[TEALCOBRA]

I'm toying around with the idea of building a new engine harness for my upcoming motor that will be using an AEM EMS, EPM, and LQ9 COP setup. I have access to a bunch of wire here at work that is SXL grade but is only 20 gauge. Do you think this would be an okay gauge to work with for the harness, or should I look into buying new wire and going with 18 gauge or possibly larger?

I know I will need to shield the wires for the EPM, does anyone know if there is anything else special that will need to be done on the harness ???

 

[blacksaleen95]

20ga will be fine. I've used 20/22ga before with no problems. The only thing you may want to run 18ga on is the coil and ems power/grnd.

Do yourself a favor, ditch all the Ford trash connectors, grab some gm sensors and connectors from a jy, and then buy new pins. Cheapest and easiest way to make a complete harness imo. Trying to use the factory ford and getting the pins is such a pain in comparison to using all the GM stuff.

 

[TEALCOBRA]

Would there be any wires that you would use larger wire than 18 gauge with?

I'm just trying to get an idea before building anything. We have the most of 20g SXL wire in all types of colors with and without stripes so I could definitely make it easier to trace wires later, but we also have 12, 14, 16, and 18 gauge SXL but it's just plain colors with limited options.

We also have weather proof weatherpack terminals here, I was toying with the idea of switching to them, but was also looking at the connectors on rjminjection.com and sticking with the ford stuff. I'm not sure what route I'll take with the connectors yet, but I might go with some basic connections...

 

[blacksaleen95]

Would there be any wires that you would use larger wire than 18 gauge with?

I'm just trying to get an idea before building anything. We have the most of 20g SXL wire in all types of colors with and without stripes so I could definitely make it easier to trace wires later, but we also have 12, 14, 16, and 18 gauge SXL but it's just plain colors with limited options.

We also have weather proof weatherpack terminals here, I was toying with the idea of switching to them, but was also looking at the connectors on rjminjection.com and sticking with the ford stuff. I'm not sure what route I'll take with the connectors yet, but I might go with some basic connections...

The only thing that requires larger wire is anything with higher current. Relay power/ground will require larger ga, any chassis grounds or 12v power should be larger than 18ga as well. The plan colors will work fine, there isn't the need for as many colors as you'd think.

Don't waste your time with the big-ass weatherpak stuff. You can get all the GM micro-metripak stuff you need from mouser electronics. Get a good set of crimpers, and pins in bulk and you'll be fine. I've always gone to junkyards and gotten the gm connectors and used new wire and pins, and reused the connectors and seals and it's worked fine. There really is only one or two sources for the ford terminals which makes it a royal pita, the gm stuff is everywhere so why not use it? All the GM sensors will work on the Ford AEM's without any issue.

 

[TEALCOBRA]

Thanks for giving me some pointers on all this. I have a ton of dies at work for crimping 95% of the tyco/amp/delphi connectors, so hopefully I can find something that will work and I can just use our machines to do all the crimping as well...

We just had a ton of the weatherpak stuff left over from a harness job for a local bus company..... We do some metripak stuff as well, so I should be able to find some stuff that will work.... I'll keep track of my progress.

Thanks again......

 

[TEALCOBRA]

Well Im actually getting back to this (had some life crap take much of my time and money and had to put things on hold) and just wanted to make sure on a few items.....

Im planning on getting rid of as much old junk from my donor harness as possible, so I wanted to get some clarification (if possible) on getting rid of the following stuff:

TAB
TAD
TFI
MAF
EGR
HEGO
A/C

And I didn't know if I can get rid of the BPS sensor since I'll be going to MAP and a 4150 throttle body or if I needed to keep it, and also can I get rid of the EEC Self Test connector at this point as well ???

I know alot of this stuff will be replaced with the new AEM widebands, etc. but I wanted to re-route some of that stuff through a smaller harness in the trans tunnel instead of going around the motor then back to the O2 sensors.

The new setup will be LQ9 coils, EPM, MAP on a 4150 throttle body......

Thanks !!!!!

 

[Donovan]

Yeah, definitly dump the EEC self test connector. You might also consider adding in the boost control solenoid, egt and knock wires if you want to use that stuff. Make sure not to forget the (tranny) VSS and backup connector and also to remove the narrow band o2 leads if you are going to be using a wideband controller.

 

[JoeRacer]

I was wondering if there are any good sources online that you would recommend for educating myself on how to do better automotive electrical wiring with regards to engine harnesses. I'm considering doing this for my car, but want to educate myself a bit more before undertaking the project. Thanks for any info you can give