How not to splice a harness

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Bleyseng
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Location: Seattle again
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How not to splice a harness

Post by Bleyseng » Sat Jul 06, 2013 9:22 pm

IMG_2557.jpg
This is on my Ghia which has had goofy electrical issues since we got it. I decided today to tackle the drivers door which has never shut properly. You have to slam it and still it doesn't work right hitting the aluminum sill. I pulled that off to look at the black taped up mess I discovered yesterday when I tackled the brake line replacement. I opened up the 35 layers of tape to find unreal splicing! What the hell, no connectors or solder joints just spun together. Geez, no wonder crap stopped working and started working for no reason. I soldered all the joints and used shrink tubing to seal em tight. One quick wrap with electrical tape and put it back in place with the sill holding it. Amazing how the door now shuts just like new now! Geez, PO or cheap ass mechanics....
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
http://bleysengaway.blogspot.com/

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Westy78
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Re: How not to splice a harness

Post by Westy78 » Sat Jul 06, 2013 9:33 pm

Holy Crap! I'm surprised anything was working and not blowing fuses left and right.
Chorizo, it's what's for breakfast.

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Amskeptic
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Re: How not to splice a harness

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Jul 07, 2013 8:16 am

Westy78 wrote:Holy Crap! I'm surprised anything was working and not blowing fuses left and right.
That was my method for many years. I couldn't even wrap my head around "soldering gun"? "Shrink-wrap"?

There are many psychological resistances on the way to doing it right. I was particularly stubborn.

The stereo in the Road Warrior was wired solely viatwist-n-tape for yeeeaaarrs snaked under the floormats, its KLH portable speakers had wires that were just stuffed into the jack ports. I had to kick 'em while driving occasionally to get that full stereophonic effect.

I smile ruefully sometimes for apparently unknown reasons - it is remembering some of the hack jobs.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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Xelmon
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Re: How not to splice a harness

Post by Xelmon » Sat Jul 13, 2013 10:33 am

Bleyseng wrote:
IMG_2557.jpg
Woooowwww...

I would still get error codes on the Civic if I tried to do a hack job on the cam error sensor.

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chachi
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Re: How not to splice a harness

Post by chachi » Sat Jul 13, 2013 5:12 pm

...
1974 transporter panel, 2.0 dual solex
1991 vanagon NAHT, RJE 2.3

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Amskeptic
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Re: How not to splice a harness

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Jul 14, 2013 6:37 pm

chachi wrote: but they work so i just left them.
That is what I did, too, til the last day I drove that car.
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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