Are these links still available for purchase? if not what is the closest thing I can find as a replacement?. Im having trouble finding a link thats like the one that is located next to the battery . On this particular link, the orange wire that comes out of the link is cut off completely but I still have the connector both male and female. I'll take a snap of it and post it up later today. I appreciate the info guys thanks in advance.

Later,
Phoenix

 

any parts store should have the links you need. they aren't GM specific, usually, they are in the wiring section, labeled GM or Chrysler fusible links. most of the time they aren't orange either, they end up being rust or brownish red color with a blue crimp end and a ring terminal on the other. I know for a fact that advance auto, autozone, rs strauss, and pep boys all carry them. of course, most of these places are poorly stocked so they SHOULD be there, but all you see is an empty hook.

 

Why bother getting GM fusible links?? They are a pain in the butt.

Get in line fuse holders. Its basically a fusible link, but you can put whatever fuse you want in it (within reason). Again parts stores should have this.

 

Here are the pics I was talking about:

The particular fusible link I was talking about is connected to the alternator as well as the battery which is why I'm thinking only GM makes it unless I can rewire it a different way??


You can see where the orange wire that I was talking about was cut off at the link (another reason why I think its a GM only part), I have no clue what this wire goes to but the car was running fine without it when it was running.




Pics 3 and 4 show the other end of where the orange wire should be connected.



Thanks in advance for any info given.

Later,
Phoenix

 

 

thats an odd one. I don't think I've seen that harness like that before, but its a firebird right? they are slightly different than the camaros. I've never seen a fusible link off the NEGATIVE terminal, like it says in your drawing. the only thing I can say is that some of the wires you are showing appear to be part of the electric fan connections, judging by wire color and location. what do the other ends of those wires pictured go to?

 

Yeah its an '89 GTA and I actually made the mistake of purchasing a clean '88 GTA harness which I had to get retrofitted to fit my '89 because I thought they were the same. Wrong!! I should of done some re before I purchased it huh? . Anyway, my old '89 harness which was hacked up like the texas chainsaw massacre (and is the reason why I bought this harness) had the same fusible link wired like in pic #1 and it actually had that red wire and connector pictured too as well as another connector with a orange wire which was melted and messed up so in other words it didn't work either. The negative wire was wired to the battery clamp on my old harness too so I don't know what is wired right or wrong . The last 2 pictures are of the same orange wire and I think it definately goes to the fusible link in pics 1 and 2 and that is why I'm looking for this link in particular. Ok well theres a 'brief' description of whats going on. Thanks again for any info.

Phoenix

 

so that wire is routed to the NEGATIVE of your battery, correct? where does the other end go? if it goes to the alternator stud, it's wired incorrectly. where does the bare ended orange wire go? does it go to a relay?

I'm thinking someone put that wire on the wrong side of the battery, and that's why its clipped off and broken, etc. the coolant fan comes off of the alternator stud, through a fusible link, then to a heavy orange wire to the relay.

you'll have to do some digging from here so we can help you any further. try and get answers to those 4 questions above.

 

Yeah that black wire (pic 1) with the fusible link comes from the alternator stud. As for the bare orange wire, in pic 2 you can see the big orange dot on the fusible link were im guessing the bare ended orange wire might of been connected to but was clipped off for some reason . My car already has the fan relays and they're located by the air cleaner assembly so that must mean I got wiring issues .

 

yeah, i would say you have issues. When I asked where the orange wire went, i figured it went to the fusible link. I'm just trying to figure out the destination(the other end!) so I can tell you how to wire it correctly.

if that black wire is going from the alternator stud, to the negative side of the battery, you probably have a fried wire somewhere else, or the alternator is shot. this would pump out 12 volts at high current to the negative side of the battery, effectively causing a short.

if it were me, I'd probably start from scratch, and rebuild the harness off the car, but you'd have to get the ecm and body schematics for both 88 and 89 cars to do it correctly. if you take some pictures and get it mostly good, we can tell you what parts you are missing or have wired wrong.

 

I misunderstood you on the question about the other end of that bare ended orange wire jwscab and I apologize . The wire does actually run up to the fuel pump relay connector (the one in the middle). On a bit of a side note, the car is actually not running right now due to a possible bad ecm (no check engine light) but can this have anything to do with it? It was running fine until some new plug wires went in and no start up since then . Anyway as for the fusible link itself (pic1), I thought thats how it was wired to the battery lol ! I did an alternator test already when it ran (unplugged it) to see if it worked and it turned out ok. Ok cool jws what exactly do you want me to take pictures of?. Thanks again for the information.

Phoenix

 

OK, I found some stuff you can start looking at:

http://92b4crs.tripod.com/86wiring/dia-pics/10-3.jpg

http://92b4crs.tripod.com/86wiring/dia-pics/22-2.jpg

these 2 pages contain info for an 86 TPI, which should be very similar to the '88. pay attention to the fusible link and the junction S163. this is where all that stuff should be located. use this to try and repair you harness as best you can.

do you have a voltmeter?

BTW, these links, plus alot more, are right at thirdgen.org tech articles. these should help you with any part of the harness of the car.

 

hey i have a 89 gta also, that black cylinder actually isnt a fusable link, if you break it open it keeps the wires connected seperatly, i have no idea why??? im pretty sure though that one of these wires has something to do with the ecm, you might want to check with the guys over at gtasourcepage.com

 

by 'connected seperately' do you mean all 4 wires are connected together, or 2 of the wires are tied together, and the other two are tied together, then both circuits are molded into the plastic block? I would expect this to be junction S163, so all 4 would be tied together internally. GM did this in alot of places, there is typically one down by the starter, one fusible link will pick up 2 wires, etc. it's just a cheap way to make a weatherproof junction. If there are 2 separate circuits molded in there, that's weird.

 

Now I know lol . I can't believe I mistaked it for a fusible link all this time; it kind of looked like one in a way....or not . I got a new ecm on the way so I'll see if that does the trick (crossing fingers) if not, its got to be the wiring. Now that you mention gtasourcepage.com, I signed up for an account a couple of months back and waited to get an activation message via email but never got it so it was never activated. I signed up again just a couple of days ago and haven't recieved the activation message as well. You think you can get me signed up some how man? I'd appreciate it! Thanks again for the input guys.

Later,
phoenix