Ah, so the pic of the wire hanging down in front of the timing belt cover (2nd photo) is not the actual routing? That pic just shows the wire pulled out front and center so a pic could be taken of it?
It appears then that the wire runs under the black plastic engine cover from the front of the engine towards the rear of the engine on the passenger side? If that's the case, then the black plastic engine cover can easily be removed just by pulling up on it since it's just held on by four rubber grommets. Once you have that cover off, maybe the other end of the wire would be visible?
If on the other hand the wire run more towards the center of the engine underneath the intake manifold, it's possible it could be a wire for the knock sensor. If it's a knock sensor wire, you would probably experience a lack of normal power under heavy load due the ignition timing being retarded.
At any rate, I'd guess that being outside for a few minutes in Riverside would be less of an ordeal than it would here in the Shawnee at the moment.![]()