I've managed to burn the harness which runs from front to back by stupidly running the exhaust from the diesel heater too close to it. I need to splice a new section in, probably about 4" and it contains 11 wires so does anyone have a scrap loom they would consider parting with as I want to splice in the same colour and thickness of wires? Any other suggestions appreciated
I've got most of an old loom disassembled. Which colours and thicknesses do you need? You're welcome to them FoC.
Failing that, the appropriate colurs/gauges of cable are readily available. I'd be tempted to make up the complete run of cable, front to back, rather than just patching up the old one.
@name of my bus That's brilliant thankyou- I'll get the colours and sizes at the weekend then pm you.
@snotty if I splice, solder and heat shrink each wire, will it be safe? If I went down the route of replacing the complete run, where would be the best place to get the wire and connectors?
You'd be better off using bare barrel crimps with some heatshrink over them. I'd avoid soldering - it just makes the joint brittle. Vehicle Wiring Products or 12voltplanet will have the cable in the right colours.
Soldering with adhesive heatshrink is perfectly good for car manufacturers these days. Brittleness is only an issue where there is vibration, like around the engine itself. Even then theres only a few wires flapping around. The trouble with crimps is they are fatter than the wire. If you splice in the middle of the loom, all you need is the correct wire gauge, do one at a time, then the ends stay the same wires so the colour of the splice really doesnt matter. Much less faff than colour matching with old hardening wires... I have a lot of black wires spliced inside split plastic trunking where my loom got melted over the engine hatch. All the ends are still the original wires so you cannot tell. Solder and heatshrink so it didnt have a load of bulges , it would not have fitted unless the joints were staggered along the loom.
If you're going to use heatshrink anyway, you can use uninsulated barrel crimps. I'd use crimps over soldering because; a) it's quicker and easier b) it was heat that caused the damage in the first place so I'd be avoiding applying more heat to the area. The heat from soldering will travel up the wire to the insulation, heat it and evaporate the solvent. That makes it hard and brittle and likely to crack. If it cracks past the point where you have covered it with heatshrink, you can have bare wires under your bus.
Thats all true, but sometimes getting the end of a crimper into the space available is pretty tricky. If you use a powerful enough soldering iron, the heat doesnt spread up the wire as much before the joint area gets hot enough if it heats really fast.
