Interesting... I just rechecked the tag on my harness and it has what appear to be 2 dates as well:

F.D. 26.05.97 and Z.D 07.09.94

The Europeans to like to use dd.mm.yy, I think.

Also the EPC does show that 124 440 56 32 replaces 124 543 90 33, but who knows for certain the exact reason for the new part number.

I guess when I was looking at my harness a couple of months ago, the combination the "97", the superceded part number, and no signs of deterioration lead me to believe that my car has a new/good harness.

I did confirm that the B+ harness splits in the firewall and plugs right next to the brake master cylinder. The piece of the false firewall directly behind the engine is is removeable. Pull up the weather strip, you should be able see how it works.

as ever
Paul