Originally posted on Reddit. Modified to add detail and incorporate new feedback. Another user guided me home, as I thought this place was dead. To my delighted surprise, H-T is alive and well. Sorry if the photos come out all huge or distorted. I haven't posted since 2012... So I've had this car for 20 years and many iterations. Her name is Monicaaa. Most recently a full long block build, Golden Eagle sleeves, and a tune on E85. Hondata S300 V3 BBG Blah blah. The car was tuned by a renowned tuner on a mustang Dyno back in January of '23. He has been the sole tuner of the car going back 14 years. Session went smooth as silk. Just as she had for many years before, Monicaaa pulled hard, straight, and true, and was a dream to drive... Idle was near showroom stock smooth. UNNNNtil, one day months later I was driving on the highway after picking up my son from school. The Glove box was sketch and would sometimes fall out for like... no reason. I hadn't gotten around to it. I had carelessly left my ECU on the passenger side floor. The highway was getting resurfaced or something and I hit a straight bump on the highway and lo and behold the glove compartment came down and hit the ECU and my car immediately went into a first ever perma-limp mode (no revving past 3k, just enough throttle allowance to drive 40-50 mph in FiF gear and creepiest of all NO CEL. I'm quite certain that the fact that my Skunk2 coilovers from 2016 were pretty blown out (bouncy), did not help the totality of the circumstances. *I confess that for about a month prior (when it got hot in Central Florida) I was starting to eat through brand new batteries and was systematically chasing down a drain - pulled the alternator which had 2 diodes that were toast, repaired, bench tested and re-installed AFTER the highwaybump/glovebox drop incident* ...Anyway, I tried (for the first time) to talk to Monicaaa via the Hondata SManager, fully updated, proper wire, and bluetooth, app, etc. The ECU basically had no pulse and the tabs were greyed out mostly. Took it out, sent it back to the local Hondata dealer to do an RMA. Confirmed that ECU got fried. I assumed it likely happened when it was hit by the glovebox possibly causing an arc. There were black marks on the internals of the ECU. We then did an official RMA through Hondata in Cali. The few who saw the wiring situation (3-4 different guys) remarked that the harness under the dash appeared to be an ill-made and poorly weaved "rats-nest-****-show" and was likely culprit of the fried Hondata. Another exclaimed that he wouldn't even dare put the battery back in bc some of the exposed wire could catch fire and basically stated that the ECU faced certain death if it were to be plugged in. What they did NOT know is that this very same **** show rat's nest harness was crammed behind plastic panels and dash for 7-8 years flawlessly powering a sleeping 425whp turbo teg with no issues from the tune or wiring (albeit possibly miraculous, it true). On the other hand, more than one Redditor remarked that the wiring was not that bad and had seen WAYY worse. I'm appreciative of this added context. Hondata Dealer stated that my whiteboard was fried, but that my precious tune MAY/MIGHT be salvageable. Dealer emailed it to me, which I know is a coin-toss, but w/e I just want my car back on the street.

>>FF: *Moral of the Story*: So I currently have a freshly minted and certified? Hondata ECU from my dealer, sealed in bubble wrap with a freshly installed S300 V3 whiteboard to put in and fire up with my tune (if lucky) or a basemap to get down to the Dyno... but I'm scared to death of frying my ECU from some exposed wire, or some wire that came loose or knocked by the glove box. I'm extremely hesitant to hand off to ANY shop at all. The car was held prisoner with months & years of senseless delay by 2 different highly recommended Honda specialty shops. Some of the delays I absolutely claim blame for those stretches... but no more then 9-13 months (delayed build decisions, temporarily frozen funds, divorce, new dad etc). All told, this car was out of operation for over 6 years on a job that really should have taken less than half of that. Now, all wrenching is performed by me and family or long term trusted mechanics and friends, they just aren't keen on custom turbo Honda wiring, so I basically have to learn this from the ground up. Which is ok by me because I only have myself to blame if my car isn't running. I prefer this to my car literally rotting in a black hole shop with no idea when or IF I'll get a call or text back or when or IF I'll even see the car again.

I'm already in touch with Rywire about possibly getting a new harness (nice stuff, but requires more money, more work/sweat/TIME (very scarce). But since this harness DID run well before the glove compartment dropped on it and for many years before, I also have a feeling that if I just clean/tidy up the existing wiring below and plug back in or splice or heat shrink / cap off and/or solder a couple of wires back together, that I would be able to load up my tune or set up a base map and plug it in and be up an running again. I enjoy car meme culture and I'm a 90's OG tuner so I love a good roast, but if you've made it this far, please help me figure out how to mend/heal and fireproof this section of the harness so that I can confidently plug in my ECU so I can tune and ultimately tuck it all neatly where it belongs. Even if you could point me to a written or video/youtube resource or some Honda wiring oracle. I would gladly pay a reasonable fee for consult, live remote guidance, etc. I would be most appreciative. In any event, thank you Honda-Tech for even still being around.

 

It’s 2024 bruh, depin and repin that harness, don’t be cutting and wrapping stuff up with electrical tape!

I have nothing constructive to add.

 

Solder. I would add some solder. 😜

 

Crimps, not solder in automotive applications.

Non insulated crimps and heat shrink.