Ain't that the truth.

 

I have two ratcheting crimpers I bought specifically for this job. The first one I bought new for $68 (shown in bottom of photo with black handle): Waytek #509 / Delphi 12155975 which does wire and seal crimps for Weatherpack 280 and Metripack 150. I need it for the WP280 terminals going into the Bussman fuse center and I'm using it to crimp the wire part of the GT150 terminals even though this tool is not specific to the GT150 and does not include the GT150 seal cavity.. Nearly all sensor connectors on the LY6 harness are GT150s. The GT150-specific tool is Delphi 15359996, but I don't plan to buy it since I can get by using my existing tools.

I bought the second crimper used off ebay for $65. It is service tool J-38125-641 (which probably also has a Delphi number, I just don't know what it is). It does the Molex MX64 terminals that can be found on the E38 and similar ECMs. It does both the wire and insulation crimp simultaneously. I tried using the first tool for the MX64 terminals, but it just mangled them - the cavity is not shaped right.

Here is a great resource that shows some of the different types of terminals, how they are assembled, and lists service tools:
http://www.weber.edu/wsuimages/autom...%20Booklet.pdf

 

Clint that link is great info.. glad you posted it.

BC

 

Thank the ls1tech community. It was posted by someone else here at one point and I bookmarked it. This site is full of great info!

 

An hour and a half in the garage tonight yielded two crimped terminals to finish the coolant temp sensor pigtail and two pigtails wrapped, loomed and finished with heat shrink (temp and driver knock). I also took apart the alternator connector and discovered I don't have any terminals that look like it so I need to figure out what they are and order some. Seems like even when I get time to work on the car I am so so so slow!

 

No photos, but I am having a really good time with the wiring harness. The detective work has been entertaining and for some reason the whole cutting, terminating, wrapping, and looming process is proving highly therapeutic. My plan is two main runs: one from the front/bottom of the engine and one from the rear top. I have the front/bottom run completely done now. It includes the throttle body, MAP, MAF, cam actuator, cam position, coolant temp, alternator, crank position, alternator, knock sensors, starter solenoid, and main ECM ground (to the passenger head). So far I have only used soldering to extend the two wires coming from the alternator because it had some weird terminals on the connector and I didn't want to wait for another custom pigtail. Otherwise everything is continuous wire with a crimped terminal at each end. At this point I've terminated 29 of ~75 planned ECM terminals, not yet half way done. Most of the work will be wiring the ignition coils. They are 4 wires each, 2 of which are power and ground which means a whole bunch of wire junctions/soldering. On top of everything going into the ECM, I have a few relays and a half dozen or so fuses to wire in, plus making some custom circuits to interface a tach, OBD connector, etc. I can see why people spend $500-600 on a plug & play wire harness - it is well worth it if you don't have the time, skill or desire to do this kind of work.

Marching on toward an eventual start-up.

 

Clint.. keep plugging away and I am sure your going to have one great looking harness..

Then comes the scary part.. will it start ? did I get everything right ? did I screw anything up ?...LOL ! I had that feeling up to the point when I turned the key and the roar of the first start !.. then a great feeling of relief !...

keep up the good work.

BC

 

Wow. Makes my painless harness seem almost painless. Congrats on your new daughter!

 

You know how I like to complicate things!

 

How to take apart a typical metripack / GT connector like the one below. This specific connector is for the coolant temp sensor.



First, remove the "TPA" (terminal position assurance) component. It has snaps on either side which can be pried open slightly to remove.





The next step is, I believe, optional. I remove this cover component. If you dont' remove it, you can insert a tool through the front to unsnap the terminal, but I think it's easier and less error prone to remove the cover. Depending on the size of the connector, it may be held on by one or multiple snaps which you can pry with a small (jeweler size) flat blad screwdriver.





With the cover off, you can see the terminals and how they're held.



To remove the terminal, you first shove it forward as shown. This unseats the plastic flexure that keeps it from pulling out.



Now you can pry the flexure up slightly to unsnap the terminal.



And you can slide it back out by pulling on the wire.





To reinstall, push the terminal all the way in and pull back to make sure it's snapped/seated into place. That's all there is to it.

 

Other random images. Here are my par (top) and subpar (bottom) solder joints for extending the alternator wires. The joint shown on the bottom could have been a lot better if I did a better job twisting the wire strands.





Random photos. So much to do yet.

 

for soldering wires like that, I like to take a long strand of scrap wire and use that to tie the two sections of wire together before soldering them, instead of twisting them together. It makes the joint look neater once it's soldered and shrunk.

Good work and thank for all the info!

 

I'm not seeing this; can you show some pics what you mean?

 

Nice work!

Doug

 

Clint keep up the nice work!

Mike

 

I'm now finishing up the even/passenger side injector wiring. I replaced all the pink (+12v) wires because they were too short, but the ECM wires are going to be shortened. I thought a lot about how I wanted these to route. I was very tempted to put them under the intake plenum cover, but ultimately decided against it due to accessibility. This was a very time consuming section of harness, but I am happy with how it turned out.















It would look a lot tidier to me if the loom ran perfectly straight instead of naturally wavy. Maybe I should put a rod in there or something lol.

 

Awesome work, I love clean wiring (doesnt mean I have it myself). If you had to do it again, would you still use the braided loom or would use the corrugated stuff? I like the looks of the braided stuff, but it seems like it would be a little more work to use since it doesnt have the "split".

I saw you asking about the Camaro tank on Steves, is the tank on the backburner. I am relying on you to figure out all these details so I can copy you

 

This is a split braided loom. You can install it from the side (rather than threading the wire through) and wires can exit at any point along the length. From an install and tidiness standpoint, I would definitely use it again. I don't know how it's going to hold up and I suspect it maybe tougher to clean than the traditional convoluted loom, but from what I know so far, yes I would use it again.



The difficult part of how I'm doing this is planning for the shrink wrap, which you do have to plan for in regard to threading it on. For the "tee" connections where the individual injector looms come through, I notched part of the loom so it would close around on either side. Then once it was assembled, I ran a flame around it to singe the braiding in that area so it wouldn't fray.

Don't get your hopes up! I bought a new factory replacement Nova tank and I'm recessing the PA-4 into it using the Tanks Inc prefabbed tray to save time. I haven't started the work yet, but the parts are sitting in the garage.

 

You can find that split loom on ebay and other online stores/vendors.. I have usually order it from McMaster-Carr. .they have it and many other kinds of Loom and coverings.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-ca...eeving/=nqegvq

Clint.. great job again.. can't wait to see your final job done !

BC

 

Clint, that looks phenomenal. And much cleaner than the standard convoluted loom.