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Sorry this happened to you... it seems like a rite of passage for lowered SC's lol
It happened to me as well when I used to drive the car everywhere lol I was driving back from work on the 101 FWY (busy freeway here in LA). Suddenly, my starter started kicking in... what in the world?! dash lights have gone mad. I pulled over and confirmed that the started keeps on starting. Something musta pointed me to the wheel well, so I bent down on all 4, in my work attire, and saw the carnage. Bare wires everywhere, some were of course touching.
Didn't have a jack. Wheel gap is non-existent. However, I had to get home, so I proceeded to attempt fixing the bare wires on the spot. Had a roll of duct tape in the trunk and I unrolled it on all the wires. took me about an hour in June heat before I started the car and it was fine. Drove home and that was the last time I drove the car to work. Decided to get an RSX and make that my commuter. I relocated the fuse box to the passenger side and put the harness inside the engine bay. Thinking about it now, it's kinda funny. It was really stressful at the time though lol
I think (it's been a long time since 2016), but I ran a lot of wires through the frame rail to shield it from the tire. Might be an option for you. Relocating the fuse box and running the harness from the cabin is another... Nonetheless, it's going to be a pain in the butt... Good luck.
Oh dude, so harsh!! I sat and contemplated trying to get it up and fixing it in the middle of the street. But thankfully I was only a couple miles from the house. My wife was nice enough to bring my tacoma over and tow me home with a strap. You're a real trooper for doing that on the side of the road!!
I'll get this thing up off the ground this weekend and plan my approach. Seems like guys make a few different methods work, so I'll get it out of the way and I also plan on raising the car up some due to the larger front tires. I've also got a couple fall track days planned and want to make sure I can beat it up without worrying about rubbing through anything else!
Oh dude, so harsh!! I sat and contemplated trying to get it up and fixing it in the middle of the street. But thankfully I was only a couple miles from the house. My wife was nice enough to bring my tacoma over and tow me home with a strap. You're a real trooper for doing that on the side of the road!!
I'll get this thing up off the ground this weekend and plan my approach. Seems like guys make a few different methods work, so I'll get it out of the way and I also plan on raising the car up some due to the larger front tires. I've also got a couple fall track days planned and want to make sure I can beat it up without worrying about rubbing through anything else!
You got lucky. I was 20 miles from home and no way I was gonna put it on a tow truck (idiots around here)
There are a couple of OEM style fixes/DIY's around here. I recall one that looked the cleanest and routed the harness on the side of the rail (basically inside the fender). Kind of made me cringe a bit though since all the wires would be smashed in case of a side crash... High fire probability.
Well... It finally happened... I sized up the front tires on my car because I went a little too thin originally and hated the bit of stretch. However, I've yet to ever relocate the driver side wiring harness in the wheel well and finally chewed through it. Hit a bump the other day and everything went dead... EVERYTHING. LOL. I've had two of these cars, both lowered, and never managed to mess that harness up. I knew this was coming - definitely deserved lol but I'm DREADING fixing it. I'm going to get the car up on jack stands this weekend, raise the coilovers some more, and evaluate the damage. I'm contemplating towing it over to a friend's shop where he's done excellent wiring work for me in the past. I'll do damn near anything in my own driveway... However, I despise doing wiring jobs lol. It's just so tedious and the reward is never quite a thrill for me to say the least.
Here's a pic just cuz lol.
What's crazy is I'm fairly low and ive never touched the fender liner, even when I had 19's. I did push the harness above the metal pinch weld though. ooof though, hopefully its not a bad fix.
Oh Rudy! Ouch!! I am only just now seeing your posts. I'm glad your SC is all right (it *will* be all right soon) and that you got it home safely. Mine is at such a near stock ride height I've never worried about this design flaw but now you're making me think about it.
I understand the reluctance to get into the wiring repair yourself. From all I have ever read about that bundle of wires it is a massive bunch of them to have to go through to extend, patch and relocate. It's certainly not a fun job to be forced to do all of a sudden. You said that you have a good friend who can help you with it though? Once you get all of those repaired and relocated I know your SC will be fine again. So sorry man. It sucks but it will only be out for the count for a little while.
MadMax98, your experience with this and how you dealt with it right there by yourself are heroic. I'm inclined to agree with you on avoiding tow trucks whenever possible if you're closer to or within L.A. There's really no good help for that sort of emergency after 5pm and then who would you take it to for the repair who even knows what they are doing or what they are looking at?
My SC is only about 1" or 1.5" lower than stock at most and I don't ever plan on going any lower but this is making me strongly consider that I should add the harness relocation DIY to my to-do list as well.
Rudy if I can be of any help remotely let me know. I know this sucks right now but it's all repairable and you'll have it back up and running again soon.
MadMax - you're an animal! If I would have been that far from home I would have pulled the widow maker jack out and done the damn thing as well to try and limp it home. Getting these big low cars on a tow truck always sucks, luckily I've got a couple local options I can call if I plan ahead, but in a pinch it's always nerve racking to get these things on a truck.
Craig - thank you as always for your thoughtful post and input! If you're not rubbing and not too low I honestly wouldn't bother... If I would have known better I would have raised my car another 3/4" or so to avoid it all together, but chose to press my luck instead lol. I'll certainly reach out if I need any help! I'll take some pics this weekend of the carnage and will update you guys lol.
That muffler is just a Blox believe it or not! I threw it on when I was still N/A to quiet it down some, however, now that I'm GTE I wish I would have left it off haha. Granted, for the money it's a nice unit and sounds terrific. I still dig it!
Oh Rudy! Ouch!! I am only just now seeing your posts. I'm glad your SC is all right (it *will* be all right soon) and that you got it home safely. Mine is at such a near stock ride height I've never worried about this design flaw but now you're making me think about it.
I understand the reluctance to get into the wiring repair yourself. From all I have ever read about that bundle of wires it is a massive bunch of them to have to go through to extend, patch and relocate. It's certainly not a fun job to be forced to do all of a sudden. You said that you have a good friend who can help you with it though? Once you get all of those repaired and relocated I know your SC will be fine again. So sorry man. It sucks but it will only be out for the count for a little while.
MadMax98, your experience with this and how you dealt with it right there by yourself are heroic. I'm inclined to agree with you on avoiding tow trucks whenever possible if you're closer to or within L.A. There's really no good help for that sort of emergency after 5pm and then who would you take it to for the repair who even knows what they are doing or what they are looking at?
My SC is only about 1" or 1.5" lower than stock at most and I don't ever plan on going any lower but this is making me strongly consider that I should add the harness relocation DIY to my to-do list as well.
Rudy if I can be of any help remotely let me know. I know this sucks right now but it's all repairable and you'll have it back up and running again soon.
My fender gap is about an inch as I recall. I don't currently have the fenders on, but the tire is about an inch an a half from the wheel well. My biggest mistake is I changed tires, and the new tires were a tiny bit bigger. The rubbing problem happened then. Also, my KW's are a good bit softer than my previous "GixxerDrew" Combo. My advice is if you rub over big dips or when you turn hard, then do this mod as soon as possible.
@KahnBB6 .. Where are you in LA?
Rudy-- You know how to reach me if you need some help with this Do keep up updated and shoot some pictures. It might help to be able to figure out which wire is which. Do you own a heat gun for small electronics? I'd recommend an inexpensive one for this repair unless your local friend comes through with all the necessary equipment. Something else that can help is to buy a used junk Toyota wiring harness to pilfer different wires from since the quality of those wires is just so good. Plus you might be able to find most of the right colors to match the originals. Just pay strict attention to the gauge of each wire you're repairing. You can always use a thicker patch wire if you need to but never use a wire thickness smaller than the original.
As for my car and doing the harness relocation... maybe you're right but now I think I should measure my fender gaps and double-check just to be sure. But no, I'm not rubbing at all. My car has a ride height that's very close to stock but not quite as high as stock.
Originally Posted by madmax98
My fender gap is about an inch as I recall. I don't currently have the fenders on, but the tire is about an inch an a half from the wheel well. My biggest mistake is I changed tires, and the new tires were a tiny bit bigger. The rubbing problem happened then. Also, my KW's are a good bit softer than my previous "GixxerDrew" Combo. My advice is if you rub over big dips or when you turn hard, then do this mod as soon as possible.
@KahnBB6 .. Where are you in LA?
madmax98-- Okay. My fender gaps front and rear are much more than that and I am not at all close to rubbing in the front or rear. I'll have to re-measure my wheel gaps as it's been so long since I last changed the coil-overs and their adjustments. I am still running the "GixxerDrew" Bilstein+Hypercoil suspension with 600/325 springs, though I still have to install helper springs in the rear. I've gotten away without them all this time but I know they are needed. I have a set of them waiting to go onto the rear springs.
I am not currently in L.A., sadly. Still in Florida for now and so is my SC but North Hollywood was my area out there for years. I fly back semi-regularly for short term visits but quite a bit less since the pandemic began. I'll be moving back in the near future but my timeframe isn't set yet. The SC will accompany me and we'll see at that time how well I did to appease the dreaded BAR inspection process.
Craig I appreciate your offer for help as always!!
I did manage to get in under there this weekend. Luckily (and surprisingly) no broken wires, however, I did have some that had completely rubbed through the insulation and must have shorted. I cleaned up and re-did the insulation with nice heat shrink and solder seal butt connectors (these are the **** if you've never used them before). After cleaning up the worn through wires, I secured the harness and tied it up above the pinch weld as some others have recommended. It's easily attached up there (my car doesn't have fender liners in the front due to the front mount kit that came with my swap lol), and is up out of the way of the tire. I also went around to all four corners and raised the car up about 5/8" all the way around. This way not only do I not have to worry about hitting the harness, but I made some room for the larger front tires before my upcoming road course trip in November.
However, I do have a small problem... Hooked the battery back up and still nothing... I checked EVERY fuse under the hood and under the driver footwell. Everything LOOKED fine, however, I couldn't get the doors/seats/etc to work at all. I swapped the 30A door fuse with the main in the footwell and got the car to start and all dash lights working. I thought OK, I'll go get a couple 30A maxi fuses and be fine... However, I swapped in two new maxi-fuses and still no luck on the doors/windows and now the dash lights don't work either LOL. I did wiggle the relay that (if you're looking directly at the lower footwell fuse box) is on the top left above it... After wiggling it interior lights would turn on so I'm assuming I've got a bad relay there or something of the like.
Needless to say, I'm glad to harness is repaired, however, I've got more diagnosis ahead of me I have a bad feeling. Does anyone have a list of relays needed for underhood and footwell? I'm going to replace them all and perhaps a couple of fuses as well as I go. It sucks everything looks ok, I was hoping to be able to find a few blown fuses and be good to go. All of the wiring and terminals look clean, so I don't think I burned anything up anywhere wiring wise but who knows lol.
I wish I would have taken a few pictures - I just got off to such a good roll and actually enjoyed making the repair, adjusting my ride height etc. I love this car - just can't wait to get a little more time to get this 100% fixed.
Craig I appreciate your offer for help as always!!
I did manage to get in under there this weekend. Luckily (and surprisingly) no broken wires, however, I did have some that had completely rubbed through the insulation and must have shorted. I cleaned up and re-did the insulation with nice heat shrink and solder seal butt connectors (these are the **** if you've never used them before). After cleaning up the worn through wires, I secured the harness and tied it up above the pinch weld as some others have recommended. It's easily attached up there (my car doesn't have fender liners in the front due to the front mount kit that came with my swap lol), and is up out of the way of the tire. I also went around to all four corners and raised the car up about 5/8" all the way around. This way not only do I not have to worry about hitting the harness, but I made some room for the larger front tires before my upcoming road course trip in November.
However, I do have a small problem... Hooked the battery back up and still nothing... I checked EVERY fuse under the hood and under the driver footwell. Everything LOOKED fine, however, I couldn't get the doors/seats/etc to work at all. I swapped the 30A door fuse with the main in the footwell and got the car to start and all dash lights working. I thought OK, I'll go get a couple 30A maxi fuses and be fine... However, I swapped in two new maxi-fuses and still no luck on the doors/windows and now the dash lights don't work either LOL. I did wiggle the relay that (if you're looking directly at the lower footwell fuse box) is on the top left above it... After wiggling it interior lights would turn on so I'm assuming I've got a bad relay there or something of the like.
Needless to say, I'm glad to harness is repaired, however, I've got more diagnosis ahead of me I have a bad feeling. Does anyone have a list of relays needed for underhood and footwell? I'm going to replace them all and perhaps a couple of fuses as well as I go. It sucks everything looks ok, I was hoping to be able to find a few blown fuses and be good to go. All of the wiring and terminals look clean, so I don't think I burned anything up anywhere wiring wise but who knows lol.
I wish I would have taken a few pictures - I just got off to such a good roll and actually enjoyed making the repair, adjusting my ride height etc. I love this car - just can't wait to get a little more time to get this 100% fixed.
I shorted out my starter solenoid once and blew the main like big bolted in fuse lol, stole the abs one to replace it until i got a new one.
Rudy-- I'm glad to hear that your wires on that harness were pretty much intact! Now as to your issues, you said you used butt connectors to repair them all even though they were not broken? Were all the copper fibers of each wire intact or had some rubbed off? I trust you tidied up all of that very cleanly. You know I'm a believer in splicing in and repairing whenever I suspect it's more than just insulation damage with a wire. I usually only start using bare butt connectors and appropriate size heat shrink tubing at 10ga or 8ga wire or larger.
Understand I'm just trying to think of things that could be causing your issue, however small they may be!
And it just so happens that I do have a list of relays for the under-hood box and interior kick panel for 1992-1994 SC300's with manual transmissions and no TRAC system (or TRAC disabled on a factory automatic car). Note that for 1995-2000 SC's the turn signal flasher relay will be a different part number (different and simpler design and still available as a new OEM part):
1992-1994 SC300/400 Relays under dash:
———————————————————
86530-20070 — SC300 Relay, Horn
81980-24020 — SC300 Relay, Flasher — DISCONTINUED WORLDWIDE (if malfunctioning you should repair original relay with new OEM-spec caps and resistors. That should work but if it doesn't then look at Lex2k's DIY solution here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/per...0-24020-a.html )
90987-04003 — SC300 Relay, Ignition No.1
90987-02010 (superseded by 90987-02009) — SC300 Relay, Tail Lamp
90987-02010 (superseded by 90987-02009) — SC300 Relay, Medium Current, EFI
90987-02010 (superseded by 90987-02009) — SC300 Relay, Main(?)
90987-02009 — SC300/400 A/C Magnetic Clutch Relay
If the seat electrics have their own relays I might have missed those.
Rudy, as you can imagine these can add up and get expensive very quickly ordering them from just anywhere. Price them out between the online ordering sites for McGeorge Toyota, MyLParts (with our CL5 discount code) and Lexus of Pembroke Pines. Between those three you should be able to get several at good prices. However if all you need are one or two common relays it might be all the same to go local. Check prices for each relay with those sites first though.
09-09-21, 06:49 AM
Do keep up updated and shoot some pictures. It might help to be able to figure out which wire is which. Do you own a heat gun for small electronics? I'd recommend an inexpensive one for this repair unless your local friend comes through with all the necessary equipment. Something else that can help is to buy a used junk Toyota wiring harness to pilfer different wires from since the quality of those wires is just so good. Plus you might be able to find most of the right colors to match the originals. Just pay strict attention to the gauge of each wire you're repairing. You can always use a thicker patch wire if you need to but never use a wire thickness smaller than the original.