Well, this should be fun (Previous owner wiring)

[wafflemaster]

My first order of business with the new car is to go through it and make sure that it's reliable and that I'm receiving accurate data from the gauges. Well, my OEM gauges don't work (Fuse #5 is blown) and the "aftermarket" aircraft gauge cluster looks terrible and is indecipherable. Today I started to tear into the wiring and I found all kinds of good stuff :)

- Vintage Clifford Alarm system that seems to have been spliced into every wire in the car
- My boost gauge has -6 AN lines running to it (wow, overkill)
- There is a water/methanol injection system for the car that seems to have been designed in the 19th century.
- I'll probably make $50 from all the stereo wiring if I take it to the copper recycler

Overall, I love a good project and I love the car :)

http://empiremotorsport.com/docs/wiring-of-death.jpg

[Henrik]

Gale Banks did that?

Actually, thinking back to my own interior clean-up project, my car didn't looked that different from yours when everything was pulled back. I guess it tends to look messier than it really is... I like your fish-eye lens!

[Exolis]

As a Harness Engineer, this makes me want to cry. Then again the original harness isn't exactly the best/neatest, but that added mess is terrible.

Good Luck!

[wafflemaster]

Gale Banks did that?

Actually, thinking back to my own interior clean-up project, my car didn't looked that different from yours when everything was pulled back. I guess it tends to look messier than it really is... I like your fish-eye lens!

Pretty confident that this was post-Banks...Poor guy would pass out if he saw this. From what I gather, the PO wasn't happy with the Banks carburetor setup after a few years so the whole system was retrofitted for fuel injection. The shop that did that work is to blame for sure.

And that photo was using Panorama mode on my iPhone. Comes in handy for documenting the locations of things.

[Henrik]

... Panorama mode on my iPhone.... Smart! Never thought to use it when I am documenting stuff for my D.

[opethmike]

Wow, you sure have quite a project ahead of you! Best of luck!

[AugustneverEnds]

I owe you, after seeing what you are dealing with I will NEVER again complain about the kill switches my car had in it when I got it. What a bunch of idiots :jawdrop:

[Doogie]

My first order of business with the new car is to go through it and make sure that it's reliable and that I'm receiving accurate data from the gauges. Well, my OEM gauges don't work (Fuse #5 is blown) and the "aftermarket" aircraft gauge cluster looks terrible and is indecipherable. Today I started to tear into the wiring and I found all kinds of good stuff :)

- Vintage Clifford Alarm system that seems to have been spliced into every wire in the car
- My boost gauge has -6 AN lines running to it (wow, overkill)
- There is a water/methanol injection system for the car that seems to have been designed in the 19th century.
- I'll probably make $50 from all the stereo wiring if I take it to the copper recycler

Overall, I love a good project and I love the car :)

http://empiremotorsport.com/docs/wiring-of-death.jpg


What is the button looking thing with the two white plastic hoses where the Ash Tray should be? Is that one of those "Don't push that button unless you really mean it" kinda buttons?:neener:

[DMCMW Dave]

What is the button looking thing with the two white plastic hoses where the Ash Tray should be? Is that one of those "Don't push that button unless you really mean it" kinda buttons?:neener:

Ejection seat.

[Alan]

Ejection seat.
That's rough with gullwing doors (and no t-tops, moonroof, nothing...).

[David T]

What is the button looking thing with the two white plastic hoses where the Ash Tray should be? Is that one of those "Don't push that button unless you really mean it" kinda buttons?:neener:

It is hard enough trying to "bring back" a stock Delorean from a mess like that. If you are trying to restore it to the modified state (as when GB had it), without *some* documentation all you can do is guess. Do one wire at a time and I would document each wire even if you are not going to put it back just in case you pull one you really need. Using pictures too is a very good idea. I have seen where many owners document their car during restoration and keep a book for people to see what they have done so you can better appreciate the car's present state compared to what it started as. Oftentimes what looks like a big project gets bigger as you proceed and get deeper into it and you see what you REALLY got! If you persevere eventually you get to the point where you find fewer and fewer surprises.

[wafflemaster]

What is the button looking thing with the two white plastic hoses where the Ash Tray should be? Is that one of those "Don't push that button unless you really mean it" kinda buttons?:neener:

Basically, yes :) It's a manual boost controller. Turn the knob and you get more psi from the turbos. Definitely not something to mess with unless you know what you're doing. I'm going to be replacing it with an ecu driven boost controller.

[Doogie]

Basically, yes :) It's a manual boost controller. Turn the knob and you get more psi from the turbos. Definitely not something to mess with unless you know what you're doing. I'm going to be replacing it with an ecu driven boost controller.

Oh gotcha. I had an '84 Chrysler Laser 2.2l with a Turbo. I think the max boost by the ECU was around 7 psi. I could definitely feel it when it kicked in (Turbo Lag was HUGE). A buddy of mine offered a "Performance Chip" to me, which prevented the waste gate from opening until something like 15 psi. I declined, afraid I would be blowing seals and gaskets, which I did not have the money to fix (I was 17). I can imagine what having a knob there right at my fingertips would do to the Intake gaskets!:lol:

[wafflemaster]

I discovered that the factory engine harness is still intact...just shoved behind the rear trim panel and into the pontoon area :)

https://d2xcq4qphg1ge9.cloudfront.net/assets/5/2241238/original_IMG_2573.JPG

There are some really "interesting" splices here and there, but I'm pretty confident that I should be able to rip out most of if. I'm not using the Lambda, fueling, ignition or factory sensors at all, so removing the lines from the harness should help organize things. I'm a little confused by the computer(s) I found behind the driver's seat. One is the Lambda system, and the other one is the factory ECU but I'm not sure what the factory ECU controls if I don't have the stock engine. I don't think that it has any direct control over any of my relays that are still in use (headlights, HVAC...) so hopefully I can remove that too.

Here's some of the parts deemed unnecessary so far :)

https://d2xcq4qphg1ge9.cloudfront.net/assets/5/2241239/original_IMG_2577.jpg

[opethmike]

In stock form, there are three ECUs behind the driver's seat - ignition, lambda, and idle. I would be willing to bet you can eject all of them without issue.

[wafflemaster]

In stock form, there are three ECUs behind the driver's seat - ignition, lambda, and idle. I would be willing to bet you can eject all of them without issue.

Thanks Mike, that makes sense. I didn't realize that the car had an idle computer too. I went back through my shop manual and managed to find a reference to it. Thanks for the help!

[DMCMW Dave]

Was that a second fuel tank or something else?

[Michael]

Was that a second fuel tank or something else?

I think he mentioned a water injection system was installed...possibly the tank for that, or maybe it's a tank for a intercooler spray unit.

[Dangermouse]

Wasn't that in the spare wheel well?

[dustybarn]

Considering that the 'original' Banks setup had a Holley and its own GM distributor, I'll wager that little of the factory engine electrical system was doing a dang thing. I'll bet the sole connection was that the coil negative signal was still connected to the tach.

I am flabbergasted at how complicated the PO's shop had made this car. It sounds like it might have been pretty straightforward when GB was done with it.

[wafflemaster]

Was that a second fuel tank or something else?

Ya, that was the reservoir for the water/meth system. It looks like it hasn't been hooked up in at least a decade. The worst part about it was that there was just a hose going into the intake...not even a nozzle at the end. Whoever decided that they could make this better than the Banks setup went about it in the wrong way. Glad to be getting things back to 'normal' though.

[Nicholas R]

Holy cow; this was my nightmare, that trying to integrate the new engine would end up like this. Luckily it didn't. It shouldn't take too much for all of your original gauges to work with the Buick engine. Heck, everything with the exception of the Tach was a direct plug and play for me. Tach just needed a pulse converter to convert the signal and then all the dash gauges worked perfectly. Best of luck sifting through all of that!!

[wafflemaster]

Holy cow; this was my nightmare, that trying to integrate the new engine would end up like this. Luckily it didn't. It shouldn't take too much for all of your original gauges to work with the Buick engine. Heck, everything with the exception of the Tach was a direct plug and play for me. Tach just needed a pulse converter to convert the signal and then all the dash gauges worked perfectly. Best of luck sifting through all of that!!

Ah, cool! That's good to hear...I wasn't sure about integrating the factory cluster, I was hoping that it would accept "normal" sending units. I'll find a pulse converter for the tach. It looks like all the gauge wires are still intact, but I think they are just disconnected to any senders at the rear. I almost switched over everything to a Painless wiring kit, but after thinning out the factory harness things aren't so bad.

Here's my favorite splice so far - this is about 4" away from the ignition switch under the column:

https://d2xcq4qphg1ge9.cloudfront.net/assets/5/2248789/original_splice.jpg

[opethmike]

Ah, cool! That's good to hear...I wasn't sure about integrating the factory cluster, I was hoping that it would accept "normal" sending units. I'll find a pulse converter for the tach. It looks like all the gauge wires are still intact, but I think they are just disconnected to any senders at the rear. I almost switched over everything to a Painless wiring kit, but after thinning out the factory harness things aren't so bad.

Here's my favorite splice so far - this is about 4" away from the ignition switch under the column:

https://d2xcq4qphg1ge9.cloudfront.net/assets/5/2248789/original_splice.jpg

Please tell me that was at least taped over?

[Nicholas R]

Ah, cool! That's good to hear...I wasn't sure about integrating the factory cluster, I was hoping that it would accept "normal" sending units. I'll find a pulse converter for the tach. It looks like all the gauge wires are still intact, but I think they are just disconnected to any senders at the rear. I almost switched over everything to a Painless wiring kit, but after thinning out the factory harness things aren't so bad.


You might not even need a tach converter. I only needed one because I now have a 4-pulse per rotation (8 cylinders) signal coming from my engine. The Delorean tach is calibrated to read 3-pulses per rotation (6 cylinders). Since you still have 6 cylinders, the Delorean tach should work just fine with the Buick coil pulses; no converter needed.

[wafflemaster]

Please tell me that was at least taped over?

Does a zip tie count? :)

[Farrar]

Does a zip tie count? :)

No. :P

Having seen the wiring in your car, it makes me feel a lot better about re-wrapping my own car's harnesses.

(And the factory harnesses are no joy or work of genius, either...)

Looks like you have the perseverance to make it work! I look forward to monitoring your progress! Two thumbs up!

[ALEXAKOS]

With all this wiring you are half way done making a BTTF replica!

Great job cleaning this up so far;)

[wafflemaster]

After killing 4 Black Widow spiders (WTF? Is this common? Hahaha!), removing the 12 body bolts, AC accumulator, heater hoses, engine harness, misc. ground wires and the steering linkage, the body is free! Lots of work ahead from here.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypIJLCMYzf8

[DavidProehl]

Very much enjoying this thread! Great to see this car get the time and care it deserves!

[opethmike]

Wow, you are not messing around. I love it!

[wafflemaster]

Ahhh, much better. Factory+Previous Owner(s) harness is 95% out. I have a 28 circuit Painless wiring system to replace it. It feels so nice to not have a rat's nest of wires in this thing.

Planning on doing some minor painting of the interior, then dynamat, then the new harness.

26374

[wafflemaster]

I got the full harness out of the car, that was a bit of a chore. I'll be building a new harness to fit my specific requirements in the next few weeks. Engine management will be handled by a MoTeC M84 ecu, so the Lambda, idle control and most of the other engine control wires will be gone. The HVAC circuitry will be greatly simplified too. Here goes nothing!

https://d2xcq4qphg1ge9.cloudfront.net/assets/5/2275356/original_IMG_2751.jpg

I also picked up a new aluminum radiator from the Netherlands (Thanks Ed!). I can't wait to get everything cleaned up so I can install it.

https://d2xcq4qphg1ge9.cloudfront.net/assets/5/2275355/original_IMG_2749.JPG

[Nicholas R]

I also picked up a new aluminum radiator from the Netherlands (Thanks Ed!). I can't wait to get everything cleaned up so I can install it.

https://d2xcq4qphg1ge9.cloudfront.net/assets/5/2275355/original_IMG_2749.JPG

You will definitely not be disappointed in that radiator :thumbup:

[jawn101]

You will definitely not be disappointed in that radiator :thumbup:

As if it hasn't been said enough already, +1 on Ed's radiator :)

[wafflemaster]

Engine is out and about to be prepped for new headers/turbos. Hopefully the leakdown test will yield positive results.

26561