1998 Astra G SRI Engine Loom Fire - Power Sounder

[porkus]

Hello everyone - long time reader but haven't posted until now.

I have an Astra SRI 2.0 which has had the dreaded power sounder failure. It caught fire but I managed to disconnect the battery before too much damage was done. It has melted the wiring in the engine harness though which means I will have to rewire the feeds to the washer motor, lh repeater etc.

I have managed to pull out nearly all the loom but I have a problem with the connector at the bulkhead. My question is how do I unplug the large blue connector on the bulkhead to finish getting the loom out? I can see a screw in the middle of it but I am not sure if this is a torx or not. Does this need to come out to allow the connection to be split?

I also want to get it all out so I can check its all ok and nothing is shorting.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone.

BTW I would recommend everyone check the power sounder as mine was fine and has never had any issues and then suddenly it caught fire yesterday without warning.
Glad I was sat on the drive with the bonnet open otherwise I think it would have been curtains!

I tried searching but the search is only working on parts for sale for me.

[Astra Dan]

Blimey, that's concerning. I've never heard of that before! Sorry I have no idea about the connectors, have you tired over on AOC http://www.astraownersclub.com/vb/ There's 2 guys who are very intimate with the wires on Mk4s.
Please could you document and take pics of as much as possible; this could be a big help as these cars get older.

[porkus]

Blimey, that's concerning. I've never heard of that before! Sorry I have no idea about the connectors, have you tired over on AOC Astra Sport and Astra Owners Club - Mk1 | Mk2 | Mk3 | Mk4 | Mk5 | Mk6 | Astra Van | 888 | VXR - All Welcome There's 2 guys who are very intimate with the wires on Mk4s.
Please could you document and take pics of as much as possible; this could be a big help as these cars get older.

I heard of it on Omega's and Vectra's but not the Astra. They usually just beep like mad instead. I will try AOC, thanks for the suggestion.
Yeah sure I will add some pics in the morning and also a run down of what I have done so far to remove the loom as it all helps everyone.

I think I might have looked quite concerned when the smoke came out of the scuttle, shouting at the wife to call the fire brigade luckily I disconnected the battery before it really turned into a BBQ

[elongmoss]

just bolted through the middle but a bugger to pull apart due to the number of connectors in there
just pry it at the corners slowly once the middle screw is removed

[porkus]

Removing the Astra SRI Loom:

If you stick at it I estimate it takes about 7 hours to get this far. Be prepared for bruised knuckles.

Tools required:

Pliers, Sharp knife, 8mm, 9mm, 10mm, 12mm, 13mm sockets, Torx drivers, Trolley Jack, Locking Wheel Nut Socket, Patience. Tea, Rollies, Nice weather. Very thin wall 10mm Socket at least 0.5 -0.6 mm less than a standard one in diameter.

1. Remove Front Bumper and Arch Liners both sides. ( To remove the liners undo any screws and push the centre pins inwards on the round black clips - take the wheels off first otherwise you cant do it).
2. Unplug the repeaters - side indicators (up inside the arches).
3. Unplug the Power Sounder....ahem. (inside the passenger side liner, to remove the sounder undo the two screws holding it in and withdraw, be careful as it still has the ability to catch fire, or sound off, as the rechargeable batteries inside will be leaking and shorting, dispose of it carefully in a bucket of water. While there remove any twigs and leaves inside the wing to prevent rust pockets).
4. Unplug the Washer bottle connection (inside the liner/wing towards the front cross member) and pull the pump out (its on the end of a pipe going into the bottle).
4a. Remove the header tank - you can leave the connection on and the tank filled as it will move quite a distance over to the left - enough room to be useful.
5. Remove the Washer Bottle (2 screws inner wing and unclip the pipes ).
6. Unplug all the headlight/indicator connections.
7. Unplug the red connection on the lower radiator (Passenger side).



8. Unplug the outside temperature sensor in bumper.
9. Unplug the fog lights inside bumper and while near the drivers side, unplug the two horns.
10. Unplug the Brown connector on the front of the relay box. (Twist it, you may have to cut the bracket at the top to get the rest out).



11. Remove the relay box on top of the ABS module (bolt either side and one on the bulkhead).
12. Seperate the loom from the battery terminals, mark the wires + ve and -ve for reference.
13. Slide the relay connectors out of the relay box (Screwdriver to depress tangs).
14. Slide the relay wires off the right hand side of the relay box (pull up) and remove box.



15. Remove the main fuses from the fusebox and slide out the fuse holders (tilt and pull) to seperate from loom. (You only need to do two of them which are wired to the loom)



16. Unplug the Anti-TS Horn PM if you want to know how (I have cut mine and will rejoin them as its easier).
17. Unplug the Driver side ABS sensor wires (Its more or less under the brake fluid - I have cut mine near the loom and will rejoin them as its easier).



18. Undo the earth strap on the passenger wing as its attached to the loom
19. Unplug the Brake Fluid reservoir level connection.
20. Remove the Air Filter Housing (Take the top off, undo the clip to the pipe with a screwdriver by levering the edge of the clip, once the top is off pull the lower housing forward to unclip)
21. Unplug any connections to the engine and unplug the two large connectors and one small connection on the heatsink on the passenger wing. (Depress the tang on the large connectors and swing the clips round)



22. Using a thin nose pliers remove all the tie tags along the run of the loom, you may have to cut some of the tags with a knife ( The Loom runs from the bulkhead, down the RHS of the ABS module, down and around the washer bottle filler, down behind the passenger side headlight, round the inside of the cross member/bumper, up behind the other headlight and then up to the brake fluid. There are two spurs for the side repeaters and power sounder). The ABS sensor wires are deep down the wings in the engine bay.
23. Remove the headlights for access.
24. Feed the loom from the drivers sides through the run. Its easier to do it a bit at a time, feeding the small connectors through as you go.
25. Unbolt the X2 Bulkhead Connector - its a horrid job and took me 2 hours. You can't get a ratchet in unless its a 1/4" drive with a short socket. The socket will probably need to be ground down - I had too. There is not much swing for spanners, as the bulkhead, the abs module and brake pipe are in the way (about 90 degrees or so).
25a. The Connector should come away quite easily, grab it with your fingers and pull it forwards. Do this gently as the other connectors for the ABS etc can easily be damaged on the surrounding brackets. Also note the passenger side ABS sensor feed. Again I cut mine and will join it as its hard to get the special grommet out of the wing.
25b. The loom should now be free to pull out of the car. Its a bit tight around the ABS and the ECU but it will come out OK. Twist to the left and pull out towards the front is what I did.
26. To remove the cover on the loom, starting at the wing depress the tabs inwards and down with a small screwdriver whilst pulling up on the cover - repeat all the way along the cover for each tab.
27. Have a cuppa because its not the easiest job in the world.

[porkus]

just bolted through the middle but a bugger to pull apart due to the number of connectors in there
just pry it at the corners slowly once the middle screw is removed

Thanks Elongmoss - is it a torx or a hex head?

[porkus]

Thanks Elongmoss - is it a torx or a hex head?

I have been searching for a while and found out the fastener holding the x2 connector onto the bulkhead is a 10mm bolt. It will require an extremely thin walled socket to undo as there isn't a lot of room to play with.
The X2 connector is the main multi-plug that's on the end of the engine loom, this feeds through the bulkhead just behind and below the ABS module. It is blue in colour. Its done like this so wires don't chafe.

I have also read that if you have a misfire and have checked everything else - split this connection, give it a clean and then assemble with some electrical grease. Water can get inside the plug over time and cause bad connections leading to engine loom electrical gremlins.

[porkus]

Got the loom out - The connector in the bulkhead is a batch of a job. Took me near on 2 hours to undo it....

[porkus]

Here is what's left of the wiring that goes to the left hand side wing.

I have ordered some new thin wall wire 30p-40p a metre depending on thickness, so not too bad. All in all, to replace the 20 odd wires in the main part of the loom that have melted together, came to £15 inc. p&p. Its proper automotive wire too so OK with oils and heat. Just got to wait for it to arrive and start soldering it all back together. I will shrink wrap the joins and then recover it all in the self amalgamating tape they use on the original.

Got the wires from a place called Auto Electric Supplies on the web. Wasn't many places that do anything but reels of the stuff.....

Once I have done it all I am going to wire in a battery isolation switch so I can turn the power off in seconds - rather than panic looking for a spanner to remove the terminals.

[porkus]

Been looking at this X2 Plug after removing all the tape. The insulation on the wire that feeds the Power Sounder has melted right up to the plug. I don't think the heat has gone to the other side of the bulkhead as the plug plastic is intact, but I will check once I have repaired the loom. After all it wouldn't be a very good bulkhead if it let fire go through it quickly.



Got a new problem now - if any one could help I would be thankful - how do you dismantle the X2 plug? I can see the tangs either side and I have removed the red thing which I presume is some kind of lock but I can only get it out about 2mm and am afraid to damage it. The thing is I may have to cut the blue plastic carefully with a knife and then glue it back together when I have rewired it but I don't want to do that unless I have too.

[Astra Dan]

Jeebus - what a nightmare! Sorry can't help with dismantling the connector. Many thanks for sharing your progress so far.

[porkus]

Thanks Dan - Oh well I will be a guinea pig and see what I can do. All I have to lose is to buy another harness but if it can be repaired then I haven't lost anything but a few quid.

[porkus]

Well after much effort trying to get the black connector block out of the blue housing I have given up and taken a leap of faith and carefully sawn around the spigot. This way I should be able to hot glue or plastic weld it back on. Its only a locator anyway to guide it into the other half. Even if I end up just hot glue tacking it to the black block as a sleeve it should still work.

The wires are so stiff in the block nothings going anywhere anyway. I am sure the central hole where the bolt is will help line it all up anyway on refitting and the blue bit will clamp the connector block in place anyway.

By doing this I have at least managed to pull wires through enough to be able to work on them ok.

[porkus]

Been doing some research and the connections in the block seem to be micro-timer and junior power timer. Cant really see them properly but that seems to be the nearest match I can find.

[porkus]

As I am not going to pay the silly prices for terminal removal tools (The object is to repair the harness for less money than paying for a second hand one) I have made some of my own out of various bits and bobs. Once you get them adjusted they work really well.
Precision screwdrivers work well too.



I decided to carefully clip all the wires off so I am just working on the X2 connector at the moment. I will resolder all the bad wires and then feed them back through the connector when they are all done.



With the extraction tools inserted into the terminal of choice, in the opposite face of the block (the other side of what is shown above) pull on the wires and withdraw them from the side the wires are sticking out of.

Now I know how to do this it probably was a pointless exercise removing the blue plastic around the block. Just pulling out the red locking pin and then inserting the extraction tool and withdrawing the wires would probably have worked - but you don't find this out without issues along the way

To remove the timer style terminals depress the tangs:

[Astra Dan]

Good stuff, you're learning a lot as you go here.

[porkus]

Good stuff, you're learning a lot as you go here.

Yes indeed, helps everyone in the long run.

Been doing some more tonight and have got the x2 connector completely dismantled now. I was right, you could have extracted the wires without completely dismantling it, by pulling the red tab to unlock it and then extracting the wires. There is a plate that is held by the red tab, that slides and clamps the wires when it is fully pushed in. Looking at the gouge marks inside the plug, seems they had fun originally assembling it

Another pic:



At this stage I think I am now ready to start repairing and soldering. Luckily I can take my time as I have the bike to run around on which helps a great deal.

[porkus]

Loom Connector Identification.

















































Engine Loom Plug

[elongmoss]

All the Earths (Plain Brown ones) are connected together in the loom near the ECU then run up to the earth point on the passanger wing
Just mentioning it if it helps you

[porkus]

All the Earths (Plain Brown ones) are connected together in the loom near the ECU then run up to the earth point on the passanger wing
Just mentioning it if it helps you

Thanks elongmoss, it does.

I have checked and repaired the wires in the loom (New Power Sounder feed, New LHS Repeater feed, New Washer Bottle Motor feed, Earth wires & Radiator Fan feed) that were damaged. I soldered in new lengths of wire and have heat shrunk them for protection.

Some people says its best to crimp on car looms but I don't think there is enough room in the loom to be able to do that. The wires look very tight in the plastic channel. Maybe I am old fashioned but I think a good solder joint beats a crimped terminal.

I also ordered some new heat resistant loom tape to cover all the wires up again. So far it has cost me £12 for the wires, £4 for the connectors, £1.50 for the heat shrink & £2.50 for the tape. If its all works and lasts a year I will be more than happy.

The loom was a bit of a sticky mess as the old black tape had broken down a bit and left the glue all over the place. The original cloth loom tape has also virtually turned to powder. If I had a loom this old undamaged, it would probably be a good idea to take it off the car and re-wrap it all to save problems in the future.

Now going to rewire the ABS connectors & Pad Sensor wires and start connecting all the wires back into the X2 Plug. When that is all done, before I fit it, I am going to check the other side of the bulkhead to make sure no heat travelled through and damaged any wiring behind the dash. I think its a simple job to get to the other side by removing the glove box and heater fan.

[Nemesis]

This excellent thread needs to be stickied or moved to the guides section when done!

[porkus]

This excellent thread needs to be stickied or moved to the guides section when done!

Thanks Nemesis - I will just keep adding what I learn.

[porkus]

Removing the ABS & Brake Pad Sensor wires.

When I removed the harness I cut the wires to the ABS & Pad sensors as I couldn't see how to get them out through the wing.

To remove the loom with these wires intact:

1. Unplug the connectors on each side of the car going to the brake pads.
2. Unplug the ABS connectors on each side going to the hubs.
3. The part of the loom inside the arch can be split and its a choice if you want to leave the lower portion that is attached to the struts, hubs & calipers in place.
4. Unhook the wires from the strut if you wish to and also the inner wing behind the strut. They are held there by little U shaped clips.
5. Carefully push the retaining tabs for the inner wing grommets (where the wires lead into the engine bay - a hard plastic part just behind the strut) down with a small screwdriver (the tabs are located around the edge of the grommet - there is 3 tabs)
6. You can then push the grommets into the engine bay and remove the loom intact without having to cut the wires.

It is important not to cut these wires unless you know what you are doing. The ABS wires are twisted pair shielded cable and not normal wires. The ABS wires contain 2 insulated wires twisted around each other every 20mm + one uninsulated ground wire. These are wrapped in a foil shield. These wires feed to the ABS module plug where the earth is then attached to the main earthing of the loom.

They are shielded for electromagnetic radiation. They are a pig to resolder back together and I hope I have done them correctly. Once the loom is finished and back on we will be able to see if it works correctly. If the ABS light comes on then it probably hasn't.....

The pad sensor wires are just standard automotive cable in a circuit coming from the X2 plug to the passenger side pad then to the other side and then earthed. All these wires do as far as I can see is create a circuit through the pads. When the pads are worn the circuit is broken and this shows a warning on the display.

To remove the wires for the side repeaters, remove the wheels, unclip the arch liners and unplug the connector inside the arches. You will also have to unclip the cable ties to get them out.

[Astra Dan]

Superb, very handy info here.
I also agree a good solder joint does not suffer in a car-based environment either.

[porkus]

Repairing ABS Wires.

It is not recommended to repair ABS wires because of what they do but it is possible with some care. ABS wires are technically known as CAN bus - Controller Area Network - or in other words automotive LAN. ABS wires consist of shielded wires twisted around each other to cancel out electromagnetic interference. The shielding is in the form of aluminium foil or braid wrapped around the twisted wires. The shielding is grounded to earth.

On the Astra the wires consist of a pair of 0.50 mm insulated wires twisted at 25mm intervals, with an uninsulated earth. These are wrapped in aluminium foil and then insulated in heat proof automotive grade insulation.

Here is a run down of a repair:

Strip approx 40mm of insulation off the ABS wire.
Cut the inner wires at unequal length, cutting one as near to the insulation as possible. (Brown & Red Long - Blue & Red short)
Expose 5mm of wires to be soldered.



Cut some automotive grade wires to suit the length of repair to be spliced and also cut one of those shorter than the other. (Blue & White)
Cut some heat-shrink to about 25mm in length and slip them on the wires as shown.
Cut some larger heat-shrink for going over the final repair - make it 50mm longer than you think you need, then you can cut it back if required later.



Solder the short side using as little solder as possible to get an effective join (Blue & Red)
Solder the long side as for the short



Heat-shrink the joins - note I haven't done the earth yet and its out of the way.



Repeat the above for the other end.



Strip some wire and splice it in between the two bare earths. (Note the repair in the other side is heat-shrinked.)



Twist the wires to approx 25mm intervals.



Cut some aluminium kitchen foil to a suitable length and wrap it around the wires - ensuring it touches the earth wire as much as possible.



Heat-shrink the whole lot using the heat-shrink you put on the ABS wires before you made the join.



Cover the whole repair in loom tape to protect. Wrap once diagonally one way and repeat with another layer diagonally the other way.



This is the best I can achieve without buying ABS wire from a supplier which is not cheap and hard to get hold of.

If anyone has some technical comments on it I would appreciate it. I hope it will work as I think it should because its the nearest I can get to the original ABS wire.