# The Rabbit TDI Project Part 4: Wiring



## MrDave (Jul 26, 2002)

The Rabbit TDI Project 
Part 4: Wiring 1 

Or: a snake pit of 12 Volts 


The mystery and the magic of the TDI engine comes from the electronic control of everything. 
The nightmare and confusion of the TDI engine comes from the electronic control of everything. 

If you can read the bently wiring diagrams, you can make it all work. 

Or make most of it work... 

Or at least make some of it work... 


Once the old engine was out, I removed the dash and dug into the fusebox. 
After careful review of the Rabbit wiring diagram (8 pages) and prolonged study of 
the TDI engine wiring diagram (13 pages) and the G/J standard equipment diagrams (20 pages), I hacked up the wiring of the Rabbit. Let no wire go unsnipped. 
I removed all of the wiring associated with the old engine, and the other stuff that was unneeded. (seatbelt warning buzzer and such...) 




















This is the pile left on the floor after a good chop session: 









I mounted the ECU on a stand in the raintray just to the passenger side of the interior fan. 

A few new holes were drilled to pass the wires thru the raintray into the engine compartment. 

For the wiring going to the engine compartment, I mounted a hobby box in the driver's side of the raintray, and drilled thru into the interior. 










The Westmoreland Rabbit fuseboxes are quite nice and easy to work on. The wires simply unclip, or clip in. As a result, all of my new fuses are part of the old fusebox. For the new relays I used VW oem relay receivers that snap into the clips on the top of the fusebox. 

There are a lot of wires to run. 

In my case, I didn't get the interior portion of the harness with the engine, so all of that stuff I had to fabricate from scratch. The hobby box/wire passthru is also where I joined my new interior harness to the engine/ecu harness. 

Due to my relocation of some sensors I ended up pulling one of the ecu harnesses almost completely apart. Oh joy and bliss... 

The 1.8T guys can always run a standalone engine management system. 
There is no such system for a modern diesel. I suppose I could've gone with a mechanical fuel pump, but where is the fun in that? 

summary: lots of wiring 

Stay tuned... 

-Dave 











Part 1: Introduction 
Part 2: Installing the Engine 
Part 3: Transmission 
Part 4: Wiring 1 
Part 5: Speedometer and Cluster 
Part 6: ImmobilizerIII 
Part 7: Drive By Wire 
Part 8: Intercooler 
Part 9: Intake and Exhaust 
part 10: MFA and Cruise Control 
Part 11: The Dash 
Part 12: The Little Things 
Part 13: The End (for now) 
Part 14: 6spd transmission and brake upgrades 
One Year Later 
Dyno results 
Who Needs a VR6 
TDI Rabbit


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## Andrew Stauffer (Oct 2, 2000)

*Re: The Rabbit TDI Project Part 4: Wiring (MrDave)*

This is the part I've been waiting for Dave. I really got a chuckle out of the wire labeled with a big "?" in one of the pics above. Probably had a few of those, eh? 
Hey, what's a "hobby box"? Sounds like something I could use for an efi project I have coming up, but I'm not familiar with the term????


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## MrDave (Jul 26, 2002)

*Re: The Rabbit TDI Project Part 4: Wiring (Andrew Stauffer)*

Yeah, didn't notice that question mark in the picture. There were a few stray wires.
Hobby box - project box, small plastic box from an electronic supply store, generally used as an enclosure for an electronics project

-Dave


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## lukedwag (Aug 17, 2001)

*Re: The Rabbit TDI Project Part 4: Wiring (MrDave)*

I just did that like a month ago with my 1.8t .... stand alone is for wussys and race car people ...... the real men wire it !!!!!!!!!! I cant wait to see this project finished


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## efritsch (Aug 21, 2002)

*Re: The Rabbit TDI Project Part 4: Wiring (lukedwag)*

Oh dear lord, what have I gotten myself into? I'm currently in the middle of swaping a 2.8L V6 from an A6 into my 1987 Fox Wagon. The motor fits and is in the car. The wiring is next. Oh dear.
Mr.Dave, I may be e-mailing you in the future for help on this one.


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## Andrew Stauffer (Oct 2, 2000)

*Re: The Rabbit TDI Project Part 4: Wiring (efritsch)*

efritsch, that too sounds like a very unique project that would undoubtedly offer phenomenal results when finished. got any pics of the motor in the car? I'd love to see it. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 


_Modified by Andrew Stauffer at 4:04 AM 4-30-2003_


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## clyde (Aug 31, 1999)

*Re: The Rabbit TDI Project Part 4: Wiring (MrDave)*

What did you do with the wiring that went to the AC receiver dryer in the donor car? 
Did you:
a. cut it off and leave it;
b. connect the two wires together; or
c. something else? 
While I don't know for certain, the receiver dryer probably sends a signal to the computer when the AC is working. The computer then might boost the idle speed.
I'll appreciateany info you're willing to share.


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## MrDave (Jul 26, 2002)

*Re: The Rabbit TDI Project Part 4: Wiring (clyde)*

I didn't have AC in the Rabbit originally, and I decided not to retrofit it.
The compressor wiring on the engine harness is just hanging loose, unplugged. 
The wiring from the ECU to the interior harness that I didn't use are just isolated/taped off.
The ECU has no issues or DTCs regarding the lack of AC.

-Dave


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