Ignition wiring harness ?

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I'm replacing the spark plugs and coils on a 1997 Lincoln Mark VIII.

Could someone tell me what the wiring that connects to each of the four spark plug coils is called - the ignition wiring harness ?

And is this something a non-mechanic can replace ?

One of the wires to the one of the coils is broken and the rest of the wiring is brittle enough to warrant replacing.
 
I would call that the Coil on Plug Ignition harness (even though its still attached to the main engine harness)... You aren't going to find that harness stand alone, it is attached to the whole of the engine harness. You would probably want to maybe repair the wire or make new sections there. I haven't personally seen a harness get dry and brittle on a Mark yet, but I have seen it on other vehicles. You could also hit up a Junk Yard and cut/splice a big part of the harness too if you wanted to.
 
Markviiiedrea said:
There is a guy on SVTPerformance who make COP wire harness conversion kits for cobra's. Thats is the only other option I can see of other then doing a repair by your self. Do you have any pictures?
Click to expand...

Markviiiedrea,

I'll try to borrow a phone with a camera and post it tomorrow.
 
DieselDan said:
I would call that the Coil on Plug Ignition harness (even though its still attached to the main engine harness)... You aren't going to find that harness stand alone, it is attached to the whole of the engine harness. You would probably want to maybe repair the wire or make new sections there. I haven't personally seen a harness get dry and brittle on a Mark yet, but I have seen it on other vehicles. You could also hit up a Junk Yard and cut/splice a big part of the harness too if you wanted to.
Click to expand...

DieselDan,

I'm not confusing this set of wires with a spark plug wire set am I ?

Each of the four coils has a plastic connector that connects to a bundle of wires that run parallel with the engine with what appears to be black electrical tape.
 
Nah, on your car being a 97 would not have "plug wires". The harness that goes to each of your individual coils is all tied back to the main engine wiring harness. There is nowhere to unplug it and plug in a replacement. I would either fix the broken wire, or if it really is that bad, cut back the harness until it is okay, or replace the entire engine harness.
 
DieselDan said:
I would call that the Coil on Plug Ignition harness (even though its still attached to the main engine harness)... You aren't going to find that harness stand alone, it is attached to the whole of the engine harness. You would probably want to maybe repair the wire or make new sections there. I haven't personally seen a harness get dry and brittle on a Mark yet, but I have seen it on other vehicles. You could also hit up a Junk Yard and cut/splice a big part of the harness too if you wanted to.
Click to expand...

DieselDan,

Here's a graphic of what I'm talking about.

12900_s1_65.jpg


It's the wire that runs parallel to the valve cover and has (4) plastic connectors that connect to the coils.
 
DieselDan said:
Nah, on your car being a 97 would not have "plug wires". The harness that goes to each of your individual coils is all tied back to the main engine wiring harness. There is nowhere to unplug it and plug in a replacement. I would either fix the broken wire, or if it really is that bad, cut back the harness until it is okay, or replace the entire engine harness.
Click to expand...

DieselDan,

When you say fix the broken wire or replace the harness, are you talking about a soldering repair ?
 
Yes, you will have to solder and shrink tube the connections. Its not hard to do really. I built an entire engine harness from scratch once to convert over to COP form spark plug wires in a 96 I once had. I wish I could say I have extra plug ends but I am not sure I do. I have a couple harnesses, but no way to know if they would fit.
 
unity said:
Yes, you will have to solder and shrink tube the connections. Its not hard to do really. I built an entire engine harness from scratch once to convert over to COP form spark plug wires in a 96 I once had. I wish I could say I have extra plug ends but I am not sure I do. I have a couple harnesses, but no way to know if they would fit.
Click to expand...

unity,

I've never soldered before, but I do have access to an iron.

Is there an alloy you would recommend ?
 
Just any silver/tin blend or whatever solder they use nowadays. Just make sure when you use heat shrink tube its far enough from the solder area or it will shrink when you do not want it to.

Practice on some test wire first.

And when making connections, I prefer not twist them. I do like the picture attached, although maybe a little tighter. Once they are like this I apply heat, then solder to the wires - not the solder tip. The solder will flow.

wire21240261374.jpg
 
I have a engine harness I could send you. Pm me for details
 
unity said:
Just any silver/tin blend or whatever solder they use nowadays. Just make sure when you use heat shrink tube its far enough from the solder area or it will shrink when you do not want it to.

Practice on some test wire first.

And when making connections, I prefer not twist them. I do like the picture attached, although maybe a little tighter. Once they are like this I apply heat, then solder to the wires - not the solder tip. The solder will flow.
Click to expand...

Unity,

Thanks for the picture and advice.

I feel a lot more at ease about fixing this.
 
unity said:
Yes, you will have to solder and shrink tube the connections. Its not hard to do really. I built an entire engine harness from scratch once to convert over to COP form spark plug wires in a 96 I once had. I wish I could say I have extra plug ends but I am not sure I do. I have a couple harnesses, but no way to know if they would fit.
Click to expand...

Unity,

When you're building your own engine harness, what type of wire do you use ?

Where do you get the plastic connectors that connect the harness to the coils ?
 
I already had the connectors. I dont recall the wire, probably 14 to 20 awg and a high heat/fuel oil resistant type. Some was recycled from a prior harness of an Aviator. All the connectors come apart easily or the wires slide out with a little work. Overall it was an easy project.
 
The plastic connectors are the big problem because when I detached the harness from the old coils, the connectors just fell apart.

I'm not sure about the name, but the replacement part might be called a "2 way ignition coil lead wire".
 
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Denna,
I would use a 60/40 rosin core solder. Most stores will have it, but make sure its shiny when you finish the solder joint and DON'T FORGET to put the heat shrink tubing on before you solder and it covers the exposed areas completely, making for a watertight seal. I know nobody else has soldered and forgot to put their heat shrink on first! lol

As far as electrical connectors McMaster-Carr is a website for a lot of technical & mechanical parts. I don't think they have automotive specific connectors, but do have heat shrink & loom covers, etc. Prices are IMO way cheaper as a rule and they have hard to find items. Easy website to navigate.
 
I am curious what is so bad about your harness that you are so worried about fixing it? Did the whole connector shell break, or just the lock on the connector? If it is just the lock, I wouldn't be too worried. Heck, a couple of mine are broken off and just the confined space with the coil and connector, they have never backed off. If it is only the shell, you could just de-pin your connector and install new ones and you don't have to cut on your harness at all. Do you have many wires in the ignition part of the harness that are broken/brittle or is just 1 or 2 wires that have rubbed bare? I would wonder, if your harness is so dry and brittle, that it is probably pretty rough in some other areas and you would probably be better off just replacing the whole harness. And, from what I can see above of the connector shells you posted, they are injector connectors, not coil connectors.
 
DieselDan said:
I am curious what is so bad about your harness that you are so worried about fixing it? Did the whole connector shell break, or just the lock on the connector? If it is just the lock, I wouldn't be too worried. Heck, a couple of mine are broken off and just the confined space with the coil and connector, they have never backed off. If it is only the shell, you could just de-pin your connector and install new ones and you don't have to cut on your harness at all. Do you have many wires in the ignition part of the harness that are broken/brittle or is just 1 or 2 wires that have rubbed bare? I would wonder, if your harness is so dry and brittle, that it is probably pretty rough in some other areas and you would probably be better off just replacing the whole harness. And, from what I can see above of the connector shells you posted, they are injector connectors, not coil connectors.
Click to expand...

What he said.
 
DieselDan said:
I am curious what is so bad about your harness that you are so worried about fixing it? Did the whole connector shell break, or just the lock on the connector? If it is just the lock, I wouldn't be too worried. Heck, a couple of mine are broken off and just the confined space with the coil and connector, they have never backed off. If it is only the shell, you could just de-pin your connector and install new ones and you don't have to cut on your harness at all. Do you have many wires in the ignition part of the harness that are broken/brittle or is just 1 or 2 wires that have rubbed bare? I would wonder, if your harness is so dry and brittle, that it is probably pretty rough in some other areas and you would probably be better off just replacing the whole harness. And, from what I can see above of the connector shells you posted, they are injector connectors, not coil connectors.
Click to expand...

DieselDan,

Thanks for the quick reply.

Below are pictures of what I'm talking about.

The first picture shows the harness just below the valve cover with the connectors branching off.

The second and third pictures show the connector shell type I need to replace. One of these crumbled between my fingers as I unplugged it, so there's no picture to show what it looks like. Of course, it was 16 years old.

The fourth shows one of the wires I'll have to solder back together.

WIRING 1.jpg


WIRING 2.jpg


WIRING 3.jpg


WIRING 4.jpg
 
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DieselDan,

Thanks for correcting me - that helped me find the part. It's an injector connector and can be purchased from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Motorcraft-WP...e=UTF8&qid=1365538581&sr=1-1&keywords=wpt-231

Below is an edited transcript of a www.fordparts.com chat session I just finished:

***************************************
Please wait. An operator will be with you shortly.

Renny says: Let me look and see what I can find for you.

Renny says: Going off of the image it looks like an injector connector.

Renny says: Would you like me to show you the connector buying guide so you can find one to match?

Denna says: Yes

Renny says: http://www.fordtechservice.dealerconnection.com/Renderers/ie/wiring/svg/images/connectorcatalog.pdf

Denna says: Is this a generic connector or one specifically for this area of the car ?

Renny says: No this is a specific connector that you need.

Renny says: This is a two pin connector.

Renny says: Ok perfect. Now open the above connector catalog and scroll down till you see two pin connectors.

Denna says: What's the part number ?

Renny says: It looks a lot like WPT-231.

Renny says: Let me see what those go to.

Renny says: Ok WPT-231 is the one that you will need.

Denna says: So I just cut off the connector I have and insert the two wires, right ?

Renny says: That is correct.

Denna says: Is there any crimping involved to secure the wire ? Are there instructions with this part ?

Renny says: Yes there is crimping involved.

Renny says: I apologize but there will be no instructions that come with this part.

Denna says: Ok, that should do it. Thank you very much. You're a car saver !
 
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Zip ties are your friend! :) seriously though if the plug still mated with the other one I would try to make it work vs replacing the harness. Just because I would be afraid of causing other damage when replacing the harness.

The last one though looks like a fairly easy solder job.

My .02
 
Markviiiedrea,

I agree with not trying to replace that part of the wiring harness as doing so might create other problems that weren't there before. Although, according to Motorcraft, you would have to buy a whole new engine harness so this option is automatically ruled out.

Luckily, the "injector connector" (note the quoted emphasis I now use) is available on Amazon for about $24.

I'd feel better about replacing the connector, because when I sell this car, I'd like the buyer to know that I didn't take any shortcuts in maintaining it.

With a little soldering practice, I should make short work of this repair. The only bad part of doing so is the contortions I'll have to perform as the connector in question is on the cylinder closest to the steering wheel.
 
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