How To Clean Up Wires In Engine Bay

After coming across a photo of an incredibly clean, wire-tucked engine bay in a Miata, I'm curious to learn more about the process. Obviously a clean, freshly painted engine bay always helps, but where on earth does all the under-the-hood stuff end up??? I've seen the crazy Honda engine bays, but this one should appeal more to this crowd.

Photo courtesy of GRMer Kabel, and taken at a recent Cars and Cafe event in Orlando.

I believe they usually run wiring through the fenders and relocated everything under the dashboard.

Is it just me, or does that seem like a great way to make it a lot harder to diagnose electrical problems down the line?

kabel Dork
5/8/12 2:51 p.m.

I know the owner and can ask him where he ran everything on this one.

is it just me or is my photo host flickr running really slow today?

For comparison, here is a "stock" engine bay shot.

kabel wrote: I know the owner and can ask him where he ran everything on this one. is it just me or is my photo host flickr running really slow today?

I'd love to hear the details from him. What a killer looking car!

I live this, and I seriously hope this turns into another huge hotlink thread. Although, one must wonder how much of a PITA it is to repair said wiring once it's shoved into impossible places.

eastsidemav wrote: Is it just me, or does that seem like a great way to make it a lot harder to diagnose electrical problems down the line?

Not really. The trick is to put your hole for the main engine harness out of sight behind the motor and branch everything out from there UNDER the intake, in the case of the Miata. The other wires are prolly hidden behind the inner fenders.

It really isn't hard to do a decent tuck with minimal effort and time constraints.

I don't like it. There is a real art to making an artfully designed wiring harness. These things look like they don't work.

I like seeing the stuff that makes it work.

Streetwiseguy wrote: I don't like it. There is a real art to making an artfully designed wiring harness. These things look like they don't work. I like seeing the stuff that makes it work.

I agree to a point. The mechanicals are beautiful, the wiring and solenoids and all that crap that's just black plastic boxes aren't pretty at all. A good tuck and clean up really makes a difference.

I like simplicity. The unfortunate part of these tucked bays is usually the effort of hiding stuff to make it look cool. I like less stuff under the hood and the cleaner look for sure, but I don't like things to be hidden. But remember, I am not a show car kinda guy, I am a hater.

You guys are missing that the main clean up going on here is deletion of systems, not wiring tucks. The brakes are now manual, there's no A/C or heat, the washer system is gone, the emissions equipment have all been removed, etc, etc.

The "wiring tuck" is about 5% of that clean-up.

kabel Dork
5/8/12 3:19 p.m.

from the owner: "as far as the wiring harness... i took the whole harness out of the car, separated the wires for front headlights/turn signals/ side markers, ran then though the fenderwell, then i kept the wires to the engine, raan them through 2 detush connectors ( 1/2 twist and harness comes unplugged for easy engine dropping. As far as coolant lines, i only have coolant going to radiator, no heat, and also have a thermostat relocate"

Ian F UberDork
5/8/12 3:22 p.m.

Well... let's see...

There are no wipers on the car, so that eliminates the need for the washer bottle and associated wiring.

I'm going guess anything emissions-related is gone...

Taking out the HVAC system would eliminate a bunch of hoses and a few wires...

Cruise control out...

The radiator might be the type that doesn't use an over-flow bottle and just dumps to the ground old-school-style...

Running an interior brake proportioning valve should clean up that some, plus there's no power booster. Route the clutch line inside.

Relocate the fuse box to where the HVAC system and wiper mechansim used to be...

Then it's just a matter of tucking the ECU harness and wiring to the lights.

dyintorace wrote: For comparison, here is a "stock" engine bay shot.

This one is fairly tucked as well.

after removing pretty much anything that doesnt NEED to be in the Jeep, and relocating the major electrical stuff like battery, power distribution and relays into the interior/under (gutted) dash and relocating necessary harness parts like headlamp through the fender, the XJ-R's engine bay cleaned up very nicely with only the factory injector and sensor harness, wiring for the coil, oil pressure, and distributor (rpm). and that one stupid wire going to the cooling fan for now.

it's all the niceties (and in the Jeep's case the unfortunate cabling and ugly plastic overflow) that clutter it all up.

Anyways here's a HUGE thread with tons of how-tos, where to get supplies, examples, walkthroughs, etc etc etc...

http://htarchive.org/showthread.php?t=1693934

WilberM3 wrote:

This is what I like. I could care less about the looks, its all simplified and clean in this Jeep!

Wally UltimaDork
5/8/12 3:35 p.m.

Conquest351 wrote: A good tuck and clean up really makes a difference.

How true

Duke UberDork
5/8/12 3:36 p.m.

I don't even need a wiring tuck, I just need a general cleanup and organization under the hood of the Manic Miata. The PO was a kind of "get some wire and go from A to B" kind of guy. It's all connected pretty solidly, but it's a mess.

I am the owner of this car... I use this thread on club roadster, other do engine bay tucks and shaves, i contribute with all of my pictures aswell... youll see my before/after picture

http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=23718

I did a half ass job on my Miata. Most of the wires were routed behind the fenders or tucked under the fuel rail. Here are a few shots before I cleaned everything up

It could be cleaner but I was happy with how it came out.

Getting to the wires was not too hard since I misplaced most of the fender bolts.

How To Clean Up Wires In Engine Bay

Source: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/wire-tucks-and-clean-engine-bays/49360/page1/

Posted by: swainhatratilis1997.blogspot.com

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