dat240zg Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 I'm at the point now in the reassembly that I'm getting ready to run the Painless harness to the engine bay. I'd like some ideas of where to or which way to run the harness. I'd like to have the clean look, so I'd rather not run it down the frame rail (stock). Several thoughts that I had considered: 1. Drill a hole in both ends of the frame rail and run it through there to the front of the car and then throught the bottom of the radiator support. Pro's: Very clean Con's: Holes in the frame rail, potential for future rust. 2. Take the harness in to the engine bay through the stock hole, then up into the top of the fender rail (in between the frame and the under side of the fender). Pro's: Less work, slightly clean look Con's: Still have some of the harness out in the open, would also have to resolve how to get the harness back into the front of the radiator support for lights, etc. 3. Run the harness through the fresh air vent on the passenger side, all the way out to the front of the radiator support. Pro's: Nice and clean, no permanent holes Con's: I lose some of the functionality of the vents. Any of you guys have any other thoughts or tricks that you've done that you'd be willing to share? Thanks much for your thoughts. Bryan Dat240zg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 You can get to the back of the frame rail by poking a hole through the firewall also. Avoids a hole in the top of the frame rail. You didn't mention what type of motor. Trouble with the frame rail is you either have to double back get to the alternator or have multiple exit holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dat240zg Posted November 2, 2007 Author Share Posted November 2, 2007 Good Point - I forgot to mention the motorvation. It's an LT-1. I recognize that I'll have a couple of wires that I'll have to seperate. What I've been thinking of doing is to not have any wires coming out of the stock locations in the firewall and instead run the wires through an alternate route (previously mentioned), and those wires that are tied to the motor, up and out the hole for the wiper harness, straight to the back of the motor. When the guys did the body work I had them get rid of the fresh air vent hole (right in front of the passenger, by the wipers) and so I have a nice bit of space in there (under the valence) that I can use to clean things up. What I don't want to do is pull a bone head move and drill a couple of holes and then realize that I missed thinking of something. Speaking from experience, unfortunately. Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 Most of the engine wires run to the upper back of the engine and get distributed from there. So if you want to hide them I think it would be best to attempt to get the wires as close as possible to that location. From there some run down to the transmission, some to the starter, and some run between the valve covers and intake on either side for the fuel injectors and various electronics on the front of the engine. These wires are all pretty easy to hide and I'm using Corvette fuel rail covers to hide a lot of it, and I think it works out fairly clean. Where are you mounting your PCM? Are you running windshield wipers, will you be installing AC, running a heater? Mounting the PCM where the stock heater was and running the wires up through the wiper motor location may be the cleanest option if you aren't using those items. Running the wires all the way to the front (radiator support) still leaves the problem of getting the wires to the engine and would require really long wires (meaning possibly cutting up your expensive wiring harness to lengthen it). Of course you could use the framerail trick to hide the wires that do go to the front (headlights, horn, turn signals, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dat240zg Posted November 2, 2007 Author Share Posted November 2, 2007 Bart: Honestly, I haven't decided on where to locate the PCM. I'm not certain about its ability to be exposed to the elements without issue. I'd love to mount it up in the wiper box, on the passenger side of things where there is more covering. I am running heat/air (Hot Rod Air system) and am going to have wipers. My thought was to seperate the wires that will be heading to the front of the car (horn, lights, fog lamps, turns, etc) and run them hidden while the rest of the harness - power, alt, etc and engine harness run hidden up high. What are your thoughts about the PCM being "slightly" exposed up in the wiper box? Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 ... What are your thoughts about the PCM being "slightly" exposed up in the wiper box? Bryan The PCM is pretty stout and can generally handle some pretty brutal environments. I was just talking to my mechanic friend earlier today about the location of my PCM, and he thought the location I'm using is great. I was concerned about the proximity to the header, but he assured me that it has plenty of air flow and the header isn't too close. So, I think that a little exposure isn't a big problem. Of course orientation could become a factor and you want to ensure that the connectors are protected and oriented so water can't become a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staledale Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 try looking at this post http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=109876 and then from this post http://www.pbase.com/baracu/zcar&page=all A guy from Pa, member name Barcu built a couple of nice engine compartments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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