RPG Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 I picked up my car as a roller. It is an 86 widebody. Is there is a safe and simple way to test the electrical system? I'd like to get a little knowledge of what kind of shape things are in before starting a motor swap. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott87star Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 No, not really, you'd have to check each subsystem you intend to keep. http://www.starquestgarage.com has the electrical diagrams but they really kind of suck for 86 and lower. The normal advice would be to look in the FSM (link provided) for the ground points, make sure those are clean, then to a careful evaluation of the wire integrity (hacks, insulation cracks, insulation color) to see if it makes sense. Time consuming to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAinsworth Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 I have the hard copy of the 86 manual if you need certain pages scanned. Jimmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 if it's a roller with no engine , just cover the starter power cable and tape it so it can't short against any thing,, same for the alt power wire , after that you can power up the car as normal , i can asure you the fuse link box and connectors will need a complete going over and cleaning , you do want to open rear hatch and open the fuel pump inspection plate and UNPLUG the fuel pump power connector to be sure the pump will not run at any time,, i'd also recomend pluging any and all open hoses and pipes,,to keep bugs etc out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPG Posted September 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2013 Thanks for the advice guys. I'll let you know if I run in to any issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted September 8, 2013 Report Share Posted September 8, 2013 pre 87 cars used a single power feed to the alt and other systems,, on the 88/89 systems the seperated these power supply wires into two wires and went directly to the battery juntion block for the power to the fuse links,, you will be ahead of the game to convert you pre 87 cars to the newer wireing system ,, in the alt wire if you unwraped the harness to it you'l find a solderd connection where the power wire splits off into two seperate wires , this is where the problem starts , you seperate these connections and run two seperate power feeds to the diff circirtseach with it's own fuseable link , you will see a large improvment in how the electrical system works not 100% sure but i seem to recall they did the same thing with power to both fuseable link boxs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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