Ok, so..... I'm behind the driver's dash
It's everything my nightmares told me it could be......
Was this f'tard Bubba trying to kill me?!
I dearly love peaking in the dash to the gleam of copper in the afternoon sun. It really makes me sick to look at it. No wonder the tach stopped working with the ground running to one of the mounting bolts for the dash.

So.... I'm combining wiring, clipping out wiring wholesale.
Clipping off all these dash lights with the hot center leads flopping around.
Cutting out this network of poorly executed taps.
Crimping splices on wires that are twisted together.
The turn signals are those 1 wire dash light sockets mounted in the dash pad itself with a spade connector forced on the metal ground star around the bulb....... Getting sick again....

How do ya'll pinch off unused wires?
Clip and electrical tape?
Crimp caps on the ends?

Bubba hasn't emailed me back since I used the words wiring and hate in the same sentence.....

 

Go to Radio Shack and get some shrink tubing. If you don't know what it is here's my best explanation. It is a rubber/plastic tubing that comes in different sizes. You put on the end of wires instead of electrical tape. You heat it up with either a soldering gun tip or a cigarette lighter and it will shrink on the wire making a very nice cover.
Good Luck
Steve

 

Soldering gun or cig lighter?? That's a fire hazard, use a heat gun and get the special tip for shrink tube while you're at it, makes it easy to work with and you're not melting or setting stuff on fire left and right

 

Crimping a cap on it sounds like the best all around idea. since I don't usually have any laying around, I will cut the wire flush, and narrowly wrap about 3 turns of good electrical tape around it, about 2/3 on the wire, 1/3 in front of it, and put a small tie wrap on the wire part, because eletrical tape gets old in about 2-3 years, the adhesive gets gummy/dries out. Caps would be best though.

 

Use the shrink tube recommended above. One of those propane lighters set on low works very good for that tubing. Ideally for every splice you want to have a 1) solid physical connection like a crimp 2) solid electrical connection using solder 3) a well insulated connection.

That said, I usually twist 'em and use shrink tube. One bubba comment -- put the tube on before you connect the wire ends! I get a case of the stupids and forget that once in while.

 

You can 'clean up' poor electrical work....but you first need to know what was done and why. The patchwork wiring that you describe scares the heck out of me. I'd be figuring out how your wiring is different from the original diagram to decide if I needed to 'clean it up' or if I needed to do some rewiring. The last thing you need [with a plastic car] is to have an overloaded circuit ignite some insulation and start a dash fire.

 

P.S. Don't bother Bubba again....he doesn't have a clue.

 

Go to an electrical supply place and purchase some Scotchlocks. They crimp on and leave a cap that is protection from unwanted shorts.

 

A heat gun or a blow dryer will do the trick.

 

Uh.....<cough!> didn't mean to get too bent out of shape there. It's just getting blindsided by all the worst stuff you can imagine all collected in one spot. Well......
Worked on the dash wiring several hours. I'm basically lazy and put things off but I do get into this zen thing when I'm wiring.
The caps I have are too big. I'll see about getting some sized for individual wires. I agree, that makes the most sense.
Wouldn't be the first time I've forgotten that. Or had to thread some shrink tube down 3' from the other end of a wire to the splice. I like butt crimps for most wiring but for smaller gauge wiring, like LEDs and such I solder and shrink tube. If they're not as physically isolated as I'd like I also wrap the shrink tube in electrical tape.
I've got the AIM and a big laminated wiring diagram and use both. Yesterday spent the last hour before buttoning back up (temporarily) tracing out lines, making notes on what color wiring turned into what, where it went, justifying the harness in the AIM with the 'real' world behind the dash, etc, etc. Basically did triage behind the dash. Still only got an hour of sleep before work but felt much better. And, of course, I've got my own modifications to do, wiring-wise, before I'm done.
I'd seen those but never used them before. I'll take a better look at them tomorrow after work.

 

Do not use Scotchlocks. As a former pro in the world of mobile electronics, My experience and that of most of my counterparts is that they are the most likely connectors to fail. They are used most often by mechanics and others that do not work on electrical systems on a regular basis. People don't tend to go back and complain when they fail because it is usually months or even years down the road before it happens, but it will happen. We used to see them used all the time for things like trailer wiring or alarm systems put in at dealerships who just want it done fast. They don't want to take the time to do it right with solder and shrink tubing, or at least with crimp connectors. Those are the best and really the only options for safe and long lasting electrical work.

 

I crimp on a standard butt conector. Then put heat shrink over that. If you ever need to reconnect into that line, take off the heat shrink and the butt connetor is ready to add a wire to.

 

I bought a new underdash wiring harness. Way less brain damage! The wire used is way better quality than the old stuff. Better than having something short or fail on the road. Bubba buchered it up for a reason. Lectric Limited.

 

sounds like you had the same electrician I did!



Unless you really like chasing wires upside down 6 months down the road when something makes smoke or stops working, I'd get a good replacement from Lectric ltd. Best of luck, sometimes it's just better to buy a replacement then try to undo Bubba's handywork Especially on something that,improperly done, can cause a fire and a total loss of your car.

 

holy cow!

that's the picture that's worth a thousand words, half of them being The F word.

soldered connections with heat shrink. after a while a heat gun is worthwhile, not only under the dash, but in the engine compartment. there's some good "economical" models out there. I have an Ungar, it's served me well for many years.

the self-vulcanizing tape comes in handy also.

 

That looks familiar. Now add the uninsulated ring terminal with bare wire wrapped around it, the spade connectors with the plastic crimped instead of the metal sleeve, the 1 wire dash lights without bulbs where the hot center conductor wire is hanging out flopping around behind the dash, the mocked up turn signal lights made of 1 wire sockets with a bare spade connector pushed on the front grounding 'star' on the socket, the alternating use of electrical tape and duct tape, the ground lines going to the dash mounting screws, the aftermarket Autometer gauge lights superglued into the bulb sockets....... (actually Autometer might have done that to keep the bulbs from vibrating out)

 

I think you best bet is to order a new dash harness and start all over, that way you will have a harness the way it was supposed to be. No bubba stuff. I suggest this for a few reasons. You will sleep better at night knowing that the car won't ignite in the garage, you can be assured it won't leave you stranded on the road on some cruize and once you install it right you won't have to lie under there again. Your insurance man will thank you in the morning.

 

I would tend to agee, if the problem is extensive enough.

 

Actually, you can usually just "massage" the insulation up over the wire far enough that the wire tucks well inside and this shouldn't be a problem. I usually then dip the tip in "Liquid Electrical Tape" to seal it.

 

if you have unused wires i like to cut them out completely. trace them back to the source and take them out of the harness. that way you don't have a "hot" wire floating around with no use.