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Some wires have burned because the previous owner drove it with them hitting the headers. Does msd sell a wiring kit or something for the 6a 6200? Or does anyone know what type of wire I should use?
Yeah what vortec said, remove all the covering and tape and crap so you can get your hands on the wires and identify each in turn.
Use gloves so you don't get filthy sticky mess on your hands.
Clean the wires once exposed using brake cleaner or degreaser to remove all the sticky crap and make them look nice and new again.
While you clean them you are using paper towels and pulling on the wires, it will expose any weaknesses, loose connections, butt connectors, etc... basically cleaning doubles as an inspection procedure.
Note*
never use or rely on butt or splice connectors, Wiring should be soldered and heat shrinked and critical wires carrying power, especially constant power, need extra protection over the heat shrink: additional tape and wire loom.
If you don't know how to solder yet now is the time to learn. I use mini torch (not electrical which takes far too long) butane torch is fast, use electrical solder and flux.
Yeah what vortec said, remove all the covering and tape and crap so you can get your hands on the wires and identify each in turn.
Use gloves so you don't get filthy sticky mess on your hands.
Clean the wires once exposed using brake cleaner or degreaser to remove all the sticky crap and make them look nice and new again.
While you clean them you are using paper towels and pulling on the wires, it will expose any weaknesses, loose connections, butt connectors, etc... basically cleaning doubles as an inspection procedure.
Note*
never use or rely on butt or splice connectors, Wiring should be soldered and heat shrinked and critical wires carrying power, especially constant power, need extra protection over the heat shrink: additional tape and wire loom.
If you don't know how to solder yet now is the time to learn. I use mini torch (not electrical which takes far too long) butane torch is fast, use electrical solder and flux.
I soldered once or twice with a soldering pen on loose wire. How's mini torch work? Is it the same thing? When would one use a crimp instead of soldering?
I soldered once or twice with a soldering pen on loose wire. How's mini torch work? Is it the same thing? When would one use a crimp instead of soldering?
I use like these
eBay item number: 255486437150
and this
eBay item number: 164685679289
You strip each end of the wire about 1/2" to 3/4" depends on the diameter, then marry them by twisting together so its a smooth long piece (don't twist them like a twisty tie, twist so they stay thin and long)
Then hit with a torch for a few seconds and feed the solder into it, never let solder touch the flame it should only melt into the wire. Cover the wire with flux first so it can prevent contamination from air, just like when welding.
NEVER use crimps anywhere in a vehicle. I do everything with torch and solder, entire harness, engine, chassis harness, all of it. Add a bit of extra length for potentially stressed wires and loop them a bit so if they get pulled it just feeds from your little loop instead of breaking the wire.
Another tip is never solder in the same place twice on two different wires, always solder one high, one low so they don't form a large clump in the harness
If you need a disconnect simply solder in an actual clip connector, there are thousands to choose from.
Found a pic of soldering my injector clips in
See how the wire is long and thin, twisted together
Don't be cheap with the heat shrink. I often use two heat shrinks one on top of the other. Then a wrap of tape, and on top of that some kind of loom. And if its electrical for somewhere near the chassis I will even add a fuel line hose covering on top of the loom. You can't be too careful.
Another one work in progress, you can see some soldering and heat shrinks. Notice the extra heat shrinking, the extra tape coverings,
and that I am only using OEM quality relay and fuse holders with water proof containers from OEM vehicles. No exposed aftermarket BS, fancy 'racing' switch panel garbage. The wiring should be out of sight, out of mind, never touch it again once finished kind of thing.
Here I am hiding some critical injector/ecu/coil relays and fuses in the glove box next to my boost controller. This is both for security and easy access to critical electrical components.
Next in the trunk we see a SAAB relay container, again water proof with a cover and OEM fuses and relays. It features a 60-amp fuse and relay which I Dedicated to the fuel pump straight from the battery. Extra relays, one I used for the fuel pump activation and the others are spares for whenever I add some other stuff to the trunk.
next this is a little transistor box I made which acts as theft/security devices (Using an arduino microcontroller to activate the relays based on coded inputs)
It illustrates the concept of wire looping for the high stress side of wiring connections, on the left we see there is some loop available in case the harness is pulled that direction it won't damage the wire or board.
For anyone that is new to Soldering...
Flux is your Best Friend!!!
Also, other than water displacement...
Something that WD-40 is actually good for, is removing the sticky residue that you will find on the Wiring (after use of Electrical-Tape and other adhesives).
Nothing wrong with soldering, but nothing wrong with good crimps either. Most of the wire connections on these cars from the factory are crimped, but none of them were done using the cheesy electrical terminals you find in most stores.
Nothing wrong with soldering, but nothing wrong with good crimps either. Most of the wire connections on these cars from the factory are crimped, but none of them were done using the cheesy electrical terminals you find in most stores.
Yeah a machine crimp is fine. Tthe service procedures for dealership or whatever is based on the fact that nobody wants a guy in their vehicle with an open flame or hot pen. So they are forced to use crimps for fire safety.
We have no such scruples. Use the torch. Don't use a crimp because it will pull apart one day when nobody is looking. Machine crimped is fine- if you can get a machine to do it for you somehow. I don't have one.
Same thing with AN lines. I don't trust fuel or oil AN lines that are assembled by hand. Braided PTFE Teflon hose with machine crimps is all I trust.
I build these rules from wanting to get 200k miles and 20 years of service and hand crimps just aren't generally up to that task.
Me over here with my heatshrinked butt connectors and hand assembled AN lines from literally the cheapest ebay source.
hehe
In your defense you may not have just 1 car that you drive every single day hundreds of miles and can't afford AAA towing service or to ever be breaking down.
I just need to be 99.999% sure that something is DONE done done, and not going to come unglued after 3-5 years of hard abuse, it may it may not isn't good enough. I don't trust myself, or ebay, if I Don't have to.
In order of ranking, a mechanical connection (crimp) is superior to solder. Just need to select the right parts and use decent tools (yes, quality hand tools are fine). Double wall, self-sealing heat shrink does job of electrical insulation, water proofing, and strain relief of the wire near the crimp. Same reason to use the heat shrink with soldered wire. I wouldn't be scared of either type of repair if done right and located in a section of wire that doesn't need to bend or be flexible, but sometimes it's just better to lay an all new continuous stretch of wire. Solder is really your last choice but it's easy to do without needing special tools or researching which crimps to buy.
I really did not want to start up the "Solder vs Crimp" Debates...
There are actually very good arguments from both sides.
I will just note that in the "Motorsports Realm" (most, but not all Motorsports), Soldered connections are prohibited.
The general consensus is that the Soldering Process produces unwanted Strain in the Conductor on both sides of the Joint.
Fear that the rigid Joint may fracture/ fail from the stresses imposed by the operation of the Vehicle.
I will say that I have personally observed increased rigidity in the Wire/ Cable (in front of, and behind the Solder Joint) after making a Soldered-Connection.
Larger Cables tend to exacerbate this phenomenon.
This results in poor compliance of stress-relieving the Wiring before and after the Connection.
Yes the Soldered Connection is rigid...
But when properly crimped, the copper strands are compressed into a nearly "solid" section of copper.
...Of which is also very rigid.
I believe that the Crimping process minimizes the affected areas around the Connection.
As well as better compliance in stress-relieving the Wiring before and after the Connection.
I really did not want to start up the "Solder vs Crimp" Debates...
There are actually very good arguments from both sides.
I will just note that in the "Motorsports Realm" (most, but not all Motorsports), Soldered connections are prohibited.
The general consensus is that the Soldering Process produces unwanted Strain in the Conductor on both sides of the Joint.
Fear that the rigid Joint may fracture/ fail from the stresses imposed by the operation of the Vehicle.
I will say that I have personally observed increased rigidity in the Wire/ Cable (in front of, and behind the Solder Joint) after making a Soldered-Connection.
Larger Cables tend to exacerbate this phenomenon.
This results in poor compliance of stress-relieving the Wiring before and after the Connection.
Yes the Soldered Connection is rigid...
But when properly crimped, the copper strands are compressed into a nearly "solid" section of copper.
...Of which is also very rigid.
I believe that the Crimping process minimizes the affected areas around the Connection.
As well as better compliance in stress-relieving the Wiring before and after the Connection.
I've heard all of that before. But when we are dealing with 100 wires in a loom , 100 crimps is unacceptable, its far to cumbersome for 100 wires sitting next to each other, and they are unreliable in human hands performing +100 crimps It is very difficult to be 100% consistent using hand squeezed connections especially done one after the other. 1:100 statistically is going to fail 100% of the time when human hands and especially non ideal equipment or products is used. Solder on the other hand I can 1000 wires successfully 100% of the time and make it thin and pretty and by carefully wiring procedures such as looping prevent wire stress. Its all about technique. I've wired 50 maybe 100 cars using 100% soldering and never had any issue, not one wire break 20+ years
If using just a few high quality crimps and the proper tool of course its fine. But I am thinking about the 100 to 200 wires I usually have to connect to make a swap work and its just a nightmare using crimps, I wouldn't even consider it. Not even in a worst case scenario. Anything that I can pull apart by hand with moderate force by accident or involving human error in the process of is not something I will invite to my projects.
Please allow me to put this one other way to be 100% clear.
If I were participating in motor sports where soldering is unwanted, I would still NOT use any crimps.
Instead, I will de-pin and wire using new, high quality, complete wires without any solder or crimps at all.
There is no reason to ever use a crimp, OR solder. Any wire can be replaced and complete. The idea behind solder/crimps is to save time. But saving time is not a "thing" when it comes to actual racing & motorsports... those kind of time savings both can lead to trouble when the environment is highly stressful. We should take the time to re-do our wiring using whole wires if we want to participate in those events.
From mechanical engineering perspective (static forces and heat transfer) looking at the stress in a wire one soldered or crimped, I can easily see the solder's response to heating and especially due to thickness difference in that portion of a wire will cause a differential of stress when heated.
However this should in theory only an issue when the wire quality is low or heating is high and frequently cycled. Mechanical stress on the other hand (being pulled or roughly treated) is going to have the same affect on crimps as it will solder, with the major difference being the crimp can easily pull apart if heating is involved due to thermal expansion differences between wire and crimp materials. With respect to heat transfer, the crimp seems superior as it will absorb some of the heat and take up some of the stress by expanding around the expanding wire, whereas solder will just increase in stress possibly. Nevertheless, heat is an issue for both kind of attachments and crimps are particularly sucseptible to human error and mechanical stress of being pulled apart with human error involved in the crimping process, especially where high number of crimps is used, and IMO both need to be avoided if true racing/motorsports is involved.
Like I said, there are great arguments for both sides.
I use both techniques depending on the specific task at hand.
Also, wire repair is not so much the concern that Motorsports regulations have.
They really want practically zero repairs performed, and instead replace Wires as needed (as you also mentioned).
The debate is over crimping Terminals for a Connector, or Soldering Terminals for a Connector.
Not if you use a proper controlled cycle crimping tool and quality connectors.
Well past 30,000 crimps and counting...
If you have the right tools and know what you are doing and don't mind the lump of a crimp then I'm sure its a valuable effort.
In my case I don't have the necessary tools or crimping skills and even if I Did I don't trust myself or anything mechanically/forcefully holding a wire which can change shape with temperature
And In this case the thread op has no such experience or tools and it will be much easier IMHO to solder/shrink from his position than purchase a bunch of high quality expensive tools and trial and error his way to victory
By the way, my reply wasn't intended to be demeaning in any way. I'm just relating my experiences.
I'll agree that a crimped butt splice can be somewhat bulky. Then again I tend to stash them in the wiring loom.
When it comes to forks and rings though, I can't see a reasonable substitute other than crimping.
By the way, my reply wasn't intended to be demeaning in any way. I'm just relating my experiences.
I'll agree that a crimped butt splice can be somewhat bulky. Then again I tend to stash them in the wiring loom.
When it comes to forks and rings though, I can't see a reasonable substitute other than crimping.
hey man! NOne of my stuff is meant to be demeaning or talking down. Its just the way I type to try and be concise even though it seems like I type alot- I am rapidly removing words to shorten sentences and such and it may come off as harsh or sharp. I Love you guys, please friends all of us, always. Even if we disagree. Which we are not doing here at all! Just discussing pros and cons of stuff as usual.
I can offer you some alternative to rings though. As usual I never use crimps but I like rings some places for grounds. My technique is, I wrap a wire around the bolt that goes to the threaded hole, twisting it around at the base and add solder to the wire while it is looped around the bolt. Now it becomes a soft (solder is kind of soft, lead based anyways- always use the lead not the tin version) compressible ring when bolted down. cheers!
In my case I don't have the necessary tools or crimping skills
Bingo. Enough said.
I had to lengthen my harness a few feet when I did my LS swap. There might be more solder in my engine harness than copper. It's janky. Reason why is because that was my only skill set and that's how I could get it done. No troubles yet with my work, I did the best I could at that time. But time should improve all of us if we have ears for listening....
Hey guys I'm never afraid to admit I don't know something or when I don't possess a particular skill or whatever. I LOVE not knowing stuff and making mistakes because that is how we learn.
That said I'd rather tell things like they are rather than sugar coat or smooth talk my way into getting people to like me. Believe me I can make posts that just generate likes all day- But that is not what I am about, other guys "liking" me. I feel we should not "like" the person we are trying to have an intelligent discussion with because it may influence or rose colored tint our own responses and perspectives. It seems to lead to internet circle jerking type of bs, just a bunch of males pressing like on each others bs posts that don't really help anything
Man, I want to hit like for both of those last two posts...
I'll restrain myself and let the OP have his say.
On a similar note, I would have liked to have seen the harness shop that built OEM equipment in the 60's. Safe to say there was solder a plenty. I'm pretty sure there a joints in my 3rd that are soldered.
What I did see were the men who were leading the seams on the roof to sail panel joints. That was something in and of itself.
Sorry for the off topic.
Carry on.
I've heard all of that before. But when we are dealing with 100 wires in a loom , 100 crimps is unacceptable, its far to cumbersome for 100 wires sitting next to each other, and they are unreliable in human hands performing +100 crimps It is very difficult to be 100% consistent using hand squeezed connections especially done one after the other. 1:100 statistically is going to fail 100% of the time when human hands and especially non ideal equipment or products is used.
This is why I charge between $10,000 to $15,000 for a complete (Mil-Spec) Vehicle Harness.
It is very tedious and time consuming to design and build... then even more so to do the QC.
If these Wiring Standards are good enough for the Airline Industry, our Military, and NASA...
Then I am content with what I do for a Race Car.
I can offer you some alternative to rings though. As usual I never use crimps but I like rings some places for grounds. My technique is, I wrap a wire around the bolt that goes to the threaded hole, twisting it around at the base and add solder to the wire while it is looped around the bolt. Now it becomes a soft (solder is kind of soft, lead based anyways- always use the lead not the tin version) compressible ring when bolted down. cheers!
By the way, nobody is suggesting you make 200 crimps to extend a harness. This thread is about repairing a wire.
Cutting 100 wires to make 200 splices to extend a harness is janky - PERIOD. Let's just admit it because it is. A lot of us have done it including me. It's still janky though, just a little more premium upscale janky if you have a bit of skill. It's cheap though. Lot cheaper than building from scratch. This hobby ain't free and we do what we can do with where we are in life.
05-18-2022, 01:48 PM
Reason why is because that was my only skill set and that's how I could get it done. No troubles yet with my work, I did the best I could at that time. But time should improve all of us if we have ears for listening.... 
