Wiring Harness Help

[10secondcobra]

We're back (finally) on the Ranger on Explorer build.. and lost a bunch of the photos I took during the tear down phase. I'm stuck now on 2 connectors at the dash that I can't make sense of, and can't seem to locate in the wiring diagrams. It's a 97, that did have a remote start and trailer brake when purchased which were discarded.
Wires start under steering column

And end in this plug which falls just below the dash right now

And 1 more just for fun lol

This cable is right where the parking brake will be mounted.

As always, any help is really appreciated!

 

[J_C]

It doesn't ring any bells. Is there anything that looks like a Ford part # on the connector? It doesn't look particularly Ford-ish (whatever that means, lol, like this is a 3rd party aftermarket connector added). If not factory, it might be part of the remote start and then might help to identify the make/model of that remote start, try to find the wiring it uses.

Beyond wondering what it is, can you tell if any vehicle functions do/don't work, is it far enough along to diagnose based on lack of functionality? The answers to these questions, I leave for others to answer as I have a lot of problems of my own and may not be back to reply on any certain time frame.

 

[410Fortune]

The first wiring connector looks to be aftermarket

The second one is the feed for the drivers door power locks windows etx

 

[CDW6212R]

That last one is the one to find where it goes, the others below the top picture are aftermarket. I'd start at the ignition switch, that 1st pic shows electrical tape around those critical wires. I'd remove that and see how bad they tapped into the wiring. That should be cleaned up properly, ideally remove anything attached to those wires. There are "T" harness adapters made to connect at the ignition switch to get tapped into those wires, try very hard to never cut those are the insulation. Yes aftermarket alarms and remote starters have to connect to those wires, but do it in a better way then they tell you to.

I've done it both ways, and I hated messing with the factory ignition wires. I tried first to use a spare ignition wire connector pigtail, and cut and solder into it to end up with something I could unplug and restore. I then just stripped the insulation carefully and laid the new copper wires next to them and soldered. That worked but I still didn't like it. The next time I paid about $30 for a "T" adapter, and that was super fast and easy, no messing with that critical OEM wiring at all.