I have pretty much cleaned up all the old tpi wiring but just a few wires are concerning me. I have several pink/black wires that are connected to the AIR diverted valve, canister purge solenoid etc. They are all connected to one pink/black wire that goes to the gauges fuse. What should I do with that wire? Will my gauges not work if I get rid of it? Also, I have a ground strap that went to the back of the driver side head. One of its wires goes to inside the car on the driver side. Can I get rid of the ground strap? What about the transmission wiring. Can I just keep it in place or should I get rid of it also? Because one of its wires goes inside the car on the driver side too.

As far as my fans go, can I just add a toggle switch with one wire going to ground and the other going to the green/white wire on the relay? Or will that not work?



These are the pink/black wires tied to one going to the gauges fuse.

This is the ground strap with a wire that goes inside the car on the driver side.

 

Anyone?

 

I would not get rid of any of it... ESPECIALLY the Ground-Strap.

 

Why? This is a carb setup.

 

Unless you are well versed in disassembly, de-pinning, re-pinning, and reassembly of the C100 Bulk-Head Electrical-Connector...
The wires that are going through the C100 Bulk-Head Electrical-Connector can be very useful.

Instead of making more holes in the Fire-Wall for new or more Electrical Accessories...
The unused Wires can be repurposed.

Also if you make changes in the future, change the Engine, swap to Holley EFI, Etc.
You have usable Wiring already in-place.

Most importantly, keep the Ground-Strap...
Grounding as actually the most important part of the Electrical System of your Car.
Even more so with any Electronics (which will need a separate Clean Ground-Buss, and then Grounding for the Chassis/ Body and everything else).

Should you wish to take on the C100 Electrical Connector...
I have two Threads going over it... but the more resent Thread should be all that is needed.

Good luck and have fun!

 

I agree on the ground strap, you can need have too many good, clean ground connections. If going to a carb, you could use one of the pink/black leads to power your choke heater. I just went thru a TPI harness that I will be installing to upgrade my car from carb to TPI, so have some familiarity with what you are working with. If you absolutely MUST remove those lines, best way to do it is at the C100 connector. Working with it isn't hard, just takes patience the first time to get all the hardened electrical grease out so you can remove the white pin-lock to then remove the terminals.

However, I would leave the wires. You could trim them back by the main splice around the driver head, leaving enough wire to splice back into it you need in the future. Your car, you get to decide!

Here is a link to my thread on adding electrical fans to my carbed car. Wiring is at post 9. Make sure you keep power running to the relays. Not the larger orange wire that powers the motors, but the smaller wire that drives the relays. Depending on what you've removed, one of your pink/black wires could serve that function. Having a complete factory service manual would really help. You can search on this site for a link to a complete 1988 FSM, I have used it a lot.

Link to can post: Here

 

So I will retain all ground straps. My carb doesn’t have a choke so no worries there. I will keep the pink/black wires and everything else that goes to the C100.

But, can’t I just add a switch with one wire going to ground and the other going to the green/white at the relay for the fans?

 

This is a 1990 trans am that had a 350 TPI.

 

You can use a switch to trigger each relay, but the relays need +12v and ground to function.

 

Could you explain how I could get the fans running using the factory relays with toggle switches. I’m a bit confused.

 

Search on TGO for the link to the factory service manual for the 88 Firebird. The can schematic will be the same. It sounds like this level of electrical work is beyond your current abilities, but with the manual you will be able to figure it out.

I strongly recommend using a temperature controlled switch for the main fan versus the toggle, similar to how I posted in the link above. It is easier to wire (no crossing into the cabin) and you do not have to worry about forgetting to flip the switch and baking your engine.

 

But doesn’t a temp controlled switch require a sensor in the cylinder head. Or does it probe the radiator?

 

I'm trying to help, but did you even look at the link I attached in an earlier post? If you had, you'd see I attached the switch to the intake manifold, next to the thermostat housing. Easy to access and route wires to the fan relays.