I have 2 Dakotas, my daily driver 06 Quad Cab Laramie 4X4, and the '96 Club Cab SLT 2WD, which I have had since new. The '96 was parked and covered for about a month, which apparently made it an ideal spot for some kind of rodents to build a nest on the engine block, chewing out the hood insulation and parts of the wiring harness in the process. They also left about 20 pounds of chewed out acorn hulls, so I am thinking it may have been squirrels or chipmunks. Just different forms of rats.

I have done some internet searching, but have not come up with a supplier for replacement wiring harnesses. Is there a Mopar rebuilder out there that might have these ready made, or could make them up ? I have not called the dealership yet, as I am assuming if they have them they'll probably charge more than the truck is worth.

I am hopeful that the fact it is the 318 V8 will increase my odds of finding the harness available.

The primary segments I need are the ones connecting to the top of the block - fuel injection, etc. The chewed spots around the periphery of the engine bay were minor and can probably be patched.

There will be rat poison left all around this truck when I get it back.
#!^% varmints...

 

You would do better finding one at a wrecking yard. Maybe around Atlanta?

Good news is that it's OBD2, bad news is that pre-96 isn't likely to work. You may be able to find something in a 97 or 98 that can be adapted.

 

I had this happen with both my Dakotas. I wasn't worried when I found it the first time, because I had the 2nd parts truck. Surprise.... the damn squirrels got to the part' truck's harness too. Both times were, in the same location, on the top of the engine
I've been told to use mothballs to prevent it. Not sure how well they work.

What Brian suggests is your best best.

I couldn't find a 90 harness, but did find one from an 89.
While the harnesses you find at wreckers are sometimes hacked up, I got lucky and the 89 harness was intact.
Unfortunately the connectors between the engine harness and the rear harness are different between those years, so i had to swap/resolder the connectors, and a few other minor changes.
I believe there are wiring schematics and possibly service manuals with wiring info in the FAQ thread for your truck.

cross your fingers and start calling your friendly neighbourhood auto wrecker.
worst case try www.car-part.com. Its site that allows you to search and email a bunch of auto wreckers all over Norht America.

 

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edit: oops this is 4 years old. nevbermined

I have a mostly complete harness from what I was told is a 1994 van 318. However it has completely different PCM connectors which makes me think it might be OBD2. It's definitely different than my 318 Dakota harness anyway.

heres a terrible picture. I'll take some pics closer up probably tomorrow.