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Wiring Harness

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M

mylesw

Jedi Hopeful
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Hello again

I have another question - I am also contemplating whether to reuse my wiring harness or whether to buy a new one from british wiring. The current one seems to be in pretty good shape except that there is quite a bit of overspray from the previous owner. I'm not so bothered about what can't be seen, however I would like the engine bay to look good. Does anyone know a method to remove overspray from the harness or any other cleaner that I could use to clean it?

Thanks for your help.

Myles
 
Just re-wrap it. Tape is also available from british wiring.

Have you priced a new harness lately?
 
When I did my restoration from 1987 to 1990, I had a few cuts in the sheath of my wire harness in the engine compartment and all I did was wind black cotton thread around it for about an inch or two for each cut. It looked fine for about 12 years. But then it started to look bad again.

So I cut off all the outer cotton covering and sent the full harness to Rhode Island Wiring (Google it) who re-covered it for me. They added a few extra wires I asked for and spliced in some repair wires where the vinyl had become a bit crispy. It cost me quite a bit less than a new harness.
 
Thanks for your comments and advice. For an amateur, how easy is it to re-wrap a wiring harness and have it look as good as the original..?

Myles
 
It will look like new if you have it done by RI. Call them, they can do just the wires in the engine compartment if that's what you want. They will tell you how.
 
Moss and others also sell the correct (non-sticky) tape for re-wrapping. For your TR4 I believe it will be the lovely bright blue.

The best guide for the tricky bits of wrapping (ends, joints, etc) is to take a good look at your current harness (if it has the original wrap in place).

For touch-up and possibly help with ends etc I have found that Ace hardware carries electrical tape in a similar shade of blue. You wouldn't want to wrap the harness in that stuff but it could be useful for small repairs or finishing touches.

I have used carb cleaner to remove paint from the vinyl insulation -- that insulation seems pretty tough.
 
Myles,

Re-Wrapping is easy, but you must use the adhesive free tape. Two rolls should be enough for under the bonnet I also cleaned all the connectors & terminals with Electrical contact cleaner followed by small wire brushes on my Dremel tool. Pay particular attention to ground contacts...make them shine. Use a thin film of Di-electric grease when you re assemble. Doing one section at a time will reduce the chance of errors.

Cheers

Mike Godley
65TR4A
 
Myles
you are on a roll if the original wiring harness is intact (not burnt)..............
Regards
Craig
 
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