2G Engine/Chassis Rewire/Tuck/Fuse Box Relocation

This write up will cover many of the different aspects of how to rewire/tuck your engine/chassis harness and relocate your fuse box. I'm in the middle of mine so this won't be complete till mine is done but I will share what I've got up till now.
I plan to show the tools I'm using, how to depin the various connectors, etc etc.

This post will focus on the tools and materials you will need.

First and foremost, DO NOT start this job without having Factory Service Manuals for your model year. The Electrical FSM covers so much information and is the most valuable thing to have when rewiring your car.
If you need one, check out eBay. I bought mine from their for super cheap, used but in great condition.

The second thing I HIGHLY recommend is a note book. For the dollar or less it will cost you it is more then worth it. Keep track of whatever you delete, add, where plugs are being moved to, etc etc.

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Last thing I will talk about in this first post is tools.
You will need several different ones and more depending on what you want to do. I'll add notes beside certain tools.

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Nitrile gloves - removing the old loom and tape is messy and sticky, cover your hands.
8mm Socket - Needed to remove some of the OEM cables from the fuse box.
10mm Socket - Needed to remove some of the OEM cables from the fuse box.
Precision Screwdrivers (flat head) - You will need small ones for removing connector pin locks and depinning if you have one that will fit.
Wire Cutter of some sort - Either for cutting joins or cutting loom/electrical tape (I used scissors for this but forgot them in the picture).
Sharpie - For Labeling plugs/connectors.
Dental Picks - Great for depinning connectors.
Masking Tape - For labeling connectors and holding the harness in shape.

In the following picture, the items listed in red are only needed if you are adding Deutsch connectors and/or wrapping the harness with Braided Sleeving.

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Braided Sleeve - Various sizes, 1/8" to 1.5". Once I'm done I'll be able to comment on how much I used in my application.
Hot Knife - To cut the braided sleeving.
Deutsch HDT-48-00 Crimper - Needed if you are using Deutsch connectors.
Electrical Tape - I recommend good tape; Scotch/3M Supper 33+.
Masking Tape - To hold the harness shape while you route things.
Heat Shrink - To hold the braided sleeving in place.[/COLOR]
Automatic Wire Strippers - Perfect amount of wire stripped each and every time with no wire strands broken/nicked.

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Soldering Iron - A good quality one is what I recommend. This is some cheapie no name and will be replaced by a Weller or Hakko.
Heat Gun - To shrink heat shrink.
Adhesive Walled Heat Shrink - Not pictured. This is like regular heat shrink but has an adhesive inside. When heated it melts and makes a water/weather tight seal.

That's it for this post. Stay tuned for the next one which will cover removing the harnesses from the car.

 

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Part 2: Removing the Wiring Harnesses From The Car.

First of all I apologize for my lack of pictures in this posts but I didn't take a ton when doing this so.

This job is 1000x easier with the dash out of the car, here's a good write up: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-exterior-interior/379111-2g-dash-removal-instructions.html

Engine Harness Removal

First thing you are going to do is go through and tag every single under hood connection. Get you masking tape, right what it is with the Sharpie and stick the label on.
This post is a great help in getting it all labeled: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...047-2g-engine-bay-electrical-connections.html

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After that is done you can unplug all the connectors and pull the harness from the firewall. To get the harness out of the wire wall you need to press in on each side of the plug at a time and move it forward, a flat head will help. Here's a close up of the plug (using one of the fender plug as an example):

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After the plug is out it should all look something like this:

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From here you can move inside and undo the ECU connections and the connectors that connect to the dash harness (these are on a metal bracket, I just unbolted the bracket as a whole).

You can now pull the complete engine harness from the car.

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Chassis Harness Removal

I'd recommend putting the car on jack stands with the wheels off. I also pulled my rad but you don't need to it just made it easier. You will have to unbolt it though.
You will need your bumper and headlights removed also.

Start by unbolting your fuse box and fenders (remove the fender liners side skirt front cap needs to come off too, 4 bolts in the engine bay, a few in the wheel well IIRC and 2 under the car. The ones under the car may be rusted to hell). After that you can pull the fenders off or if you were unlucky like me with rusty bolts simply drop them down.

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First go to the driver side and pull out the plug (exact same as the engine harness one); there is enough slack in the harness to pull it out and undo most the connectors. The few you can't undo you need to go in the car and remove them from the back of the interior fuse box.

Next, head to the passenger side. You need to lift the carpet and you'll see a metal plate, 4 10mm nuts hold it down; remove them and then remove the plate. Under here is you ABS ECU and a multi-ground (there might be more but I can't remember); Undo the connectors. There's a connector on the side of the door jam (covered by the dash which is why it must be out) and the connector for the blower motor; undo these too. You can now pop out the harness plug and start working you way along unbolting any grounds and popping the harness out of the straps connecting it to the body. Repeat this for the driver side.

After all that is done; you'll be rewarded with this.

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Depinning Connectors

Let's talk about depinning some of the various connectors found on the 2G DSM wiring harness. Depinning is 100% the correct way to do a wire tuck or rewire. This way if you decide you want to put something back in, it's simple! When you cut wires out it makes it much harder to add them back into the harness! Always work one connector at a time so you remember what wire goes where and make sure to label whatever you remove!

Depinning is easily done with either dental picks or a small flat blade screw driver (precision screw driver, believe it or not this is what the FSM calls for when depinning!).

There's 2 types of connectors, ones without a pin lock and ones with.
Let's start by looking at a connector without a pin lock; the ISC connector in this case.

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To remove the pin you lift up on the black pin retainer.

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Pull on the wire from the back (you may need to stick the screwdriver into the pin and lift it up a bit so it will slide out).

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Et Volia! Your connector is now depinned.

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Here's the connector with a pin lock, the green piece around it. You need to remove this before you can depin the connector.

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Simply stick the flat head between the lock and the connector housing and pry it up, then take it out and set it aside.

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The rest of the depin is just like before, lift the pin retainer and pull the wire out.

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Since everyone LOVES videos, here's one!

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