Wires, wires everywhere

[johnnymk]

I am in the process of installing a '92 fuel injected 5.0 engine and overdrive trans in a 64 Mustang. The motor and trans is in place, all of the fuel lines have been run to the fuel pump which is presently in the tank. The last major part of the puzzle is the wiring harness and the sensors and actuators which attach to it.

I pulled a harness out of an '88 Lincoln Mark 7, thinking that I would have to spend no more than a week mating everything together. Well, nearly a month later, I have everything figured out. The harness is ready to go into the car.

I can't believe the number of wires which are in late model cars. The computer from the '92 has 60 pins of which only a few aren't used. I had to follow each wire from the individual pin to find out where they attached. There is a MAP sensor, an ECC Relay, a fuel pump relay, oxygen sensors, and many more including a vehicle speed sensor in the trans.

Fortunately, a friend of mine owns a garage and he has access to wiring schematics on his computer through Mitchell, so I had a guide to work with.

When I pulled the harness out of the car, I didn't pull the pigtails for the oxygen sensors, the MAP sensor, the speed sensor, the alternator and the coil. I also didn't pull the fuse block and the ignition switch connector.

I was at the junk yard every other day looking for the proper pigtails out of the correct cars. It seems that Ford uses many different types of routing of wires from model to model and from year to year.

There have been times when I wake up in the middle of the night realizing I was dreaming about wiring diagrams.

This is truly one of the most tedious projects I have ever undertaken.

[mechmike0034]

http://www.mustangandfords.com/howto/16159/

You probably already know this, but Painless, Ron Francis (up in your area), and MustangsPlus all make harnesses for just such a conversion. Not cheap, but worth a look compared to the cost and aggrivation factor of boneyard diving and creating your own.

[johnnymk]

Yes, I know. Ford Racing also has a harness. As far as I know, they are all for Mass Air, not Speed Density. It is very hard to find a Mass Air unit at the U-PULL-IT junkyard I go to.

On top of the $500 to $700 for the harness, I would have to purchase the Mass Air sensor and the computer which would add another $200.

I have spent less than $100 so far but many many hours of work. But I always wanted to learn about fuel injection and emission components. What better way to learn than baptism by fire? Before I retired, a mechanic at work gave me a thorough study guide on emission components which he had no use for. It was the book which all of the mechanics used for the mandatory course given by NAPA or some other large corporation??

I am finally going to study it this winter. At least I will be familiar with the components when I read about them.