Engine bay tucking and re-organizing

capsidx

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Well I still don’t understand how twisting them together leads to poor connections and melted tape. For the lulz and I’ll probably get hate for this since my wiring is the Caitlin Jenner on this site, I used duct tape because A I don’t have some weird ambient heat under the dashboard, B I’ve never seen tape just fall apart from the “heat from wires” if taped more than 1 pass around the wire and C 99 percent of the wiring I have it leftover from my last swap which means it’s held up fine with no signs of degrading. I don’t think electrical tape is this sh1tty home use only tape either. The factory loom is covered in electrical tape it holds up fine to engine bay heat for 20* years.

Not saying you’re wrong, just saying I still don’t see the issue with using tape over 10,000 butt connectors and shrink tubing. I’ve used shrink tubing on the distributor connections but at some point I just didn’t see how it would be any better than tape since it was going to be shielded and taped anyways. ALL the wires I have taped are in the same place as the factory loom was so unless there’s some other issues with the factory loom I don’t know about I think I’m fine and I think I can offer wiring advice because I substituted shrink wrap for tape.

I’m doing the same thing you guys are doing, just with tape. Also this giant pieces of tape sticking out on top of my ecu, those are labels and not actual connections. They had to be hardwired in. Everything else was tested for continuity, twisted together and both ends of the wire were taped together at the joint making a strong connection. The tape is easy enough to take off but you have to try to remove it. It’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
 
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Nam1911a1

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If you can tug the wires and pull them apart it's not a RELIABLE And SECURE connection. Tape isn't made for the connection of wires.


Now will it WORK. Yes I will. Is it ghetto as hell yes. If you have ever heard or seen a car burning down to the ground. *****ty wiring jobs is usually the main cause. It only takes one time for your car to burn down.
 
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capsidx

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I’ve never had the wires come apart from tugging on them. Ive gotten mad a few times and tried to pull them apart and they wouldn’t come apart so I had to wrap each wire around a fist and ripped them apart which usually ended up leaving the connection in the middle and frayed wires on each end lol.

I don’t think it’s ghetto. I think it’s a secure/different way of doing it what worked for me. If you’re on a budget or just want to get it done with what you have lying around I think it’s fine but to get this back on track, op you can decide for yourself if you want to tackle this but for the most part everything should reach if you separate it from the loom. If you cut a wire you can attach it how you’d like. I’ve showed you some of the process of doing it. If you want you can pm me with questions.
 

ryan s

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Seems like you’re trying to find reasons to throw your weight around.

How many swaps have you done and made engine harnesses for?
pot, meet kettle. if you're going to make an argument from authority, it cuts both ways.

i posted one picture of a non-essential harness that i had handy in imgur (since photobucket went to shit, i'm too lazy to dig up and rehost pics). it shows i have some competency in basic wiring.

also saying you've done x amount of engine swaps in a short period of time does not inspire confidence in your argument, like the guy i used to work with got his first car at 19 and is driving his fourth at 21 because he killed 2 of them :ugh2:
Electrical tape is NOT made for splicing wires. It is made to INSULATE proper connections or depredations in the original wire insulation.

I have removed halfass wiring jobs that were just twisted and taped months later and the heat from under the dash melted all the adhesive away and the tape literally fell off the connections.
THIS. electrical tape is not a fastener.
Well I still don’t understand how twisting them together leads to poor connections and melted tape. For the lulz and I’ll probably get hate for this since my wiring is the Caitlin Jenner on this site, I used duct tape because A I don’t have some weird ambient heat under the dashboard, B I’ve never seen tape just fall apart from the “heat from wires” if taped more than 1 pass around the wire and C 99 percent of the wiring I have it leftover from my last swap which means it’s held up fine with no signs of degrading. I don’t think electrical tape is this sh1tty home use only tape either. The factory loom is covered in electrical tape it holds up fine to engine bay heat for 20* years.

Not saying you’re wrong, just saying I still don’t see the issue with using tape over 10,000 butt connectors and shrink tubing. I’ve used shrink tubing on the distributor connections but at some point I just didn’t see how it would be any better than tape since it was going to be shielded and taped anyways. ALL the wires I have taped are in the same place as the factory loom was so unless there’s some other issues with the factory loom I don’t know about I think I’m fine and I think I can offer wiring advice because I substituted shrink wrap for tape.

I’m doing the same thing you guys are doing, just with tape. Also this giant pieces of tape sticking out on top of my ecu, those are labels and not actual connections. They had to be hardwired in. Everything else was tested for continuity, twisted together and both ends of the wire were taped together at the joint making a strong connection. The tape is easy enough to take off but you have to try to remove it. It’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
lul, duct tape :lawl:

have you ever seen old, flaky, rock hard duct tape? of course you have.
I’ve never had the wires come apart from tugging on them. Ive gotten mad a few times and tried to pull them apart and they wouldn’t come apart so I had to wrap each wire around a fist and ripped them apart which usually ended up leaving the connection in the middle and frayed wires on each end lol.

I don’t think it’s ghetto. I think it’s a secure/different way of doing it what worked for me. If you’re on a budget or just want to get it done with what you have lying around I think it’s fine but to get this back on track, op you can decide for yourself if you want to tackle this but for the most part everything should reach if you separate it from the loom. If you cut a wire you can attach it how you’d like. I’ve showed you some of the process of doing it. If you want you can pm me with questions.
it doesn't matter if they don't pull apart today, it matters what happens after months and years of heat and cold cycling, vibrations, and other mechanical stressors like engine movement. ring ring "new condensation, who dis?" ever seen an oxidized green battery cable? of course you have.

it is absolutely ghetto :lawl: OP shouldn't follow this advice.

here's what the problem is: you're saying "my way is good" but it's not. ask anyone, anywhere, any car guy, electrician, someone who has secured wires together at some point in their life and they will say it's wrong.

find me a single, bare wire to wire connection anywhere on a factory car made with tape. name one aftermarket application where a butt connector or scotchlock isn't provided and they provide a roll of electrical tape (or duct tape :lawl:) instead.

if you can't understand why multiple people are telling you that you need a mechanical fastener, don't give advice like you're some kind of expert on the subject.
 

Nam1911a1

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Yes there is this HUGE organization that tests products to be safe for consumer use. They are all Underwriters Laboratories. Being UL listed means the product is tested and safe to use. Nowhere on electrical tape says it is UL listed for splicing wires. Even on the damn box you buy tape it says it is for insulation. Not a mechanical connection.

Do what you want to your car but to tell people it's perfectly fine is dumb AF. And Dangerous AF. This is spreading stupidity across the interwebs.
 

capsidx

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I never told the op to use tape. I merely stated what I did in reorganizing my engine bay and what my thoughts were. I got the result I wanted but whether teh op follows what I did or does it properly is on him. With that being said I always planned on making a new harness. After reading ryans lengthy post I decided to redo the harness. I realized the tape wouldn’t cut it when I moved to Florida. It would be a nightmare to remove. I finally started on a new harness. Currently debating on the best way to make sure the shrink tubing holds up.
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Nam1911a1

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Damn I want a Resilience. Nice knife shot. Something about large folders gets me.

I wouldn't worry about shrink tubing moving if there is a mechanical connector under there.
 

capsidx

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Thanks lol. I’ve got to say I really like the resilience. My daily used to include some “high end” knives but I’ve broken them all and this one has held up better than the ones that costs serious cash. I’ve had one of those mantis knives which broke in half, a sebenza which I lost, and my last favorite for a while was a zero tolerance 0350 with the tiger striped blade. It had like a 4 inch cutting surface but the blade was oddly shaped to achieve that (ken onion) lol. Needless to say I broke the tip off that one.

I can get it replaced under warranty for 30 bucks but the problem I have is they state I may just get a regular stone washed blade. No thanks. It’s been sitting in my top drawer for a year now. I’ve been using the resilience as more of a pry bar since I got it and not even a chip in the blade. I think they even sell these at Walmart for like 30 dollars. I only buy spyderco now. I would love a paramilitary or civilian though. My dream knife is a mick strider sng
 

ryan s

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you can buy shrinkwrap with adhesive inside it, it just doesn't "shrink" as much as normal (the usual hardware store stuff is like 2 to 1, some places carry 3:1, the adhesive is like 1.3:1).

but if you're doing a harness, they should all be the same size. buy a big roll of it and a cutter to make fast work.

the most elegant way would be removing the pins, figuring out the sizing, and ordering a bunch from mouser or digikey so that it's simply a wire going into a terminal going into the connector. crimping > soldering in the car, solder joints failing is what burns out modules it seems.
 

capsidx

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The stuff I was using was 2:1. I’m not too informed as far as ratios go but this stuff seemed to work ok. I had no idea you could buy this stuff in a roll >_>. I’m guessing I need to go to Lowe’s for that. I went to wal mart last night to pick up the wires because it was Sunday. Turns out I used exactly 60 feet of wire for this harness. I didn’t use any other connector other than shrink tubing

I figured since it was pretty thick it would hold up better than duct tape and I was thinking about wrapping them but I don’t really want to remove all this shrink tubing to start over. I ran out so maybe on the ecu side I’ll use that adhesive style tubing. Seems like a really good idea but if I need to remove it will it give me aids? Also is a mechanical connector absolutely necessary or am I ok with splicing and shrink tubing?
 
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