Engine bay loom burning

Just finished plenum pull, under plenum bypass, egr removal, prvr removal, aiv removal, coil pack connectors replacement, injector connectors replacement, injectors cleaned, remove and bypass hardpipes for turbo coolant behind engine, etc.

Car started first time. I let it warm up so that I could use ConZult to check everything. Everything checked OK. Stop engine to let it cool down.

Wash car.

Start car to turn around on driveway and notice smoke from under bonnet. Stop car and check, find loom smouldering. Hear hissing noise from area of number 6 cylinder. Remove battery cable and noise stops.

Damage as shown in photo.



Do I take to auto electrician. Any ideas?

 

My guess is

if you didn't tape over all the connector ends, that are now hanging round after aiv egr ect removal, water has caused a short circut inside one off the loose plugs and burnt out that wire.

 

Don't think so

Only connector left hanging was prvr and it wasn't able to get wet. Also, damage only confined to that main section as shown. If a connector was causing the problem then I would expect that the wiring to the connector would be burnt also.

I'm wondering if all the bending of the loom caused the brittle insulation to break and shift, causing a short. I'll try and find out which wires were burnt tomorrow in the daylight.

 

harness unwrap

When I do my plenum pull & engine bay simplification, im adding a harness unwrap, check, repair to the list after seeing that!

I hope its not damaged anything else like the ecu.

I think you can buy a new engine harness, but about $800 tho.

 

I'm installing a new engine bay loom

Of course, I'll pull the old one apart to find out what shorted.

I'll do it either this weekend or the next.

Now I understand why they say "my wallet is still bleeding" and Japan's revenge. But I really love driving this car. (not for the last 3 weeks)

 

Found the short circuit

quick and dirty fix to loom and car is running again. Will replace loom tomorrow.

 

good news, charles .. well done ...

... any idea what caused/brought about the short circuit ...???

 

engine loom

Off subject a bit but where did you get your engine loom from? Is it new and how much did it cost? Thinking of getting a new one myself.

Regards Peter

 

Excellent thread!

This thread has managed to completely avoid providing one solitary piece of useful information. Keep up the good work!

 

We know

for sure its not a short circuit, and nothing to do with water.

 

Thanks for the insightful remark

Chili - I'll keep your preferences in mind.

It was a short in the wire running to the air regulator.

My fault, when I replaced the plug I didn't allow enough separation or insulation between the joints. It was a bit tight! When I placed the boot back over the plug, it pushed the joins too close, Seems that after some vibration??? the 2 joins touched. Short circuit.

Yesterday afternoon I repaired the wiring (quick and dirty) to see if anything was damaged. Z started and ran smoothly. So today I am replacing the loom with a new one bought from TTZ $860.

 

See? That's exactly what we all needed to know. That small(but vital) piece of info is a valuable addition to the knowledge base of 'Things to watch out for', and may well save someone else from having the same miserable time you are experiencing.
Good work in finding the cause, hope you get to enjoy your Zed from this point on.:zlove::zlove::zlove:

 

OK All done - but now z won't start

Z ran friday after quick and dirty loom repair.

Now new loom is in and everything connected but Z will turn over on starter but won't start. What have I missed?

Any suggestions?

 

Check the CAS connection. I'll be you

the ecu diagnostic comes up as code 11 Crank Angle sensor. Easy fix, disconnect the wiring loom from the CAS, clean terminals and most importantly retension and then connect...

 

Why CAS?

Its a new loom, new connectors, I checked that the CAS was plugged in properly, Just checked again. Faults are

 

Is that OBD-II?
Doesn't look lome 90-96 codes???

 

Yeah what software are you using? Greg those codes (or some of) appear to be in Hex

 

I just went out 2 Z

erased the codes. Tried to start, then read codes again.



They make more sense.



Well looks like I will have to check those PTU connections again. I hope that the PTU hasn't died suddenly. That would be a coincidence.

 

I'm using ConZult full

Thanks for your help
Charles

 

You'll also recieve a code 21 if you havn't plugged the connector into the ecu correctly...ie, make sure that bolt is up nice and tight.