# 8v ABA Swap into MK1



## ShadyGTi (Nov 6, 2003)

I recently purchased an 83 Rabbit Gti with a 2.0L 8V OBD1 motor swap. They used a CE2 wiring harness which has been frankensteined to work. I am having a bogging issue and a power draw that I can not find. 

My questions are can I remove the CE2 wiring and use the mkIII wiring harness for the 2.0L? Or would it be better to purchase another CE2 harness and try to rewire the motor?


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## A1steaksauce (Nov 30, 2009)

last i heard the car was a full ce2 wiring swap, is it not?


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## ShadyGTi (Nov 6, 2003)

A1steaksauce said:


> last i heard the car was a full ce2 wiring swap, is it not?


 The previous owner did not specify and the posting just said CE2. I did not want to make any assumptions.


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## A1steaksauce (Nov 30, 2009)

curious to see what it looks like now, can you take a pic of what's going on under the dash?


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## InSaneV (Oct 24, 2009)

As for the wiring depends on what set of gauges and controls the original owner went with I take it by your discription he went ce2 and wired the MK1 cluster and controls. As for the bogging part that can be alot of things more info needed on that. I had the same issue with a few others on mine just recently and it turned out to be the Heated O2 relay. and what do you mean by power draw?


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## ShadyGTi (Nov 6, 2003)

InSaneV said:


> As for the wiring depends on what set of gauges and controls the original owner went with I take it by your discription he went ce2 and wired the MK1 cluster and controls. As for the bogging part that can be alot of things more info needed on that. I had the same issue with a few others on mine just recently and it turned out to be the Heated O2 relay. and what do you mean by power draw?


 The car has an cluster out of an mk3 along with the 2.0L 8v and ECU. The wiring is out of a mk2. The previous owner said the car had a "power draw" which would be the term for something draining the power from the battery. Its been charged several times but doesn't hold for very long. I need to go buy a new one but haven't had the time or the money to do so. 

Im going to try to get pics of the behind the dash wiring and the engine bay wiring soon.


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## B4S (Apr 16, 2003)

#1 reason why a CE2 swap is a TERRIBLE idea. The only people who attempt it are the clueless and the dumb, which is why this sort of thing ends up happening. If it were my car, I'd remove all traces of PO wiring, including the CE2 garbage and Mk3 cluster. The ABA swap can be done with fewer than 6 wires, depending on the way you chose to do it, and you do NOT need the Mk3 cluster. 

I feel bad that you've inherited a wiring nightmare dude, you have my sympathies .


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## InSaneV (Oct 24, 2009)

YIKES if something is draining your battery.....I'd have to agree on starting over seems overwhelming now but its better than pulling your hair out trying to figure out someone elses NIGHTMARE. Guess it depends on how confident you are with wiring.


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## A1steaksauce (Nov 30, 2009)

that car originally was stock wiring with the piggy back setup. then it went thru a few people that worked on the wiring, or so i've heard....so that's why i'm curious as to the setup now. 

iirc there was always a battery drain even when it was stock wiring.


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## InSaneV (Oct 24, 2009)

Yes there always will be a bit of a drain with clocks and stuff but never should be enough unless it sits for months and months.


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## A1steaksauce (Nov 30, 2009)

InSaneV said:


> Yes there always will be a bit of a drain with clocks and stuff but never should be enough unless it sits for months and months.


i was thinking it was the aftermarket radio or quite possibly the light in the rear hatch area...or something along those lines causing the overnight drain :beer:


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## InSaneV (Oct 24, 2009)

A1steaksauce said:


> i was thinking it was the aftermarket radio or quite possibly the light in the rear hatch area...or something along those lines causing the overnight drain :beer:


Ahh, so if the drain was there with the original (I take that to mean everything but the aftermarket radio ) then id say the radio is your suspect. remove it and see if that saves your battery. If other things like A1 said are happening ie the hatch light check for grounds, or even maybe a double feed issue.

I feel yeah cause when I got my Jetta they had done some interesting things with in grill flashers and such that was casing all kinda issues with signals and headlamps and even interior lights. After changing everything you would normal think it might be it was because the way they wired the signals they had double fed a 2 wire signal with the old 3 wire system so when I turned my headlamp switch on everything on the car would light up or freeze the flashers.


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## MecE2.0 (Dec 20, 2005)

Quick thought: have a look at the ECU power supply relay and how it's wired in. My first swap had issues with this. Turned out the way I had it wired initially was keeping the ECU fully powered with the car off. Battery would drain in as little as 24 hrs. Heated 02 is another good place to look.


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## InSaneV (Oct 24, 2009)

MecE2.0 said:


> Quick thought: have a look at the ECU power supply relay and how it's wired in. My first swap had issues with this. Turned out the way I had it wired initially was keeping the ECU fully powered with the car off. Battery would drain in as little as 24 hrs. Heated 02 is another good place to look.


YUP was leaning that way myself but seems it was mentioned it had this problem before the swap....if I understand it correctly. Would check anything aftermarket ie steros lights etc. first


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