior Member Bitsyncmaster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shep View Post
    Heated mirrors use I think 18 AWG, maybe even 16. Remember, it's a giant resistor, lots of current needed compared to LED's, so if 22 AWG was a tight fit, God help us
    Use Teflon insulated wire. Teflon is a better insulator so it is very thin and it slides easily. It also is rated for higher temps.
    Dave M vin 03572
    http://dm-eng.weebly.com/

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bitsyncmaster View Post
    Use Teflon insulated wire. Teflon is a better insulator so it is very thin and it slides easily. It also is rated for higher temps.
    Tell Tom that, I bought it off of him (Tom in Poland, that is -- tongue-in-cheek I swear).

    Realistically though that pivot probably never meant to see wires pass inside of it. I think the heated mirror concept was abandoned long after the wiring harness was finalized in the doors, but well before mirror design was finished. That's why the plug exists but isn't connected, while the mirrors took a few days to do for me. Even the factory workers wouldn't have been able to assemble this easily. I have long suspected a more suitable pivot joint exists, but I would need to get a very rough mirror first before I can identify a source.

    What handles cold better Dave, teflon or slicone? Haven't heard of teflon insulation yet, I know Adafruit sells silicone insulation and it's fantastic, but my thought is how to get the power to the mirror and handle winter temps well.

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by DMC5180 View Post
    I have The Deloreana heated mirrors
    Oh wait, I'm dumb, I just saw this part of the post. So heated mirror + signals is doable? That's really good news for me, but I wonder too if it's necessary for all four wires. LED ground could be tapped into heater ground early on, still though the fact that it physically fits is great news! Means it's not all that challenging.

    Now if you want auto-dimming side mirrors with blinkers and heat... I think it's fair to say ditch the mirrors you got and get some JDM ones! (Or just some aftermarket really)

  10. #20
    Senior Member Bitsyncmaster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shep View Post
    What handles cold better Dave, teflon or slicone? Haven't heard of teflon insulation yet, I know Adafruit sells silicone insulation and it's fantastic, but my thought is how to get the power to the mirror and handle winter temps well.
    Teflon was the military selection for most vehicles because it saved weight and make the harness smaller. It has been found if the Teflon burns it gives off harmful gasses so it's use in aircraft is now limited. You can still buy it but cost is higher than PVC. Ebay has a lot of it often. Teflon does not have an aging or temperature problem like PVC
    Dave M vin 03572
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