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Posted by: Tdskip Feb 5 2018, 07:28 PM

I want to remove the wiring harness from the 1971 donor car that I have, and was hoping to get some advice on do’s and don’ta when going after that.

Thanks!

Posted by: Olympic 914 Feb 5 2018, 08:30 PM

Lots of good pointers in these threads.

Look at second one, post #18 from SirAndy.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=240144

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=13582

Posted by: Tdskip Feb 5 2018, 08:53 PM

Thank you.

Posted by: mepstein Feb 5 2018, 09:11 PM

Take your time.

Posted by: Cairo94507 Feb 5 2018, 09:22 PM

Don't cut anything.

Posted by: mepstein Feb 5 2018, 09:35 PM

If you can't get a connector through a hole, remove it (don't cut) from the wire. Pics help you remember where everything goes.

Posted by: PlantMan Feb 6 2018, 12:33 AM

I did this recently.
I spent more time thinking about how I was going to do it than I actually spent pulling out the harness.

I got myself a roll of white electrical tape of good quality. I picked-up a couple permanent black pens that are suitable for plastic. Sharpie will not work.

https://www.amazon.com/Lumocolor-Permanent-Marker-Fine-Set/dp/B000J6D9GW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1517897868&sr=8-3&keywords=steadler+lumocolor

I started the process in the rear of the car and took one job at a time (ie. right rear light, license plate light, left rear light, trunk light)making sure I labeled all wires as i disconnected them. Then when I thought I had every thing disconnected I mythodically unstrapped the wire from all connectors/straps and slowely worked around the trunk. I eventually pulled the wires through and into the engine bay.
I then went on to the next task and took my time, each time with the same process. Eventually I had everything disconnected from the rear portion of the car and then slowly pulled the bundle through the firewall. The firewall was a PITA.

In all, I probably spent 5-6 hours labeling everything, removing and pulling wires, documenting with pics, etc.

Probably not the most rewarding job until you put the thing back in.

Enjoy!

Posted by: bbrock Feb 6 2018, 08:50 AM

I pulled mine a few months ago and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I bought a package of https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0153CAU2M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and like them much better than tape. Also, after downloading a copy of your wiring diagram from Jeff Bowlsby's site, you'll find you don't need to label a lot of the wires. I didn't trust that everything was wired correctly as I pulled it off the car anyway.

Posted by: ky914 Feb 6 2018, 09:04 AM

2 people make this much better than 1. Glycerin to lube up the tight spots, especially the snorkel. The only thing I had to cut were the wires going to the fog lights. I couldn't figure out how to disconnect them and most of the posts I looked at appeared to have a spade connection to the fog light. Mine were hard wired.

Posted by: Tdskip Feb 6 2018, 11:20 AM

You guys are just fantastic.

Posted by: Specracer Feb 6 2018, 06:31 PM

I too did this recently, Only connector I had to take apart is the headlight socket.

Also your removal point is just behind the shifter. Thats as far as you will be able to get the fuse panel.

Posted by: Tdskip Feb 6 2018, 06:40 PM

How do the headlight connectors come off? I must be missing a disconnect point, is it the plastic casing?

Posted by: bbrock Feb 6 2018, 07:22 PM

There's a little tab on the spade connectors inside the plastic connector housing. You need to slide a little flat blade screwdriver or similar in there to push that tab down so the spade is released to slide out the back. Out of curiosity, I checked, and you can get the headlight connectors through all the holes to remove the harness, but it is a lot easier with the plastic removed.

Posted by: Jeff Bowlsby Feb 6 2018, 10:18 PM

Attached image(s)

Posted by: ky914 Feb 7 2018, 07:33 AM

I was able to remove with the plastic connectors intact.

Posted by: Tdskip Feb 7 2018, 07:35 AM

Thanks gentlemen-I will take a look when the sun comes up.