Non OEM Boxer Wiring Harness

Hi all,

First post on the site and have found it to cater more towards home mechanics than similar sites. Hope you can help me.

I have been doing a cosmetic restoration on my '84 Boxer; basically doing all the mechanical services, cleaning, replating, etc.... that any 20 year old car needs. The car has been apart for about one year.

The top-end rebuild is completed and the engine compartment is about ready to accept the motor back. I have spent considerable time righting the wrongs that my car has undergone, mostly as a result of a quick & dirty federalization job done back in '85.

I have a wiring harness in the engine compartment that I believe is not original. It includes some wires that were not connected to anything, a ground, two leads that go to some sort of vacuum swtich (the lines of which are connected to a water temp controlled vacuum switch), two leads that connect to the aforementioned temp control switch, a lead to the + terminal of the passenger fuel pump, two leads that connect to the passenger fuel distributor and two leads that go to a switch activated/deactived by a movement by the shift rod. Finallly, one lead that is spliced into two connectors for two single-wire o2 sensors.

My theroy is that this was a crude attempt at making the car emission-compliant (it was done in CA), the clue being the o2 sensors. I am trying to figure out where the other end of the harness goes, but it winds back behind the right fuel tank and must go into the cabin somewhere.

I really would like to cut this rube-goldberg set up out of my car, but given I have had so much of the car taken apart already, I will be lucky if this thing starts at all as it will be so out of tune.

Can anyone opine on what this harness may be for given its connections, and if you think its absence will impact the car's ability to run?

Some of you guy may have come across similar set-ups over the years.

Thanks,
Ted

Without PICS you really have us at a serious disadvatge.

Sorry!

No probs - I cannot figure out how to get a pic on here and maintain the size restriction. After speaking with other sources, it appears that the setup was for federalization and the wiring hooked in the o2 sensors and a special fuel valve on the FD that worked on conjunction with a series of vacuum tubes for emission control. I am bagging the whole thing and removing it from the car as it will likely prove impossible to tune the car properly (following JRV's step by step process) There must be a controller box somewhere as well.

Ted,
E-mail me your photos, and I'll re-size them and post them for you.

Regards,
David

(Message edited by fastradio2 on March 02, 2005)

Thanks for the offer, David. I won't bother posting pics of the harness since I figured it out, unless you think someone else can benefit from it - don't want to eat up server space if I don't have to!