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Take Car to shop or rewire myself
Topic Started: Feb 13 2014, 02:54 AM (926 Views)
Syleion
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New Member
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Alright so, I've got some electrical issues I cannot for the life of me pinpoint. Basically my question is that my knowledge of cars is subpar at best and I'm thinking that the entire harness will have to be replaced....should I try and replace it myself or take it to the shop? Is it even worth trying to fix at this point? I do however have the dealer manual for my car (92 geo metro) so I'm just exploring my options at the moment.
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PA.metro,fixer,frames,ect
Frame Fixer

a stock wiring harness that has not been hacked or spliced orcut into is actually not that hard to replace it is unplug the old plug back in the new when you have problems is because things are cut or spliced if you get it or can find a virgin untouched harness I honestly think you could do it yourself
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Hotrodray1
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Over Educated parts guy

What circuit are you having problems with? Some of them are real common.
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Stiffchezze
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Sir Metrologist

:gp Both of them!

You do NOT want to take your Metro to a "shop" for electrical work. Any "fix" they find will be hacked even worse than it already is. Very few mechanics know the Metro electrical system well enough to apply a proper fix. Not that it's difficult, there are just some very specific things that happen to Metros. (i.e. our headlights are backwards)

Electrical work can be very frustrating and take a long time to find the problem. At $75+ an hour this can add up QUICK. :(

Since you are on this forum AND you have a FSM you are already 90% there. Post about your specific problems and let us help you out. :thumb
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Since1990
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Stiffchezze
Feb 13 2014, 09:19 AM
You do NOT want to take your Metro to a "shop" for electrical work. Any "fix" they find will be hacked even worse than it already is. Very few mechanics know the Metro electrical system well enough to apply a proper fix. Not that it's difficult, there are just some very specific things that happen to Metros. (i.e. our headlights are backwards)

Electrical work can be very frustrating and take a long time to find the problem. At $75+ an hour this can add up QUICK. :(

Since you are on this forum AND you have a FSM you are already 90% there. Post about your specific problems and let us help you out. :thumb
Since you've got manuals you are qualified and equipped to tackle electrical troubleshooting. The only "skill" most auto electrical technicians have is persistence.

If the harness hasn't been hacked into you're almost always better off repairing rather than replacing.

Wiring rarely goes bad, and almost never breaks. What usually happens is that moisture will cause the connector pins to corrode, in which case the quarrelsome connectors can be undone, the pins cleaned, and then the halves plugged back together again. My ONLY electrical problem to date (on my 98) was a corroded pin in a firewall connector.

Cleaning pins is so much easier than replacing harnesses.
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truckjohn


I would personally take the time to hunt up a highly recommended Automotive electrician.... Never underestimate how quickly a trained professional can track down a problem with the right tools...

I have seen those guys track down WEIRD wiring problems and fix them quite quickly...

Sister in law had a weird car problem... The electrical system would freak out. Random things would start blinking, and then the car would quit running... Sometimes it would restart just fine... Some times it took a couple tries... Tried the dealer and a couple mechanics - no luck.

Finally found a local Auto electrician... It is a 1-man shop, and he specializes in weird stuff like this.. but the guy is a genius with this sort of thing. Found the problem and fixed it for $75.00 (Minimum shop charge)... Turned out to be a semi-scuffed wire up under the carpeting up under the back seat of her car or some weird place like that.... How he found it - I will never know.... but he found it quick and fixed it.

You could spend MONTHS trying to find something like that and never locate it....

Thanks
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Memphis metro


Hotrodray1
Feb 13 2014, 08:23 AM
What circuit are you having problems with? Some of them are real common.
:+1 What are your problems?
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perfesser
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Elite Member - Former Metro owner

You can start by looking at all the connectors associated with the problem circuit. Sometimes connectors corrode (as has been stated) and sometimes they overheat and melt things. Get a circuit tester or an ohm meter and check from connector to connector to see if there is a complete circuit between A and B. You can spend $15- on equipment and do a lot of testing before you ever have to cut your first wire.

Also you might want to undo, clean and reinstall every grounding point you can get to (and there are plenty of them!)
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georandy
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All good advice above.

Clean and tighten all the grounds. Post your specific problems if that doesn't do it.
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mwebb
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FOG

read this
first
T pins and wireing diagrams for rookies articles

harness repair work is all about voltage drop testing
study and learn about it before you begin

harbor freight has a cheap tool to trace broken wires inside of harness bundles
it works well
it was that type of tool used by the tech in the post above to locate an open circuit
i have a more advanced Fluke tool to trace wires but the harbor freight tool is about as good and easier to use and cheaper to buy
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