Replaced my fuel pump relay today, and the harness looks really beat up. How can I fix this? Can I remove each connector from the plastic, and cover it with heat shrink? Should I lop it off and solder on a better condition one from a yard? Here's what it looks like, I'm afraid the reason the old relay went was those bare wires shorting out.



Also, since you're here, can anyone tell me if this wire is stock or not? The PO was a wiz kid with butchering the car's wiring, and I'm not sure if this is his work or not. The wire is hot, even with the key off, and there is that ground you can see with nothing attached. If it IS stock, do you know what it is for?



Thank you for the help.

 

I would get a new pigtail and solder it in then heat shrink. You can get those plugs out but sometimes you need some special tools to get them out. The you still have wires in poor shape.

 

I don't know that plug in particular, but a lot of times, use of a micro screwdriver or other lever / pin to hold in the retaining part of the wire terminal lets you remove them pretty easily. So yes, give it a try but be cautious; have the battery terminals disconnected undone, etc.

 

Thank you for the advice. Im heading to a yard tomorrow and will see they have that harness in good condition. Does anyone have an idea what the wire is in the second picture? Its color leads me to believe it may be stock, and it leads into a larger cluster of wires. The only thing I can think of is pulling fuses until I find the one that cuts power to it and going from there to see what it belongs too.

 

If you can find the plug in the junkyard I would just cut it atleast 6 inches back further is better. You can always cut off extra. Make sure to get it cheap, new ones shouldnt be that high. I am pretty sure the wire on the fender well is something aftermarket. I would just trace the wire back and see where it goes. Looks like someone had some stereo stuff in there at one time from the other stuff in the picture.