FINALLY found the culprit!!93 explorer fuel wiring harness

[Fightboy]

Hello all.....after a lot of stumbling and bumbling around with an intermittent loss of power while driving (alot of sporadic bogging and just recently increased cases of stalling while driving , at idle, and at startup) and throwing parts at it including but not limited to...MAF sensors , fuel filters........etc.

To make a long story short, I truly believe i have pinpointed the problem ......the fuel wiring harness at the back of the rear axle behind the fuel tank. The wires seem to be so weak that the fuel pump starts but does not have enough power to fully power the vehicle .....SO......MY
QUESTION is does anyone know the EXACT name of that harness? And if so....where could i possibly find it? The local Ford dealer CLAIMS they cant get it...but perhaps they didn't know by the name i called it. Thank you all in advance.Fight

 

[Fightboy]

.......Or maybe someone can suggest what type of connector would be sufficient in order to rewire it. I'm terribly sorry if i asked a stupid question . Obviously im new here. Thanks

 

[shucker1]

I wish I could help you out.

Someone around here knows.

Just remember "There is no such thing as a stupid question".

No Worries!

 

[2000StreetRod]

fuel pump instead of harness?

Have you considered that your fuel pump is weak and intermittent instead of the wiring harness being defective? The wiring harness is fairly protected and rarely fails while the fuel pump frequently fails after more than 10 years of service.

 

[Fightboy]

No sir i haven't considered that but im almost positive that it is the problem because i can start and if someone holds the harness in a certain position the truck will run fine......they let it go and the truck will die immediately . Im also getting the dreaded code 542 so im almost certain this is the problem .

 

[2000StreetRod]

identified the source

It sounds like you've well identified the source of your problem. Intermittent electrical issues are difficult to resolve. Congratulations! Do you have access to a salvage yard for the replacement harness?

 

[Fightboy]

Yes sir i do but would that be better than simply just rewiring with a new connector ? I'd much rather prefer to do that than to purchase one from an old truck that may possibly be suspect ......and god knows how much they'll charge me ( they'll know i cant get it anywhere else ) lol. Are there specific connectors i should be looking for that can handle a certain voltage( gauge) for the fuel system ? I have the 4 wire connector on there now

 

[2000StreetRod]

replacement connector

You may have difficulty finding the mating connector and will be surprised at how expensive it will be. Have you determined which one (male or female) needs replacement? Is the connector in the photo below the one you need?

 

[cgbier]

If you don't plan on unplugging the wires in the near future, I'd get rid of the connector completely and solder the wires together. Don't forget shrink hose.

Has solved me a lot of electrical problems on old cars in the past.

 

[Fightboy]

Thanks a lot Streetrod. Yes its very similar to that one.....although not exactly . Mines may be slightly slimmer but same thing.
No Cabier ... i haven't thought of that but it may be a good idea.....thank you for that suggestion sir.

At any rate ...i went by an orielly's and i explained to the clerk what i was gonna do and he suggested a 4 flat connector with both male and female ends on it that i eventually purchased . Me and my mechanic will try and tackle this issue once and for all this saturday .
Cabier i will run that suggestion by my mechanic when he gets here saturday and see what he has to say about it. I wish i had a camera .....i would show you guys the connector .

 

[Fightboy]

Thanks a lot Streetrod. Yes its very similar to that one.....although not exactly . Mines may be slightly slimmer but same thing.
No Cabier ... i haven't thought of that but it may be a good idea.....thank you for that suggestion sir.

At any rate ...i went by an orielly's and i explained to the clerk what i was gonna do and he suggested a 4 flat connector with both male and female ends on it that i eventually purchased . Me and my mechanic will try and tackle this issue once and for all this saturday .
Cabier i will run that suggestion by my mechanic when he gets here saturday and see what he has to say about it. I wish i had a camera .....i would show you guys the connector .

 

[cgbier]

I don't know if that exists for Ford, but I have been working for Volkswagen some 20 years ago. There they had a roll your own harness kit. It consisted of a bunch of connector blanks, male/female pins, a crimp tool and a punch for getting the pins into/out of the connector. You either could replace a complete connector of exchange single pins.
Had to fix up a bunch of fuse boxes in late 80's Polo/Golf/Sciroccos with that kit.

Maybe you can ask your mechanic if something exists in Ford shops.

 

[nemoremo]

I am having fuel pump issues for a while so will tag on this thread.
I started another thread but didn't garner much for suggestions. The car would run for a long time at idle. Driving it would only last about 10 miles before dying. And now after changing fuel pump, filter, relay I can't even get it to start.

The original pump I could at least hear cycling on. The "new" one won't even do that, but it was awfully cheap. It worked for one test cycle and then quit. Wrong gasket size, the gauze type filter on the bottom fell off etc.....cheap, cheap, cheap. So I went to put the original pump back on last night to see if I could hear it cycling. I spent a good deal of time trying to reconnect the harness. Round 4 pin wiring clip that it originally came out of. So weird.

Nothing appears broken off or intruding into the clip. The prongs don't seem bent. The new wiring clip (which went right in) while not identical seems to be all there.
Nothing appears melted or misshapen......
What the hell could have happened?

This issue is driving me crazy. I used to be a good mechanic. I rebuilt a DOHC Kawasaki engine as well as a 454 and I changed the tranny by myself in the old Ex in the driveway. I know how to do some stuff......but .....frustrated now.

 

[BobWiersema]

Check this thread for parts.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166984

Bob

 

[Roadrunner777]

I'd probably just solder and heat-shrink them myself. But, if you really wanted a connector there... seems like a 4-pole trailer light connector would do nicely, or there are some nice waterproof wire nuts available from good hardware stores. I might just do the waterproof wire nuts, add some cable ties for strain-relief, and start driving.

 

[nemoremo]

Thanks for the replies and to the OP for letting me crash this thread. I do have a flat 4 trailer connector new and lots of shrink tubing from doing a couple of complete trailer rewiring jobs so will check that out again.

I also was able to borrow a better voltmeter to see what I have going to the connectors.

A new day tomorrow - thanks again.