This will probably will be the first of many posts.....

I bought my first Sami last week. It's  1991, fuel injected, stock 1.3 that has been has been rebuilt a few years ago.
When I bought the Sami of course it ran perfect, not problems at all except it had no brake lights, which i didn't notice until i got home with it.  I came home the next day with intentions of fixing the brake lights.  I cranked it before I started messing with the brake lights and it cranked and ran perfect.
The first thing I did was checked the bulds and the fuse which looked good, oh yeah all other lights work perfect!!! After checking the bulbs I went to the brake light switch mounted under the dash.  I took the switch out and checked it with my meter and it seemed to be working properly.  Well after figuring out that I didn't know what to do next I decided to just go hit a few back roads and worry about the brake lights later.  Before I put the cover back on the dash I noticed a wad of wiring that was kinda keeping the cover from fitting just right.  I traced the wires to the back of the radio that doesn't work and the weren't hooked up to anything so I just moved those wires over above the top of the radio.  After that I turned the key and NOTHING!! No click no nothing! Headlights and all other lights still work and I had full voltage and the battery.  After that i noticed that all my running lights(parking lights) were staying on anytime the key was on. Turn the key off and the lights go out. You can still turn the knob on the blinker switch on and the parking lights work just like that they should.  I had to stand back a min. and go over what all I had messed with that could of caused this!  I started checking to see if I had pulled a wire loose when I tucked the wire from the radio above it. I found two wires that were twisted together with eletrical tape around them. When i un-hook those two wires the parking lights go out. Note that these two wires were together when the sami was running. Any ideas of where to start?? I assume I have a short somewhere but I don't know how i would have caused it. Also if anyone has a detailed wiring diagram I would greatly appreciate it!

Try Ack's FAQ

I would assume that in that wad of wiring there is a few bare wires, make sure everything is insulated and any spliced wires have a solid splice. I have a feeling you will be repairing someone elses electrical follies, If you do not have the expertise for electrical troubleshooting find a buddy that is and knock it out using Ack's faq's for the wiring schematics, dont use a Haynes or chilton manual as they are notorious for inaccuracies and false and misleading info.

I had the same starter problem as you about 6 months after I bought my sammy.
First I bought a relay switch for the starter. Google samurai starter relay fix, you'll find more detailed info about it. Everything you'll need can be found at radio shack, or a plug and play package can be bought from a vendor.
The relay switch worked for about a week until it became "off and on".
After some frustration I hooked up a toggle switch to the starter solenoid and have not had 1 problem since.

That's what is so weird about the whole deal. You would think there would be some obvious loose wire or unhooked wire. Something that would stand out but there isn't. The more I look under the dash the more I find random plugs just hanging there not hooked to anything and no where to hook them to.  Thanks for the info about ack's faq's, I can half way understand there diagram, much better than the other few I have ran across. I did get about 20 mins to look over it some this evening and I found a few corroded connections. One was going to the electric fan, looked like a relay it was plugged into. When I unplugged it the pins just fell out of the relay.  I have a guy I work with that has some experience with sami's but it will probably be a week or two before he will be able to come help me out. I'll just keep tinkering until then i guess, I just hope i can get it figured out without having to take to a mechanic and pay big bucks to have it fixed. Has anyone ever done a total harness replacement? Painless wiring harness or anything of that nature? The more I look over this thing the more i would just like to totally replace everything that way i would know what i have to work with! I did figure out today the two wires I was saying that when they are hooked up like they were before i started having these problems that are making the parking lights come on when the key is off, if I take the fuse for the radio and cigarette lighter out the lights will go off like they are supposed to. I guess it's back feeding power through that circuit somehow.  Thanks for the suggestions and i will keep you guys posted on what the problem is if I ever figure it out!

boogered wiring is a PITA !!!

IMO, the first thing to address is look at the wiring diagrams and determine that EVERY ground that should go to the chassis AND engine is good (i.e. clean surfaces, connectors solid. I've been through more trackkicks than samis, and the track/kicks have probably a dozen or so different grounding spots (i.e. chassis ground versus engine ground versus battery negative).

Next, I'd unplug everything that isn't essential to the running of the engine. Unplug all lights (dash lights, dome light, head and indicator lights, radio(s), etc). I'd also disable (temporarily) "safety" switches (e.g. the brake/park disable circuit).

Sometimes it's also necessary to disconnect the alternator as well (some people just love to tie power directly from the alternator).

From here, get the engine starting, idling, running properly.

Then put back in the "safety" stuff, and verify it's adjusted and working properly
Then start with each lighting circuit one by one.

Eventually you'll trace back and find that wad of black tape (or worse scotch tape) that someone "tapped" ...

Good luck and from those of us that have dealt with this crap before, we feel your pain/frustration.

I have done several entire wire harnesses for Honda's and more aircraft wiring jobs than I care to remember about, LOL

Running the wires is not that hard, the hard part is sourcing the connectors and pins if you desire a complete plug and play harness. Most of the time a trip to the junk/salvage yard can be a source of connectors that are in decent shape and splice it into the harness.

Also the factory creates a single harness for all variants of a specific model, ie they create a harness with all the options and use that for every model from the base to the loaded ride, and that is usually the source of all those errant connectors under the dash without homes.

Got it running!!!!!!!!  And as bad as I hate to admit it, it was all my fault! lol

Like I started my story I started out just trying to get the brake lights working.  I started out checking the bulbs and then moved on to the brake light switch that is mounted under the dash. When I bought the sami it would start without engaging the clutch, now I know that it's because the switch was unplugged. And if you haven't ever noticed the brake switch and the clutch switch have the exact same plug on them. So to make a long story short when I went to plug the brake light switch back up the clutch switch plug was just hanging there waiting to be plugged in. Really simple and easy mistake to do if you aren't paying attention like I obviously wasn't!!!!

Looking ahead lesson learned and I learned a lot about sami wiring. The wiring harness you guys give me the link to helped alot! I'm kinda glad this all happened because next time I have a wiring issue which I'm sure I will, I will have a lot better idea of where to start. Still have a lot of little things I am going to have to take care of but she is running good for the moment. Thanks again for all your help. Hopefully I will be able to return the favor one day!

In closing the lesson of the day is to make sure you don't get your brake and clutch switch plugs crossed!lol Oh yeah I now have brake lights also!!

Glad that you got her figured out.

Any day that you do not learn something new is a day wasted......