What is this - a sensor?

[tashirosgt]

On my 1990 Corolla DX 4A-FE A/T, what is the purpose of this wiring harness on the drivers side lip of the engine compartment. And what is the thing on the underside of the hood that is attached to it. A sensor? Is this OEM stuff or aftermarket

[REN69]

pics are too small... there's nothing going to the hood that I know of, maybe they stuck the wire to the hood for some reason.

[RED91SR5]

Originally Posted by tashirosgt

On my 1990 Corolla DX 4A-FE A/T, what is the purpose of this wiring harness on the drivers side lip of the engine compartment. And what is the thing on the underside of the hood that is attached to it. A sensor? Is this OEM stuff or aftermarket

Doubt it's factory, probably for a hood light someone wanted but is not there anymore.

[kcwa]

There is nothing in the manual showing anything electrical going into the hood...could it be the hoses inside a loom for the windshield washing nozzles? ...or maybe it is a loose end of a harness that someone shoved up in there out of the way, could try fishing the end out and see.

[tashirosgt]

I took the thing off its bracket and pulled it out of its connector to make a better picture. The end is solid plastic. It feels like there is a metal ball inside it. Is it a gravity switch?







(When I put a picture in a post, I have the option to click on it and change its size and shape. I'm not sure this function really does anything. Is the displayed size just based on how big my original picture is?)

[REN69]

Looks like you're only posting the thumbnail, and not the actual clickable thumbnail/link combo.

As for the connector... still lost.

[ericdude]

Could it be a government monitoring device?

Do you notice a black van following you around?

[TonkaTom]

Ah yes, typical. That, my friend, is in fact a sensor. It senses when you are having a lame driving experience, and then throws the car into varying degrees of overdrift whenever the experience isn't good enough.

Since you mentioned gravity switch, maybe a previous owner was going to put a light under the hood and have it turn on whenever the hood was open.

Sources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2IWxqvsSY8 (overdrift)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRyFJvOGB_s (overdrift stage 2)

I apologize for the first part those videos are just so funny...

[tashirosgt]

I took off the lower part of the dash. This sensor is on a harness that goes to a relay under the dash. The relay says "Hitachi". The wires in the harness are brightly colored and have a random black pattern overprinted on them, so I think they are not OEM. An OEM black wire with a white stripe on the engine harness had been cut and wires from each end go to the relay. The non-engine end of this wire measures 0 V wit the key off and 12 V with the key on. Other wires from the harness are spliced into a thick OEM white wire on the engine harness that measures 12 V with the key on or off. Another wire from the harness is spliced onto a green OEM wire coming out of the fusebox. All connections have been made with solder.

Although I like the idea about a government monitoring device best ( do you listen to "Coast to Coast"?), the idea of a light makes sense. The wires on the end of the harness in the engine compartment have been cut and taped over. Perhaps there was once a light there.

I'm going to get rid of this mess. What is the function of the OEM black wire with the white stripe?

[Ghostyman]

Proper pictures:







If I get a chance, I'll take a look at my SR5 when I'm over where it's stored today.