Mysterious Wire on Distributor Cap

[ShaeferW]

Hey guys, just taking apart the engine to do knock sensor/valve cover gaskets, and found that some previous owner seems to have manually spliced a blue and white striped wire into the factory wiring to the side of the distributor cap. This wire then runs back along the throttle cable, then through the firewall and hooks into a harness near the pedals. Any ideas what purpose this may have be serving and whether I should do something about it? I’ve attached two pictures to clarify. This is a 97 klondike edition.

 

 

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[ShaeferW]

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[Slartibartfast]

That does look a little scabby, and I don't see anything teeing off the distributor in the '97 manual (which you can download free here). I think you're right that it's been added on, possibly as an ignition kill for an aftermarket car alarm. I would follow the harness as far as you can and see where it goes. If I'm right, I'd expect one of those wires to go to the dome light circuit and another to go to the parking lights. If you find crimp connectors, and it doesn't merge with any factory harnesses, I would assume it's add-on crap. (If it's got its own hole in the firewall, that's another good sign it's not factory.) If it is left over from some long-gone aftermarket bollocks, I'd cut it out and repair the wires it was spliced into.

 

That said, I'm not familiar with the wiring in the R50--do some more digging before hacking it out.