Frankie the Fink

The only way I do it is to twist the wires together then solder them and cover the splice with two layers of shrinkable tubing

59BlueSilver

My way is to use a plastic crimp connector, remove & discard the plastic, crimp and solder and cover with shrinkable tubing (I agree that two layers are better).

dplotkin

After the photos you've shown and the insistence of others here (who in my view know their craft) that you replace in toto the engine bay harness I am slightly incredulous that you would continue to equivocate. If you cannot afford a harness I perfectly understand. But if a new harness is of little sacrifice yet you elect instead to somehow improve the work of a previous ****-head you will deserve what you get.

That kind of crap is OK for your old work truck, one you could watch burn to the ground without much consequence. Its not OK for a vintage Corvette or other valuable machine.

Respectfully submitted with your welfare in mind. Put in a harness.

Dan

59BlueSilver

Noted. Bad wiring to me is broken, cracked, brittle or cut insulation and/or corrosion in the wire or connections. I don't see that. Some of the wiring you see in the pics are not related to the harness. I don't yet see the need to replace it just because the electrical tape is discolored. I may very well change my mind on further examination. I'm just getting started.

Frankie the Fink

I quoted the method I was taught as an avionics apprentice....

Its your car but that wiring looks Bubba-ed a whole lot but I can't see everything. I can tell you that if you start getting intermittent electrical problems down the road they are the WORST and consume a lot of troubleshooting threads on the forum.

I just hope you ain't "fartin' against thunder" trying to save that old stuff

buns

I could not agree more, a totally acceptable fix as long as it is done properly.

buns

Just like the factory did it, except heat shrink hadn't been invented yet. They used heavy fabric tape.

59BlueSilver

You're right, Frankie, I hate electrical problems, too, especially intermittent ones! I trust the factory wiring, even though old, a lot more than Bubba's attempt. That's why I've got to get back to ground zero and then do it right, with fuses where necessary.

59BlueSilver

Yes, heat shrink tubing, one of the best inventions yet! Will not use tape if I can keep from it.

Frankie the Fink

You can still get the nice copper crimp connectors withOUT the plastic housings (butt and ring connectors) from Mad Electric and the RIGHT electrical tape from them as well (not the shiny sticky stuff from Ace Hardware)...

59BlueSilver

Oh, that's good to know, thanks! I prefer the copper.

BTW, I, too, worked in the aircraft industry for around 40 years, doing structural work, never avionics though. Closest I got to that was working the flight line at Greenville, Tx in '68 & 69.

Frankie the Fink

Norfolk Naval Air Station in '72-'80 range....they still had WW-II aircraft coming through back then.. I did repairs on a LOT of wiring.....a helluva lot...

59BlueSilver

That will make you an expert. We built C130 gunships for Nam, modification work on C121's & stretched C130's. Enjoyed my time there.

Frankie the Fink

P-2s...one of the few aircraft of the era to be fitted with piston and jet engines..

When it came time to 'turn it up' on the flight line...they had to fly an old time pilot from Gitmo to Norfolk...nobody else knew how to do it. I got to sit in the cockpit at the time...
Never forget it.

Totally OFF topic -- I know..

59BlueSilver

That's cool, I've never seen an actual P-2. Love any WWII aircraft. The company I retired from built the F4U Corsair during the war, my favorite fighter.
Are there any P-2's flying today? Most of these old aircraft end up as stationary museum objects.
I know it's off topic but it doesn't happen very often.

Frankie the Fink

From my Dad's ole Marine Corps album..he was ground crew (for P-51s as well)... Still flying in Korea and a Marine pilot actually shot down a jet-powered MIG in one of these.

I doubt any P2s are still airborne...they were a cranky bird and replaced by the P3.

59BlueSilver

Yeah, they were fast! Cool pic, don't see many of those. I'll add this one to my collection. My Dad was also ground crew for bombers during the war, mostly stationed in the Ukraine, Russia.

JohnZ

I wouldn't feed ANYTHING directly from the old/inadequate fuse block and existing wiring; anything with moderate to high current draw like an electric fan or electric fuel pump should be wired through a relay from the horn relay power buss.

59BlueSilver

I don't like the old inadequate fuse box either. So you're saying the new repro fuse box is not representative of the original?
And the fuse box wiring is part of the under dash wiring, not the engine harness, right?

Frankie the Fink

Its a good practice to wire high-draw items through the relays as a matter of course...then the old wiring is merely providing a 'trigger' source for the component and not the full current required. For one thing, no matter how good your wiring may look, its age is causing increased voltage drop, -- another argument for a new harness. The 14.1V your alternator puts out may be just 11.5V at the headlight connector with 50 year old wires.

Read up on headlight relays on the Mad Electric site for examples:

http://www.madelectrical.com/electri...adlights.shtml

To wit, the pros on here aren't telling you to get a new harness just because of the Bubba fixes - age is a factor.

The second thing is that such high-current items' main power feed needs to come off the horn buss relay which will let the voltage regulator "sense" the proper current requirements and adjust alternator output accordingly AND make your dash gauge read correctly.