in search of wiring harness and fuse box

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toledo
Newbie
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2017 10:02 pm
My tercel:: 1983 SR5
Location: Astoria, Oregon

in search of wiring harness and fuse box

Post by toledo »

im in need of a new wiring harness and fuse box for my '83. if anyone has the parts to sell or any info as to where to look and so forth it is much appreciated. I just got my first tercel and am new to this car and this forum. Cheers
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Petros
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 11930
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: in search of wiring harness and fuse box

Post by Petros »

welcome to the forum!

why do you need a new fuse box and wire harness? can yours be fixed, or it got melted or what? the car has a lot of wire harnesses, can you narrow it down? also, there are several fuse panels, are you referring to the one under the hood next to the battery?

Tell us about your car, how did you come to own it, condition, etc.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
toledo
Newbie
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2017 10:02 pm
My tercel:: 1983 SR5
Location: Astoria, Oregon

Re: in search of wiring harness and fuse box

Post by toledo »

Yes, it melted, the previous owner decided to install a manual radiator fan switch, well, lets just say it was unsuccessful and melted the wiring harness and severely damaged the fuse box. Im assuming the one under the hood next to the battery. The car was given to me by someone who just didn't want to deal with it. im excited to have her, but honestly don't know terribly much about mechanics, I get by, but barely. So I took it to a trusted friend whom has an auto shop and he has suggested that the best place to start is replacing the wiring harness and fuse box.
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Petros
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 11930
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: in search of wiring harness and fuse box

Post by Petros »

previous owner thoght he would save some money by not replacing the thermal sensor perhaps, paid for it in stupid tax.

We can help you fix it, it actually sounds like an easy fix. There will be someone with the parts you need on this forum, I might even have a spare fuse box somewhere in a box (I would have to spend some time looking).

Replacing "the wire harness" is a MAJOR job that is not easy, and not likely what it needs. Carefully inspect the wires that go in and out of the melted fuse box and see if you can isolate the one that caused the problem. It is important you get everything fixed correctly, and undo the DIY job the previous owner did so it does not happen again. Sounds like you will also need the thermal switch on the radiator also, thought that is an easy check once you have it running.

You either just replace that one that was bad, or run another one as a by pass. if the shorted wire ran down in to a wire bundle you will have to cut off the cover far enough to verify it did not melt or damage the adjoining wires. if it did than you will want to either separate them and wrap them with quality electrical tape or some other insulation (like heat shrink tubing). with a replacement fuse box, the wire diagram from the factory service manual, and some wire splices and extra wire, it should not take more than an hour or two to fix it, rather than replace the whole bundle.

I have had major melt downs in my own car (old wires within the bundle chaffed through the brittle insulation and shorted out), it actually started an underhood fire (rather exiting actually, I had both my daughters in the car at the time taking them to school). Most of the actual wires were okay, it just had the insulation melted off. I replaced the badly damaged wires by just splicing new wires in, and than wrapped the ones that had melted insulation with electrical tape. that happened about 12years ago and I am still driving on it.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
toledo
Newbie
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2017 10:02 pm
My tercel:: 1983 SR5
Location: Astoria, Oregon

Re: in search of wiring harness and fuse box

Post by toledo »

Hahah, yes that sounds very exciting especially with the daughters in tow. Thanks for the detailed reply I think i may have found a fuse box online, but need to get back to the car to make sure its the right one. As for the wire harness I'm having a lil harder time finding one. i did go to a site that someone on the forums suggested, i forget which website specifically but i was able to search the car by vin number and find part numbers and diagrams. there seems to be several harnesses, some cheap but one was listed at $1,000. Im hoping its not that one. Ill be going on the hunt to some wrecking yards to see if maybe i can salvage one if indeed i do need the expensive harness. if you do happen to find your fuse box and you're willing to sell it, i am interested.
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