brownlogic

Hey guys this is my first post to this site and I love this site I have used it to figure out a bunch of problems I have had. This is the first problem I cannot figure out.

Now I just recently bought a 1982 camaro IROC with a burnt wiring harness. All I need to get this car running is the harness. I called up my local chevy shop and they said the 82 is all on its own and the other years' harness won't work with it. I have searched for about 2 months trying to find another one with no luck. If anyone of you could help me figure out an easier solution or somehow wire it up without a stock harness I would really appreciate it.

The car is a 350 bored .4 over 4bbl and the engine came out of a 70 nova
I know there are not that many connections needed on the harness.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

They'll always say that. In fact, as far as THEY are concerned, EVERY year is a unique deal. All it takes is ONE wire somewhere, or ONE connector, or ONE little push-in holder, to make it "different" to them. "Different" TO THEM means, a different part #; doesn't necessarily mean it won't fit or work.

First: your car isn't an IROC. Chevy didn't sign the contract with the now-defunct racing series International Race Of Champions to use their name until 1985. In 1982 IROC was still running Porsches if memory serves. Your car is a Z28, AT BEST. That's probably part of your problem right there: you go into the stealership trying to sound important but throwing around big buzzwords incorrectly, they'll just yank your chain RIGHT BACK, and laugh behind your back in on the deal and put you on the speakerphone so all their friends can hear you make an a$$ out of yourself. BIG mistake. They'll keep you going for hours if they have nothing else to do; get you to walk out of there with a Corvair radiator and a new set of muffler bearings and a blinker fluid change, if you're not careful. Maybe even post you on Youtube. Not a pretty sight. Don't tempt em.

Second: GM probably hasn't had that harness available new for at least 20 years now. They're not in the business of selling repair parts; they're in the business of selling CARS. They only carry whatever repair parts are (a) required by the govt, or (b) PROFITABLE. Your harness fails on both counts. Odds of GM having it are so close to zero that even I, a quantum physicist by education and accustomed to dealing with numbers that have 40 or 50 zeroes after the decimal point and before the first non-zero digit, have trouble imagining numbers that small.

All that aside: if your car has been hacked to the extent you say it has, you don't need a 82 harness to begin with. In fact, you don't need either of them; not the one that goes from the main bulkhead connector below the brake booster to all of the traditional engine stuff like ignition and gauges, and not the one that comes out of the right fender area and goes to all of the computer-related stuff. You don't need that second one at all. If there's any of it left, just peel it back, remove the connector that goes through the windshield cowl down between the door hinges, and cover the hole with something waterproof and permanent.

You can use the engine harness (the non-computer one) from any year of Camaro up to about 87. A carbed car would be the best target. A 6-cyl car would probably even be close enough to work with. For that matter, probably ANY RWD Chevy of about that year should work fine. Look in Caprice, Malibu, and Monte Carlo.

If the car caught fire, you probably also need the 3rd main harness, which also comes from the bulkhead conn below the brake booster, and goes to all the traditional non-engine "car" stuff like headlights and such as that. Again, doesn't necessarily have to be from a V8 car if you can't find one.

You'll possibly also need the 4th harness, which is the HVAC one. It comes through the firewall near the heater hose nipples. That one, any car with the same HVAC setup as yours (A/C, or heat only) should work.

I would STRONGLY suggest that you find an auto assembly plant near you, and tour it. Doesn't matter what brand. All you need, is to see how cars are put together on a production line. There's not alot of difference in that regard, between brands and models. That will help you understand what the big sub-assemblies are, which is to say, the big chunks the car breaks down into, and where the boundaries are. It's AMAZING how much better you'll understand stuff like this after seeing em put a car together. If you have an idle weekday, I'd suggest driving over to the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, KY. Absolutely fascinating. They run 2 tours a day, or at least used to, one in the AM and one in the PM. You'll see em take those assemblies off the shelf and put em in the cars: things you see people on here whine about taking days like putting in a gas tank or a windshield, they do in 32 seconds or something; all day, every day, one right after the other, PERFECT (ummmm.... yeah), no ifs ands buts or maybes, while the supervisor cracks the big bullwhip over their backs. It's all in knowing how to do it.

brownlogic

Sorry maybe it isn't an IROC it just says so on the dash. I guess it was replaced sorry I wasn't aware of that. Anyways all I need is the main engine harness and no other years will work for it without modification. I know this because I have found harnesses to other years and they are not the same. Now I do not know how to change wires or anything off the harness. Is there anything special I need to know about it or do they just pull out after I get all of that tar out of it?

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Yeah the IROC swap-out thing is something that was real popular a few years ago; since, just like the wiring harnesses, the dashes and alot of the rest of the "IROC" stuff will all bolt right up, even though they're not "the same". They all fit.

Go back and re-read that paragraph. Think about it. Your 82 car has a 85-up dash in it, and IT FITS AND WORKS. Same goes for the harness. Doesn't matter if another harness is "the same" or not; all it has to do, is hook up the things your car needs.

As I already said, any harness out of a carbed Camaro (avoid Firebirds, there are a few detail differences) up to about 87 will work. Doesn't matter if it's "the same" or not; IT WILL FIT AND WORK.

Ever hear the old adage about "how do you eat an elephant"? The answer is, "one bite at a time". Well that's what you're going to do. You're going to eat the elephant, one bite at a time, and you'll find that it's not so tough after all. After you're done, you're going to look back at what you posted and be ashamed of yourself for being a wimp. You're going to quit whining about "it's hard" and "I can't" and all that other LOSER stuff. Either you want to fix it, or you want to wallow in self-pity. One is the path to driving your car; the other is the path to failure. Choose wisely.

Now listen, because here's what you're going to do, and it doesn't involve complaining.

There are 4 primary harnesses under your hood. 2 of them start below the brake booster; one goes through the body near the right door hinge; and one comes through the firewall near the heater hose nipples. Go out to your car right now, and follow those, and separate them.

You DON'T need the one that comes from out by the right door, AT ALL. Carefully peel back however much of that one still exists, and fuhgeddaboudit. You'll find that once you do that, you'll have about 2/3 of the wiring out from under there, GONE.

The 2 harnesses that come out under the brake booster, your DO need. In the middle of that plug you will find a single bolt; I think it's a 7mm head but it's been a while so I could be wrong. Rotate counterclockwise 10 full turns. Unplug the 2 plugs. Remember, this is not hard; ONE STEP AT A TIME, and you'll complete the journey of 1000 miles.

One of them as I said is the one that handles all of the "normal" engine functions. In that one, you'll find your gauges, ignition, battery, and starter. Since all carbed Camaros up to about 87 have all those same thing in the same place and with the same connectors, go get yourself a harness out of any carbed Camaro but preferably a V8 from 82 to 87. Unplug the replacement one from the donor car CAREFULLY, preserving every connector, clip, holder, tubing, and whatever else. DO NOT CUT ANYTHING EVER.

The other harness that plugs into that big plug, as I said, is the one for the headlights and turn signals and horn and other "body" things like that. You'll probabyl need one of those too if yours is damaged. Repeat the procedure as described above for the engine harness, WITHOUT CUTTING ANYTHING. Now... was that all that "hard"?

The 3rd harness you'll need, although you can get the car working without it, is the HVAC one. Those are THE SAME in all Camaros and Firebirds from 82 to 92, for a given system (A/C, no-air, etc.) except for the plug for the high-speed blower relay. Doean't matter though, as long as you get the high-speed blower relay that goes with whatever harness you get. That one goes all the way through the firewall and pluges into the A/C control head, without any intermediate plugs; meaning, you'll have to turn about 6 or 7 screws in the dash CCW a few turns (real tough I know, but you're a big boy now) and a couple more up underneath there to get some ducts out of the way. The rubber grommet comes out with the harness.

IT'S JUST NOT THAT HARD. Forget all that crap about "has to be a 82", "no other is the same", "dealer doesn't have it", and all that. Instead of making excuses for why you "can't" get it done, use the same energy (or less) toward FINDING A WAY TO GET IT DONE. You'll be AMAZED at how productive you can INSTANTLY become with nothing more than a change in attitude.

Yes I have adult children. Yes I sound like your Dad. Yes I know that, don't bother telling me. Yes my kids hate it when I talk to them this way. Yes it makes me not the slightest difference at all, because if they (just like you) want RESULTS, then THIS is how it's done; and I'm doing you (just like them) no favors by shielding them from the realities of the world. Which primarily are, SUCCESS STARTS BETWEEN YOUR EARS.

brownlogic

Yes I know it isn't that hard necessarily but I do have a harness from a 1986 camaro that was carbed v8 but the plugs are not in the same place as the harness I pulled out of the car. I will have to upload pictures tomorrow to show you. Anyways I think I may have found one from an 84 that looks the same but will not know exactly until they ship it to me. I have looked at junk yards for the past 2 months for any other camaros with no luck so I was just wondering if I could somehow use the good wires from the old harness and use it on the new one to make them match how it was on the old harness.

Hopefully though this week I will have the 84 harness and then I will be golden.

Thanks for taking the time to try and help me.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

That's better.

Pics would be good. For one thing, that will help establish what, if anything, can be salvaged ou of what you have now. In a 86 harness about 99% of the wires will be the same, and the remaining 1 or 2 that might need to be changed somehow, we can identify and get a plan going on how to manage it, which might not involve anything more complicated than rearranging some tie-wraps or something.

naf

iTrader: (7)

Post pics as you go. If you need any help with pieces/parts let us know. Seems like I'm at the JY once a week and would be happy to scrounge for you.