EA82T..cat converter

subybrumby · Post by **subybrumby** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 1:26 pm

Have spent all morning on this in the shed and basically..there is a large white wire that should have power to it that goes to the ignition switch, alternator and fuse box (and battery)..its all connected apparently. There is no power anywhere in that wire and it should also have a connection to the battery through the fusible link. If I take a wire from the positive side of the battery and apply it anywhere on this circuit, the whole system lights up and away the car starts. There should be a direct connection from the battery to this circuit but I can't find it. The large white wire from the alternator, goes through a harness down under the radiator and across the drivers side of the engine bay and into the dash. It doesn't seem to connect to the battery yet the alternator is right beside the battery (battery is on passenger side)

So still looking....I could probably just bridge from the battery to the alternator and away I go..but there is obviously a break somewhere..I'm missing something...

subybrumby · Post by **subybrumby** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 9:07 pm

Gonna spend some more time on this tomorrow but basically as above and according to the wiring diagram in the workshop manual, there is a large white wire that connects the battery,alternator, Ignition switch and fuse box all together. It would appear that somehow the battery has become isolated in this circuit. I am gonna have another look tomorrow and try and see the wiring behind the fusebox. If I still can't find the fault, I will rewire it a little bit that should bring the battery back into that circuit. It'll get me going again and I'll just keep an eye on it with short local trips to see what it does.

PS...I took photos but they're too big to load on this site.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 8:53 am

short local trips it'll be fine - you'll need to find a mother of a pot hole again to really test it

Has that fat white wire got a trace colour , from one end to the other ?

I recall fat white / black ? at the alternator and recall fat white at ignition - must be same.....

subybrumby · Post by **subybrumby** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 7:51 pm

No Johnno...just a large white wire...I wired it a bit different today and have finished in the engine bay. Started it up and everything working normally. Will finish under syteering wheel, fusebox etc tomorrow. I ran a new wire from Alt to Battery (which is just beside it on pass side). and put in new fusible connection to batterry energising system. I suspect the problem is probably behind fuse box or between fusebox and key. Will give more detailed report when I get it finished.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 8:57 am

thinking right back to the 80's when Dirty Wheels or the like article on a smokin' hot cross flow Ford 4.1 with turbo or triples just gone back in car, got it started then would not restart, crank even!

Took 'em ages to realise the only earth wire to engine block was the accy cable, provided just enough to start first time, got so hot and cooked itself to carbon inside the outer cable , made next start impossible until they hookd up a decent earth.

Wonder if there is a carbon filled open circuit in your case? Times like these you think we should adopt same priciples as our airbourne Subies - twin ignition sytems. I've read or heard of an efi system with a good old low presure pump and dribble jet to be cranked up in case efi dies in the sky !

When you get this sorted I guess it will be down the shop for a new honeycomb cat

subybrumby · Post by **subybrumby** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 10:49 am

G'day mate...It has a real good earth heading straight from battery to engine and I think that all seems to be fine. I'm a bit confused with what size fusible link should be in the system as there is not much info on that in the w/shop manual. I think you are supposed to calculate output etc etc and make it up. I wanted to keep it simple so I put in a blade fuse holder with a 40amp fuse and it ran with all lights etc. That will have to be monitored. But its easy to get at next to the battery. The standard brumby shows on the wiring diagram, three fusible links coming from the battery into the wiring circuit with two I think going to the fuse box.

I think a bit of the clue here to some of the problem is that the battery has been shifted to the other side of the engine bay and is now on the left. So what has been happening, is that although the battery and alternator are within a foot of each other, the charge from the alternator has had to go right around the radiator, back into the dash and then right back around the engine bay and radiator again back to the battery. I have changed that and there is now a direct heavy short wire straight from the battery to the alternator. The wire that was going to the alternator from around the engine bay from the Key is now the new fusiblelink wire.

Haven't thought about catalytic converter yet. When we first got it started, it spat a bit more out. The stuff just crumbles in your hand.

All I need to do now is tidy up above the foot pedals around the back of the key and fuse box and it should be right. I may never find what caused all this in the first place but my brother (hotrod 440mopar man) reckons there will be another fusible link (the third one I haven't found) somewhere that has gone.

Post by **TOONGA** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 11:06 am

I found a thread started by Steptoe concerning the rating of fusible links here

TOONGA

subybrumby · Post by **subybrumby** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 11:13 am

Should be photos here I hope....

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzLHIE ... XEybUlYN1E
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzLHIE ... TVvNWNhcVU
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzLHIE ... GxHcmhYU1U

subybrumby · Post by **subybrumby** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 11:22 am

Thanks Julian...I'll have a good look at that....

Post by **TOONGA** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 11:29 am

there is a green wire just floating around with an exposed end, right next to the fusible links box in the "hash mash wiring" picture.

have you fixed or taped it over?

as for the under dash picture ...shudder

TOONGA

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 1:17 pm

mate, yer brother is back in Mopar land of old when makers put fusible links in odd spots or you did not even know the pink wire near the coil was a fusible link in its own right, looks just like a wire !! Subaru only put FL's in that plastic box and diagram

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 2:53 pm

Do I have to install Google drive to see your images?

This is from a 88 Vortex, but it should be basically the same

The white wire is fed from the black 1.25 fusible link and then feeds the alternator, the ignition switch and about 1/3 of the fuses in the fuse box.

subybrumby · Post by **subybrumby** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 7:24 pm

Thanks Toonga...I'll look at that wire...There are actually a lot of wire ends in that bundle..I think they have been cut off from a previous application (computer or sensors) it now has an EMS stinger ecu.

Gannon...I think you should just be able to access those photos via the link. I am using google drive because I have had so much hassle trying to downsize photos for this forum....and then loosing quality and definition.

Steptoe...Yes I will look at the coil you mentioned,,and see what I can see....

I'm going away for 2 days in the morn in my standard brumby to visit my sister and will get back on this when I get back. Gannon, thanks for the wiring diagram. I have the workshop manual for the EA82T but this looks a little different. I'll check it out. Thanks.

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 7:35 pm

When I clicked on the link, it took me to the 'Sign up to Google Drive', so I did and now I see the problem, its an absolute dogs breakfast. If it were me, Id pull it all out and get another loom and start from scratch

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 8:03 pm

I was wondering if I should say you've got a big job ahead of you , then thought maybe that was after you'd cleaned up

That first pic of the white fusible link with thick white wire and thick black wire - both look like asking for trouble if left to rub through to the ground of the battery hold down - on your next trip away.

I know it's not your work, but is it normal for aftermarket ECU's to live under the bonnet ??

subybrumby · Post by **subybrumby** » Sun Jul 15, 2012 9:54 pm

Gannon...yes it is a dogs breakfast..I'm not too happy about it myself..A Rewire/re-harness is gonna be a massive job...but something that has gonna have to be done in the future...I have an EJ20G that I want to put in one day that has a harness with it, but not ready yet...

Steptoe...that fuse you can see is for the spotlights (no I didn't put it there)..and I have since tidied it up abit as it was close to batter holder as you say. ECU is up under the dash above clutch pedal screwed into side of heater box. Just about as unaccessable as you can get it..

subybrumby · Post by **subybrumby** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 4:18 pm

Update: I've gone into the wiring on this as far as I can go for now. I released the fuse box and got to have a look behind it but could find nothing wrong. Most of the wiring that I have encountered is predominately brumby. I completed some checks and the large white wire at the fuse box is dead. I ran the current back the other way, in other words, energised the key and fuse box and the fusible links (disconnected from the battery) were dead. So its reasonably safe to say that there is a break between the fusible link and the fuse/ignition switch. I went back under the dash as far as I could go but was unable to see anything amiss. So at this stage, I have rerouted the wire at the battery. There is now a direct wire going to the alternator and battery. And there is now a new fuse going into the white wire (that had been on the alternator) and the system seems to be working fine. I have tidied up a lot of the wiring in the process as best I can (a lot of disconnected wire is from previous applications and sensors given that the engine is running off the harness to the aftermarket ecu,)

So it is almost all back together..just sick of lying upside down in the cabin given that I am 6' 1 and about 130 odd kgs. I will be running local night runs at full electrics (spotlights/aircon) to test the system but no long trips for a while until I'm happy with it all.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 1:00 am

Mate what a prick of an event!

I hope you get that wiring sorted! I feel your pain trying to find a wiring gremlin - what's worse is that it's not your work that you're trying to work out

I hope it all comes together for you sooner rather than later!

Cheers

Bennie

subybrumby · Post by **subybrumby** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:03 pm

Thanks Bennie...I appreciate it...Nice to know that a problem shared is a problem halved so to speak. And you're right. If I had wired it myself, I would know what I'm looking for. Cheers. Trev