'82 HP j35elcnd. The insulation on a majority of the motor harness wiring was cracked, the wire itself badly corroded. Tattered and shredded would be a good way to describe most of the wiring, from the red plug
to the purple-white trace choke solenoid wire. Coil wires, pulse feed, choke wire, even the hot horn wire, all exhibited the same. All wiring coming from under the flywheel to the terminal block that covers the rectifier is in good shape The wires coming off the power pack were in good shape, but if I remember right, they are separate from the main harness. One note, the choke solenoid (purple-white trace)was wired to the constant hot (switch on)purple leg on the ignition switch that is designated for accessories. The solenoid cooked. It's been replaced and wired correctly. But why would that have caused so much damage to other circuits that have nothing to to do with that. Wish I'd have taken pics.
I bought it used, and was a little more naive about marine wiring than now. I was so interested in cleaning up the mess that I cut back to decent wire, (even after cutting a lot of wire off, the tinned copper was still corroded so bad that I had to use acid flux to tin the leads). Everything functions as it's supposed to, after a lot of work rebuilding the harness with standard grade #12 wire.
I'm having a hard time finding a used OE harness, have at least 4 searches in place on ebay. I will replace this with an OE harness, even if I have to buy a new one. With some help, I did find a new one, but it's around $110. I am going to sell the motor and don't want any problems for whoever buys it.
I read some time ago that early '80's harnesses had problems, and more than one motor had to be re-wired completely. One guy redid his with trailer wiring, using a flat 4-way to allow motor removal. That's not an option here.
All of this rambling to set up for the question.
Is it true that wiring harnesses made during this time period had a short life span? It it is, I'll just buckle down and buy a new one, a used one might not be in any better shape. Thanks for looking, KR
to the purple-white trace choke solenoid wire. Coil wires, pulse feed, choke wire, even the hot horn wire, all exhibited the same. All wiring coming from under the flywheel to the terminal block that covers the rectifier is in good shape The wires coming off the power pack were in good shape, but if I remember right, they are separate from the main harness. One note, the choke solenoid (purple-white trace)was wired to the constant hot (switch on)purple leg on the ignition switch that is designated for accessories. The solenoid cooked. It's been replaced and wired correctly. But why would that have caused so much damage to other circuits that have nothing to to do with that. Wish I'd have taken pics.
I bought it used, and was a little more naive about marine wiring than now. I was so interested in cleaning up the mess that I cut back to decent wire, (even after cutting a lot of wire off, the tinned copper was still corroded so bad that I had to use acid flux to tin the leads). Everything functions as it's supposed to, after a lot of work rebuilding the harness with standard grade #12 wire.
I'm having a hard time finding a used OE harness, have at least 4 searches in place on ebay. I will replace this with an OE harness, even if I have to buy a new one. With some help, I did find a new one, but it's around $110. I am going to sell the motor and don't want any problems for whoever buys it.
I read some time ago that early '80's harnesses had problems, and more than one motor had to be re-wired completely. One guy redid his with trailer wiring, using a flat 4-way to allow motor removal. That's not an option here.
All of this rambling to set up for the question.
Is it true that wiring harnesses made during this time period had a short life span? It it is, I'll just buckle down and buy a new one, a used one might not be in any better shape. Thanks for looking, KR
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