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A lot of the wiring under the dashboard has this padded foam wrap which has mostly disintegrated over the years. Now the foam has mostly crumbled, and whenever you handle them, it's a mess of sticky residue. I'm not even sure what they're called, but I'd like to remove these strips while I'm working in an area and replace with something. It's padded for a reason, so I don't want to compromise their intended function. What are my options? I have rolls of Tesa tape.
I’ve pulled some of that stuff off and didn’t do anything as far as replacement…tape is fine if you feel the need or some plastic loom.
When I was installing the hyper flash relay I did exactly the same thing. that crap was falling all over the place. I stripped as much as I could find and taped it all up,
I got turned on to Tesa tape when I dug into my S600 and saw how cleanly the harnesses were wrapped and looked up what was used. You can buy it in multiple rolls on Amazon or likely at your local Napa / electrical supply shop. Tesa ALSO sells a high heat variant for the engine bay area which is a much stronger tape. It is so strong yet supple that I wrap my tools and vice with it when assembling -AN fittings.
Very handy stuff. I also recommend the DEI easy loom kit if you're looking to change up or improve the engine bay harnesses.
Aaaaand one thing I learned this year is that I am in love with deutsch style fittings and adapters. Once you have the right tool and male/female ends / kit you have easy to make connections which are impossible to undo, connect as weather proof, and don't transfer fluids down the inside of the line should any get in. Truly great stuff.
Yup, right there with you. I'm working in the DS seat area, and rewrapped 2ft of the loom. It's very tempting to keep going, but I know I can always come back later.
Like you mentioned, Tesa has some engine bay harness tape - I rewrapped the coil pack harness, but man oh man, was the old tape a pita to get off. Looks better now though.
I'll look into the easy loom kit also - does it just replace the corrugated plastic tubing?
Last edited by Vetteman Jack; Nov 11, 2022 at 07:08 AM.
I've used a plastic letter opener with mixed results removing tape. If it doesn't cut it, you can at least get some leverage on it away from the wiring to cut it with something else or unravel sections. Handy disposable tool which keeps me from any mistakes where I might knick a wire.
It cleaned up nice. Here is the wiring loom which goes from the bottom of the D/S A pillar all the way back to the antenna box on the B pillar including the seat connectors. You may notice the gobs of loose ground wires and missing ground pack...I'm going to ground those directly to the metal just below the hood pull lever with ring terminals.
D/S A pillar. 19 black wires cut from ground pack to secure direct to the frame. replaced the 2 plastic wire push channel things (top middle) while I was at it. B pillar antenna module. Cleaned the ground while I was there.
Yeah, it's a bit of a Pandora's box when you really get into it. It started out as a carpet replacement, and I keep running into things that should be fixed. She didn't get much love from previous owners unfortunately. By the time I'm done with the interior, it will be as clean as the day she rolled off the line in Bowling Green. No more musty old fart smells.
Don't I know it. There isn't an inch of my Z06 that I haven't gone over. I'm going to get it all running first, then I'll go back through the engine harness and redo it all as cleanly as I can.
I got turned on to Tesa tape when I dug into my S600 and saw how cleanly the harnesses were wrapped and looked up what was used. You can buy it in multiple rolls on Amazon or likely at your local Napa / electrical supply shop. Tesa ALSO sells a high heat variant for the engine bay area which is a much stronger tape. It is so strong yet supple that I wrap my tools and vice with it when assembling -AN fittings.
Very handy stuff. I also recommend the DEI easy loom kit if you're looking to change up or improve the engine bay harnesses.
Aaaaand one thing I learned this year is that I am in love with deutsch style fittings and adapters. Once you have the right tool and male/female ends / kit you have easy to make connections which are impossible to undo, connect as weather proof, and don't transfer fluids down the inside of the line should any get in. Truly great stuff.
Regarding the Tesa tape, in reading the reviews it turns out some of the less scrupulous vendors are selling shorter rolls. Sounds like we need to make sure we’re getting the 25m rolls.
This tape comes in two varieties, lighter weight with a felt finish(to reduce noise) intended for interior only, and the thicker fabric finish for higher heat, like engine bays.
My Dad always had the fabric type in his tool chest. I thought it was junk old school and bought the plastic tape. Ha! Should have listened to the old man…
Wire loom padding protection strips
Sounds like we need to make sure we’re getting the 25m rolls.