Bill Knecht
Member
I have an interesting situation -- a 1997 New Holland 6610S tractor, Mexican-made, bought at auction. Shortly after I got
it home, a possum decided to build a nest under the hood while I was otherwise occupied. Naturally, all that nasty wiring
got in the way, so he just HAD to chew it all up, with dozens of wires mangled, and many separations right at connectors,
making them hard-to-impossible to just resolder.
So began my Arduous Quest to Repair This Tractor. I have the Service Parts Catalog, and, aided by a vendor, ended up
buying a replacement front main wiring harness, which is the correct one for that non-emissionized model. HOWEVER, now
I need the rear main harness, and, based on the machine's serial number, vendors are trying to convince me that the
harness I need will cost $1289 -- 2 1/2 times what a similar harness for a similar emissionized engine costs.
So, here's my train of logic, and I'd appreciate feedback from y'all:
1. An emissionized engine should be very similar to a non-emissionized one, except for a few additional lines running
to emission-control-related parts, correct?
2. If so, then I should be able to buy the rear harness for the emissionized engine ($500), and the only difference
should be a few extra wires that won't connect to anything on my tractor, correct?
3. I should be able to figure out each individual circuit's correctness by using my volt-ohmmeter, same as I did with the
front harness, correct? And, any circuit or connector that doesn't match up, I should be able to rewire, or replace an
end connector by scavenging the necessary part from ones there already, correct?
This is an experiment, I grant you that. And, like all experiments, there's a chance it'll go wrong, and I'd be out $500
and still have to bite the Big One and buy the $1300 connector, or find some other way to fix the darn wiring. But, you
also can see what's motivating me -- an American homegrown stubbornness not to cave in to some multi-billion-dollar
company that's trying to fleece us consumers. Heck, even the $500 harnesses are overpriced. I bought a genuine CNH from
avspare.com, based in Latvia, for a tad over half what American vendors wanted. I've VOM'ed that thing & every circuit
works out just like the wiring diagram. I thereby deduce that the prices on these things are simply a big multiple of
what it costs them to make them. And, that <INSERT SWEAR WORD HERE> 's me off.
So, what do y'all think? Am I stupid, or crazy? Is this a fool's errand? Or, is it worth a shot, given the logic I've
laid out here? I'm retired, so my time is less of an obstacle than it would be otherwise, and we're not rich, but losing
$500 won't sink us, either.
Many thanks in advance for your opinions.
it home, a possum decided to build a nest under the hood while I was otherwise occupied. Naturally, all that nasty wiring
got in the way, so he just HAD to chew it all up, with dozens of wires mangled, and many separations right at connectors,
making them hard-to-impossible to just resolder.
So began my Arduous Quest to Repair This Tractor. I have the Service Parts Catalog, and, aided by a vendor, ended up
buying a replacement front main wiring harness, which is the correct one for that non-emissionized model. HOWEVER, now
I need the rear main harness, and, based on the machine's serial number, vendors are trying to convince me that the
harness I need will cost $1289 -- 2 1/2 times what a similar harness for a similar emissionized engine costs.
So, here's my train of logic, and I'd appreciate feedback from y'all:
1. An emissionized engine should be very similar to a non-emissionized one, except for a few additional lines running
to emission-control-related parts, correct?
2. If so, then I should be able to buy the rear harness for the emissionized engine ($500), and the only difference
should be a few extra wires that won't connect to anything on my tractor, correct?
3. I should be able to figure out each individual circuit's correctness by using my volt-ohmmeter, same as I did with the
front harness, correct? And, any circuit or connector that doesn't match up, I should be able to rewire, or replace an
end connector by scavenging the necessary part from ones there already, correct?
This is an experiment, I grant you that. And, like all experiments, there's a chance it'll go wrong, and I'd be out $500
and still have to bite the Big One and buy the $1300 connector, or find some other way to fix the darn wiring. But, you
also can see what's motivating me -- an American homegrown stubbornness not to cave in to some multi-billion-dollar
company that's trying to fleece us consumers. Heck, even the $500 harnesses are overpriced. I bought a genuine CNH from
avspare.com, based in Latvia, for a tad over half what American vendors wanted. I've VOM'ed that thing & every circuit
works out just like the wiring diagram. I thereby deduce that the prices on these things are simply a big multiple of
what it costs them to make them. And, that <INSERT SWEAR WORD HERE> 's me off.
So, what do y'all think? Am I stupid, or crazy? Is this a fool's errand? Or, is it worth a shot, given the logic I've
laid out here? I'm retired, so my time is less of an obstacle than it would be otherwise, and we're not rich, but losing
$500 won't sink us, either.
Many thanks in advance for your opinions.