# A few of my problems *with PICS*



## andre (Apr 30, 2002)

Here's a simple one. Is this supposed to be connected somewhere? Its on the driver side all the way in front, behind the headlight...I think.









Here's the biggest problem so far. I suspect this is what keeps starting my fires. You can see where the wires are burnt/exposed. The area is also kinda oily. This is under the car on the passenger side. Can someone tell me what harness this is? The FSM is giving me a headache. 









Another burnt harness...runs along the passenger side of the motor. The one from the picture above can be seen when looking directly down from this side of the motor.









This hose was disconnected from the pass. side CV boot. There was an exposed nipple on the boot, and the hose is the right length to fit it. I saw that it was connected to a nipple on the driver side, so I just connected it to the one on the pass. side too. Can someone tell me what it does?









And here's the car...very dirty though.









Thanks a lot guys. Hopefully this headache will go away now so I can study the FSM.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

Top pic is just the cover for the headlight motor. The hose is there for ventilation and to let moisture escape. 

The 2nd pic, all that burnt wiring is to the starter area, so clean those up, or replace them as needed, and degrease that whole area and you shouldn't have any more problems. Might be some gas dripping down there too, looks a bit odd in some areas. 

3rd pic, not sure what wiring that would be, my car doesn't have any wiring in that area. Might be improperly placed wiring going to the alt or the starter. Remove, clean/replace, relocate. 

4th pic, thats not CV boots, thats the air hose from each side of the steering rack. Some cars use metal lines. It's just to equalize pressure inside the boots so that they don't blow out or deflate too much every time you turn the wheel.....

5th pic, Nice Car. :thumbup: I like the lower skirts on those.


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## andre (Apr 30, 2002)

Thanks a lot!!! I didn't know what to call the steering rack thing, so I just said something....lol. But was it a problem that the hose was disconnected? 
The wires in the starter area...I'm just gonna replace them all. Dont want to run the risk of missing something. You're also right, there probably still is fuel down there. After the last fire, I changed the fuel filter/hoses in that area. 
Anyone can tell what the wires in the 3rd pic are?

Oh, and thanks for the compliment on the car. :cheers: I was thinking of lowering it, but I wont even bother. I kinda like the stance on it. Maybe just a good cleaning up of the interior (some buttons missing...digital metric dash...no radio), new paint job, and some nice wheels.

*edit*
- Looking at the FSM, there seem to be some difference in harness layout between MT and AT models. My car is AUTOMATIC. Thanks.


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## andre (Apr 30, 2002)

by the way, will I have to replace the starter wires one by one, or is that a separate harness by itself?


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

andre said:


> by the way, will I have to replace the starter wires one by one, or is that a separate harness by itself?


 Might be, not real sure about that, but it should be.....


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## 0341TODD (Nov 15, 2003)

What trim model is your car Andre?

You should really degrease all that stuff........first disconnect the battery and then degrease it....at home of course so you dont have to drive the car if you sprayed something you shouldnt have and you can let it air dry. I would stop starting it if there are so many fires.


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## andre (Apr 30, 2002)

The last fire was after I degreased...or thought I completely degreased...the engine bay. This time I'm gonna do it from the top and the bottom so I get into all the little crevices. The drawing in the FSM looks like its a long complete harness, so I guess I'll just have to cut into the wires. As far as the trim goes, looking at the options I guess its a GLL.... full leather, electric shocks, power everything, etc. Hopefully I'll get back under there on Thursday...not sure if its supposed to rain or not though.


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## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

Like they said degrease it. Go through the fuel lines again. You might be best off just replacing everything back there since fires do nasty things to parts. Yeah it is a GLL (I can see the leather in the pics) Nice color pretty rare one I must say :thumbup: 










So is the car Canadian spec? 


oh yeah and damn wash the car


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## andre (Apr 30, 2002)

I think it is Canadian spec....everything is in KMs (digital gauges). Gonna do a more thorough degreasing tomorrow, then one day I'll go through the wiring. Think I'll change the valve cover gaskets tomorrow too. Should be a dry day. As far as the color of the car goes....if I had the money right now, and the engine was in great shape....I would change the color. I've been thinking about that.
Maybe I should just pull the engine apart a little tomorrow, so I can get a better view of whats going on.


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## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

andre said:


> I think it is Canadian spec....everything is in KMs (digital gauges). Gonna do a more thorough degreasing tomorrow, then one day I'll go through the wiring. Think I'll change the valve cover gaskets tomorrow too. Should be a dry day. As far as the color of the car goes....if I had the money right now, and the engine was in great shape....I would change the color. I've been thinking about that.
> Maybe I should just pull the engine apart a little tomorrow, so I can get a better view of whats going on.


Well it is a 2by2 and a Turbo so it has to be Canadian spec. With the plenum off alot more will be visible.


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## andre (Apr 30, 2002)

Ok. I'm stuck...literally. I cant get the valve cover off...I guess the gasket was melted or something. A friend told me to try prying it a little with a screwdriver....tried that with no success...plus its a b!tch to get any tool horizontally enough to pry it. Any of you guys have any tips on how to get the VC off? I was trying the pass. side one first, since it looked easier.
I didn't get to degrease the underside of the motor either...its too cold outside. So basically, I got nothing done today.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

Make sure you got all the screws first. Mighta missed one. The method I have used is to take a block of wood and a hammer and whap each end a time or 2. Prying is ok to a point, but you might damage the sealing surface.


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## andre (Apr 30, 2002)

I had all the screws out. I'll try knocking it like you said when I go to do it again. Thanks.


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## andre (Apr 30, 2002)

Valve cover still wont come off, but I'll deal with that later. Right now I just wanna get this thing started. I degreased again last week, and got to a lot of burnt wiring. I used a little pick to strip them apart (was a real PITA...they were one big melted jumble) so now all the exposed wires are singled out. I cant get enough room under the car to cut/replace wires, so I really dont want to cut anything. I know there is a risk in doing this, but do you think I can just wrap the wires with electrical tape and be confident in it? 
There's one pair of wires that goes into some round space on the pass. side of the motor...kinda under the oil filter but back a little. Those 2 wires are stripped all the way, so I'd like to know if that connection can be unplugged (wish I had a pic to show  ). Those wires are really thin...much thinner than the others, so I dont want to put any pressure on them. Plus there's no color coating on them, so if they break, it would be hell trying to figure out which is which. 
So should I try taping it all up or not?

Also, there's still oil leaking from somewhere under there....I can remember what it was dripping from, but cant remember what was around it. I'll figure that out later.


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## JAMESZ (Mar 12, 2004)

You may want to go through and replace the entire harness along with any other wiring. From the pictures, the fires, and problems you have described it sounds like the wiring in your car may be absolutely FUBAR.


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## andre (Apr 30, 2002)

ok any tips on where i can get the harness? if i could get a used one it would be great, but i dont think thats very likely. I dont see a listing for one in the Vic. British catalog I have either.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

andre said:


> Valve cover still wont come off, but I'll deal with that later. Right now I just wanna get this thing started. I degreased again last week, and got to a lot of burnt wiring. I used a little pick to strip them apart (was a real PITA...they were one big melted jumble) so now all the exposed wires are singled out. I cant get enough room under the car to cut/replace wires, so I really dont want to cut anything. I know there is a risk in doing this, but do you think I can just wrap the wires with electrical tape and be confident in it?
> There's one pair of wires that goes into some round space on the pass. side of the motor...kinda under the oil filter but back a little. Those 2 wires are stripped all the way, so I'd like to know if that connection can be unplugged (wish I had a pic to show  ). Those wires are really thin...much thinner than the others, so I dont want to put any pressure on them. Plus there's no color coating on them, so if they break, it would be hell trying to figure out which is which.
> So should I try taping it all up or not? That is the knock sensor. If you unplug it, the ECU will set a code and possibly reduce timing to minimal levels and you'll lose power.
> 
> Also, there's still oil leaking from somewhere under there....I can remember what it was dripping from, but cant remember what was around it. I'll figure that out later.That oil is probably from the cam seal on that side. Mine were leaking , I would suspect yours are too. Oil eats wire coating like no other, that's where the problem started originally.


  ..........


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## andre (Apr 30, 2002)

thanks a lot for that post!!! you're prob. right about the fire starting there too...last time i saw fire, it was really blazing from under there. I'm gonna take James' advice and replace the whole damn harness.  Can you guys help me find out what its called...I'd rather get the whole thing running on the pass. side of the motor. Looking at the FSM isn't really helping much. I wanted to post in the sticky at the top of the page (for stock parts) but I dont really know what harness I need. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks.


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## andre (Apr 30, 2002)

*Wooooooohoooooooo*

Started the car today....took almost an hour, but it started for a couple of seconds. I stood there with the fire extinguisher, ready for fire, but nothing came (thank goodness). When it finally started, some dust blew off the fan....I got frightened and told my friend to turn it back off....lol. Thats the good...great news!! Everything still works....so far.

Now for the bad news. When it was started it was leaking fuel from an outlet close to the injectors. The "outlet" points down, and is next to the spark plug wires. This is the general area. The screws you see are from the pass. side valve cover...still cant get it off.









Here's a close-up of where it was leaking...I thought I had a clear shot, but I didn't.









You might be able to see the wet area in the second pic. Please help.
In the mean time, I think I'm gonna start pulling the motor apart.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

I think that fuel outlet is possibly to an injector. I don't recall anything in that area on my car except injector ports, the line to the FPR goes on the passenger side, at least on mine. Is it just a leak or more of a gush, there is 30+ pounds of fuel pressure at idle.....
You should remove the upper plenum and make sure of what it is.


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## andre (Apr 30, 2002)

After studying the FSM again I'm thinking its for an injector too. I'm not sure how much fuel came out when the car was started, but I know that when my friend cranked the engine I saw fuel dripping from it. I'm thinking of starting a teardown too. I still gotta change those VC gaskets anyway.  Thanks for the help. I just gotta try to find that harness now.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

♣Zen31ZR♣ said:


> ..........


Hmm, where did my post go.......


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## Spongerider (Nov 18, 2002)

0341TODD said:


> What trim model is your car Andre?
> 
> You should really degrease all that stuff........first disconnect the battery and then degrease it....at home of course so you dont have to drive the car if you sprayed something you shouldnt have and you can let it air dry. I would stop starting it if there are so many fires.


Big 3rd!!!!


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## andre (Apr 30, 2002)

*developments*

I picked around the motor again a couple days ago, and so far it comes down to this: I gotta replace the engine harness by the starter, also the one for the fuel injectors (also melted), I discovered 2 spark wires burnt to dust (was gonna replace them all anyway), and I found the source of a fuel leak. 









This is a pic of the injectors on the passenger side of the motor. Look at the fuel linlet lines...there's 2 inlets, and the injector plug. Both of these are connected to a metal base going into the motor. 









Same position, but on the driver side of the motor. Over here, you have the same setup...but there's one inlet going to the injector, and the one in the pic goes nowhere...all three on the driver side are like that. That's where I saw the fuel dripping from when we started the car. I remember reading in the manual a few days ago that we shouldn't pump the gas any time before or while starting the car. When my friend started the car last week he was pumping the gas....and it leaked from that outlet. 
My big question tonight is...are those vents for when we go against Nissan and pump the gas while starting? Are they supposed to prevent us from flooding the motor? Please let me know if its the same way on your cars.


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## andre (Apr 30, 2002)

anyone? please....


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

andre said:


> I picked around the motor again a couple days ago, and so far it comes down to this: I gotta replace the engine harness by the starter, also the one for the fuel injectors (also melted), I discovered 2 spark wires burnt to dust (was gonna replace them all anyway), and I found the source of a fuel leak.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


As far as all those extra unconnected pipes, I don't have any of that stuff on my car. I think maybe you should pull the upper plenum, find out where those things come from.


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