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Engine wiring harness replacement and/or repair

Joined
22 August 2010
Messages
351
Location
Concord, CA
The local well recommended shop that has my car notified me of some rodent damage to the engine wiring harness on my NSX. I don't know the extent of the damage but the mechanic recommended replacing the harness. I've put feelers out on the wanted list here and am actively looking in other places. As I do that I've also seen people in this community do amazing things and have ridiculous repair talent. Like [MENTION=7588]Briank[/MENTION] and his can repair anything site.

Does anyone here repair or know someone who can repair/restore an engine wiring harness? For context I have a 1991 Automatic.

Thanks!
Asif

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Damage, rodent or otherwise, is repairable with good quality splices and the proper technique. The biggest issue with the engine wiring harness is that depending on where the damage is, in order to do a good repair you have to remove the wiring harness. Removing a wiring harness is not a trivial task. If the damage is limited to a couple of wires, doing a reliable repair and making it look tidy may not be difficult. If a lot of wires were damaged or if the damage is at multiple sites I would seriously consider getting a replacement from Honda. If there are a lot of wires damaged and requiring replacement the splices are larger in diameter than the original wires and even with staggering of the splices the repair area tends to be larger in diameter than the original harness. This can sometimes lead to fitment problems. Damage to one or two wires usually does not present a problem.
 
I would ask to see photos of the damages, I had a buddy who had a similar issue on his nissan. Dealer told him they need to replace the harness ($800 part 1200 labor). I asked for photo of the damages, it turned out to be just 2 spliced wires and we made them repair it for 2 labor hours. It's possible repair if done right
 
The mechanic did share pictures and I do see the damage that he is referencing. There are numerous spots and it looks like one was repaired before. To ensure a proper fix, I would like to order a replacement from Honda but it seems that the part is discontinued. If I'm not mistaken the part number is 32110-pr7-a11. There are some Honda (not Acura) parts that seem to have a similar part number with the middle 3 combination being different. I can't understand the interchangeability of these parts.

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NSX Wiring/Electrical System Repair will probably be the first in-shop service i offer but don't expect to launch it till next year. Just got moved in the new place and busy making parts. DDF can offer 27 years experience working and troubleshooting DC wiring/electronics systems. Can you send me the pictures?

Mike
 
Yes, it does seem like the part is listed as no longer available in North America. Automatics were / are much more common in Japan and JP carparts still shows the part number as active. You will have to enquire to find out if it is still available. (you need to scroll down about half way through the page to find the part number).

http://jp-carparts.com/honda/part_d...&type=NSX&cartype=19668&fig=E&fig1=700&fig2=4

There are a couple of other companies that specialize in sourcing difficult to find parts for Japanese cars; but, the names escape me right now. You could also try the NSXshop (a Prime vendor).

https://www.thensxshop.com/

I have used him and found him reliable and his reputation as a Prime vendor is positive. I expect that he does not list the part; but, he may be able to acquire it for you.

If it turns out that the part is unavailable, having done wiring repairs and some partial fabrication I have the following suggestions:

1)
The minimum quality wire should be SAE J1128 with the SXL, GXL or TXL designation. Its rated to 125 C operation and I like the TXL which is thin wall insulation because it can be easier to fit in a repair area. The thin wall insulation also makes it more flexible. Avoid wire which only has the J1128 designation or no designation as it will typically only be rated to 85 C (or less). There are higher temperature / more expensive / harder to source wires available. Even the SAE J1128 TXL can be a little hard to source. Waytek sells it; but, in 250' or 500' minimum quantities; but, its only $0.05/ft for 18 AWG so $25 for a roll - reasonable. You do need to match the wire sizes so you may have more than one roll. The more exotic high temperature wire is significantly higher in price - Digikey can be a good source to check out.

2)
I recommend that the splices not be soldered. Soldering risks damaging the adjacent insulation and a solder joint hot enough to avoid a cold solder joint results in solder migrating up through the wire strands resulting in a section of wire that is inflexible and subject to fracture. Do not use the common insulated butt crimp connectors (too bulky and the insulating jackets are generally poor). I like to use un-insulated closed barrel butt crimp connectors with a separate sleeve of double wall heat shrink for insulation. This will result in a more compact joint. It also allows you to confirm the quality of the crimp because the connector is bare. It is more time consuming because of the two step process of applying the crimp and then applying the heat shrink. It also requires a specific un-insulated closed barrel crimping tool (or die) correctly sized for the crimp. Match your crimp sizes correctly to the wire sizes. Un-insulated closed barrel crimps will not be available at your auto supply store. Again, try some place like DigiKey or Waytek.

3)
The un split corrugated covering that Honda uses on its wiring is high quality material. The similar looking split covering from the auto supply stores is low quality and low temperature (typically 90 C or less). Do not use it. You can source flame retardant poly propylene split loom covering that is good for 135 C from Waytek and probably DigiKey and maybe McMaster Carr. The bad news is that you buy by the roll so you are into $60 - $100 depending on the size. Unless you are taking the loom apart and unpinning the connectors you will need to use a split covering for the repair area. You can secure the split loom to the original covering using something like GB silicone self bonding repair tape. In fact, if the repair areas are small, fitting a new loom covering can be a problem. In that case, you can use the GB repair tape as the external jacket if it is used with a 50% lap. The GB tape is UL listed to only 80C at 600 volts. That is a reflection of the UL standard. Its useful operating temperature is closer to 250 C. I have used it to wrap a complete loom. It is a self amalgamating not an adhesive tape (it only sticks to itself). Once it has been in contact with itself for more than about 30 - 60 seconds, its not coming apart. Wrapping it takes a certain amount of skill. The self amalgamating means that the tape will not unwrap when exposed to oil or gasoline, unlike conventional adhesive style PVC electrical tape which has no place in an engine compartment. The down side to the self amalgamating tape is that if you bodge the repair, there is no unwrapping to do a fix. The only way that it comes off is to slit it with a razor.

Setting up to do the repair correctly is a hassle because of the requirement for the correct tools and the need to source supplies which do not come in convenient quantities. I can understand that you may not want to do this yourself. I offer up the gory details primarily so that you can at least have an informed discussion about how the repair is to be done if you source the repair out to someone. I have seen some pretty flakey looking wiring jobs in cars (my NSX had some pretty egregious electrical work done on it by somebody). The engine wiring harness is probably the last place where you want poor quality work. An intermittent fault in the engine wiring harness could drive you crazy.
 
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Can't thank you enough for the time you put into your response. The complexity of the response alone leads me to believe that it is worth replacing the harness rather than attempting repair. JP car parts has 14 in stock and the price is reasonable for something that powers the entire car. I'll also be talking to my insurance company to see if they'll cover rodent damage.

Thank you again,
Asif

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I'll also be talking to my insurance company to see if they'll cover rodent damage.

Interesting idea - would certainly test the 'comprehensive' provision of a policy with comprehensive coverage. I bet the actuaries didn't factor rodents into the risk assessment. It will be interesting to see if they push the repair rather than replace option. You might want to have a repair / inspection invoice with your mechanics recommendation to replace with you in the discussion with the adjuster. You may need to have the repair shop source the harness for you because the insurance company may get picky about covering a customer supplied harness. Just something to sort out with the adjuster before you go down the path.
 
Years ago I purchased a complete Tuned Port Injection system for a Chevrolet Camaro. There had been a fire of sorts in the engine bay and much of the wiring harness was damaged beyond recognition. I ended up completely building a new, custom harness (going from a Camaro to a Monte Carlo) using wire and connectors sourced from the salvage yard. I did end up soldering and shrink wrapping all (~50) wires except 1 that used to provide power to the fuel pump, which was a crimp connector. Of course, everything worked great until that one crimp, which was not tight enough, came loose. That was my mistake, though.

For 1 or 2 wires I would probably solder, unless as Old Guy notes it is in an area where adjacent wires will be heat damaged.

Getting harnesses out (and a new one in) is a major pain in the rear. I am a believer that if an owner is willing to pay, a shop will always take the replacement route.

I had a harness issues with my 02 TL-s, had a bad wire on the main harness from the fuse box along the driver footwell to the trunk. The complete harness was only $139, but would have taken at least 4 hours because it splintered off to the power seats, belts etc. I replaced the bad wire with crimps, lots of electrical tape and an hour of labor. Amazing that things like the memory seats, alarm and what not that worked after correcting a bad wire!
 
[MENTION=11324]Miner[/MENTION] - thanks for the encouragement. There are quite a few issues being thrown right now and I'm hoping they're resolved once the harness is fixed.

That being said, according to this link from Acura Parts Club, the harness part number is 32110-pr7-a11. JP Carparts out of Japan has this part but they cannot confirm that it will work with my car because my car is a USDM. Do any of you know if this part is usable on both JDM and USDM versions of the NSX? There is a no return policy on the parts purchased and it is quite pricey. Help appreciated.
 
Wow, I got a reply from [MENTION=3729]Larry Bastanza[/MENTION]! I'm sorry forgive me for being a bit star struck. Thank you Larry for the confirmation. I'll go ahead and have the part ordered from JP Car parts.
That is the correct part number for US Automatic 1991........

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