L-Body Bulkhead Connector Compatibility

[TheCanadian007]

Hey Guys, I've recently located an '89 or '90 Turbo Caravan in my local scrap yard. It has a 2.5 Turbo I engine with an A413 auto trans. It appears to be in good shape, only needing a fuel pump to run and as such, a prime candidate for a swap into my auto Horizon.

I recall reading somewhere that the bulkhead connector on the minivans is compatible with that on the L-body cars and that they are a simple plug-and-play. Does anyone have any hints on this or can confirm/deny this statement? Any other quirks I should be aware of with swapping a Mini 2.5 into my L-body?

Thanks, TheCanadian

[85lebaront2]

Depends on the year of the L-body. 88-90 is 50 way and may be plug-and-play, up through 87 are 40 way. I have the pinouts for most of them.

[RedDeerGLH]

88-89 Omni TBI with the smec computer work with the Caravan wiring harness of the same years. The 50 way connector bolts right up. There are a couple of wires that need to be changed around, they can be found in the wiring diagrams. If its a 90 Omni with the Sbec computer the 90 Caravan harness will bolt on to the 90 omnis 50 way connector as well, but i'm not sure on which wires need to be moved around. Hope that helps.

[moparfwdsleeper]

When I was going to TII my old GLH I had 88 TBI dash harness and a 89/90 TI/Auto engine harness. Had to switch a few wires, easy IMO:nod:

[TheCanadian007]

I have a carb'd '87 Horizon, with the 40 pin carb wiring harness. The Minivan is an '89 2.5 Turbo with the SMEC module, comes complete with wiring harness, solenoids, complete kit. Could someone supply the pinouts for the bulkhead connectors? Also does anyone have any advice for the swap? Any hints for the swap?

[85lebaront2]

Ok, here are the links you need. Once my son gets his end done the site will be back up.
89 mini: http://oldschoolhotrodder.com/downloads/Chrysler/89_wiring/89_mini_50way_engine_side.zip
87 Horizon: http://oldschoolhotrodder.com/downloads/Chrysler/87_wiring/87_L_40way_firewall_side.zip

[TheCanadian007]

Thanks for the pinouts, very useful. Just curious; if the minivan has 50 pins and the L-body has 40, what do I do with the extra 10 wires and moreover, what extra wires would it have?

[.:FoRuM56:.]

If you get this to work your gonna have to tell me how LOL

[.:FoRuM56:.]

Thanks for the pinouts, very useful. Just curious; if the minivan has 50 pins and the L-body has 40, what do I do with the extra 10 wires and moreover, what extra wires would it have?

I'm sure on the 50 pin layout you could delete a few, such as sensors that either have no value to you or some that may be replaced with an aftermarket setup.

I was thinking to wire the fuel pump could you not tie into the 40 pin on the inside of the car since there should be empty slots.?
Or run direct power, but T-off into the ignition?

[minigts]

I've done all this before, going from a SMEC 50 pin Daytona harness to a 40 pin L body bulkhead connector. If you need help, let me know. I've done a few other things with the electronics, so if you get stuck I can help, I think. :)

[minigts]

Finally found this file I had made and color coded. There are some questions about the green ones, well when I did it. But if you need any help on this let me know.

http://minigts.com/car/charger/electrical/wiring.html

Yellow was what I used, Blue is what is not needed (could be different for you, i.e., cruise control) and green is what I wasn't 100% sure went where. I have that done, but didn't record exactly how I did those wires. Which is why I say get in touch with me if you need direction on where those wires go.

[TheCanadian007]

Thanks guys, REALLY appreciate the help! I've yet to purchase and yank the engine out of the Mini but will probably do so in the next week or so. I suppose the best way about it would be to yank an extra bulkhead connector from a JY Omni and them swap it over before pulling my carb engine as to minimize the downtime.

I'll be in touch with you guys later on as progresses. I will definitely look you up, minigts for help once I get further into this.

Cheers, TheCanadian

[black86glhs]

I'll be making another one for my GLHS here in a month or 2. I'm not going from the 40 to 50 cavity though.

[minigts]

Thanks for the pinouts, very useful. Just curious; if the minivan has 50 pins and the L-body has 40, what do I do with the extra 10 wires and moreover, what extra wires would it have?

Well the other thing to think about is, not all of the 40 or 50 have wires in them. Some are blank sockets, so in all actuality, you probably could move a 50 to a 40 without "losing" anything if it came down to it. I'd have to count, but for the 40 I know there were a good number of blanks for my car because I didn't have cruise and a couple of other ones, ON TOP of the blanks that were already there.

[85lebaront2]

Can you get the inside plug from the jy mini? If you can get it and about a foot of wire harness. You might want to get as far as the steering column plug and brake light switch (switch definately if you want cruise). That would make the job real easy.

[TheCanadian007]

I can grab as much as I'd like from the minivan, but then I would have to splice in to change my under dash wiring to attach to the other end of the 50 pin connector. I haven't got cruise control or air conditioning, but I do have a rear wiper, defrost, as well as the front washer fluid pump. Although I thought the rear washer switch and defrost didn't run through the firewall bulkhead connector?

All the electrical stuff is a little bit daunting when I look at it, hence why I was looking for a GLH to just yank the engine and swap into my car. Don't suppose any of you guys are near the Canadian border or anyone with the know-how near Winnipeg, MB?

Thanks, TheCanadian

[moparfwdsleeper]

TBI L-Bodies FTMFW

[minigts]

I can grab as much as I'd like from the minivan, but then I would have to splice in to change my under dash wiring to attach to the other end of the 50 pin connector. I haven't got cruise control or air conditioning, but I do have a rear wiper, defrost, as well as the front washer fluid pump. Although I thought the rear washer switch and defrost didn't run through the firewall bulkhead connector?

All the electrical stuff is a little bit daunting when I look at it, hence why I was looking for a GLH to just yank the engine and swap into my car. Don't suppose any of you guys are near the Canadian border or anyone with the know-how near Winnipeg, MB?

Thanks, TheCanadian

I think you're right, however I do think there is one wire for the rear defrost that does come through the firewall. I believe it is a fusible link wire.

[TheCanadian007]

So then, what would be easier to swap, repinning the 50 to a 40 or just removing the 40 pin connector entirely and putting in a 50 pin connector?

[minigts]

Honestly, it's not that hard, but it is intimidating when you first look at it. What you have to get your head around is, with the 50 pin deal, there are LOTS of wires you probably won't use. My advice, get a service manual and start eliminating wires you ABSOLUTELY won't use. What I did was lay it out on the floor and start pulling stuff I knew I wasn't going to use. And be sure to remove them correctly, not just cut them out. Mainly to be sure you can add it back in if you need it.

For the bulk connector, you can still get those type of blade connectors through Dorman wherever that is sold. I got mine at Autozone, but they were kind of expensive. Searching around I found some elsewhere, but they still weren't cheap. I'm planning on doing another harness, so maybe I'll do better to document what I do. Like I said, if you get to a point where you need help, give a shout. I have skype and Gtalk, etc., so you won't have to worry about long distance calls. My username is always minigts.

[TheCanadian007]

Sweet deal, I appreciate it. I'll be back in Winnipeg on Thursday and I suppose I'll begin hauling the wiring harness out then. Followed by the engine and trans. Should I remove the sensors with the wiring? I plan on leaving the solenoids attached, but should i also take other ones with me too, or just unhook them?

Before that though, I suppose I'll do a compression test, make sure the engine is healthy!

Keep the ideas or thoughts coming!

Regards, TheCanadian

[minigts]

If I don't have them scanned in already, I'll go ahead and get the wiring diagrams done and posted so you'll have a point of reference. As far as the sensors go, I wouldn't worry about keeping them attached.

You have MAP, baro-read, wastegate, purge on one side (passenger side).
Then you have engine coolant, water temp, oil temp, HEP down on the front, but that is a sub-harness.
The other ones are air charge temp, knock sensor, fuel injectors, O2, throttle position sensor (TPS) and auto idle speed senors on the back of the motor, behind the valve cover and at the throttle body.

Those are the main ones and then you have stuff like ASD relay, fan relay and starter relay that are on the driver's side inner fender. That should be all the sensors, well all I can think of. The diagrams will have all of the color codes for the wires. There is a very slim chance the colors are different depending on what year the harness is, but from what I have seen, they didn't change color codes. My book is an 1989 Chrysler service manual, so it's accurate. :) Let me see if I have the pages and I'll post the link.

[shelbymonster]

my charger is running with a 88-89 omni 50 way harness and 89 caravan turbo , the only thing wont work is the winsheld washer and wiper and maybe the oil pressure switch , the only thing ive changed its the mad sensor location to put it to the shock tower

[TheCanadian007]

Well update again; I went to the junkyard where the Turbo Caravan was and low and behold, the owner had taken a deposit for the Mitsu turbo that was on it. Apparently me telling him that I was gonna take it out in a week meant that he could still sell parts off it.

Anyway, undeterred, I figured I would still do a compression test on it to verify the engine was still strong with over 300,000km on it. (That equals over 185,000 miles for those of you down South.) Anyways, I arrive with tools and battery in hand, and the owner kinda raised an eyebrow and insisted that the engine was still good, only the fuel pump was toast.

I went out and pulled the plugs, all of them were brown, except number 3, which had heavy ash and oil deposits on it. Compression test was as follows, left to right: 160 - 150 - 0 - 140. So, the piston in the number 3 cylinder is melted, or shot, either way the idiot lied, and I showed him the fouled piston and told him to crush the car. This was at the wrecking yard known as Midnight Auto and Truck Parts, at 1150 Redonda Street
Winnipeg, MB R2C 2Z2 Their number is (204) 222-2626. I would advise anyone in the Winnipeg area to stay away from the yard. He still wanted $300 CND for a Turbo-less T1 engine. Ridiculous!

Either way, I'm back to square one, looking for a turbo engine, trans and wiring harness. Preferably something cheap, an old T1 engine, with an auto would do nicely. Anyone have any leads, or know of one in the Winnipeg area, give me a shout!

Thus concludes my rant, Thanks for listening, TheCanadian

[TheCanadian007]

Change of plans, I'm nabbing a 2.5 Turbo I auto engine from an '88 Lebaron now. Anyone have the pinouts for the Lebaron engine harness connector, which I shall repin to an Lbody?

Thanks, TheCanadian

[GLHS60]

1988 LeBaron would be a 2.2 turbo if original. 2.5 turbo was introduced for the 1989 model year.

Thanks
Randy

[minigts]

Change of plans, I'm nabbing a 2.5 Turbo I auto engine from an '88 Lebaron now. Anyone have the pinouts for the Lebaron engine harness connector, which I shall repin to an Lbody?

Thanks, TheCanadian

Sorry, I'll take pics of the service manual and post asap.

[TheCanadian007]

I stand corrected, 2.2 Turbo in the Lebaron, has the one piece intake. Thanks for pin outs, much appreciated! LeBaron bulkhead connector is actually under the dash, no?

Regards, TheCanadian

[GLHS60]

I don't think the LeBaron has a regular bulkhead connector as the wiring goes right to the fuse box. Daytona, Shadow etc from that era were the same. Just chop the harness off as close to the firewall as you can and splice it to your L- body harness. I've done it a few times and had no problems but the next one I do I'm going to use an 89 Turbo mini harness as that's the donor vehicle I have.

Thanks
Randy