Hi. The gist of my question is this: In soldering a new electrical connector, which plugs into the Emission Control Valve Set (or is it the Vacuum Switching Valve), to some existing wires, does it matter which wire connects to which (i.e. positive to negative, and negative to positive)? Or will it work either way, as in simpler circuits?
Here are the details: I've got a '93 Camry V6 (3VZ-FE engine), and while putting the air intake plenum back on, I noticed that a plastic electrical connector had broken off of it's wiring. It's one of the two connectors that plug into what I think is called the Emission Control Valve Set (although another manual suggests that it's called the Vacuum Switching Valve)--basically, this connector attaches to a metal harness that's mounted to the lower front of the air intake plenum. (It's not the fuel rail, and it doesn't connect directly to the fuel injectors. The harness I'm talking about is mounted a few inches above and behind all that.) The wires that feed into this connector come from a long, thin black housing that runs nearby and parallel to this harness.
Anyway, I've got a replacement connector and wires, so I'm prepared to solder the new wires onto the old ones, which are still solidly connected to the plastic housing. Does polarity matter? That is, the two wires that come out of the plastic housing look a little different--one has a red stripe, and one has an orange stripe. The confusing part is that maybe they're supposed to look identical, but the red has faded on one more than on the other. Anyway, both of the new wires, which will get soldered to the old ones, are completely black.
So does it matter which wire connects to which? If it does, and I get it wrong, will I notice, or damage anything when I start the engine? And is there any way of determining which wire is meant to be positive and which is negative?
Thanks. This is the presumably absolute last step I've got in getting things working again, and then I can stop bugging everybody. (Crosses fingers.)
--Geoff