Wire Tucking

I want everyones first hand experince.

and all the good write ups you know of, i've read my share but before i go into something this mechnically inclined i want to make sure i know exactly how to do everything.

post any good known detailed write ups and any good and bad first hand experince.

for the record, i'm going to relocate my battery to the spare tire well.

Comments

  • HaydzHaydz Moderator
    Check out sic944t's build thread in the members rides.
  • B18C5-EH2B18C5-EH2 Moderator
    I'm not a fan of intentionally introducing wiring/mechanic potential falures to my car. I think it looks cool on cars that are already amazingly perfectly clean and have all top-notch stuff done so that the only thing left is a wire tuck, but IMO on a daily driven wagon I think it's silly. I mean why wire tuck on a stockish car? I'm not being a dick - I'm being honest.

    Having said that if you're going to do a wire tuck I'd suggest using nothing but soldering and shrink wrapping for any wire extentions. Butt connectors, bullett connectors, etc. suck and are a guaranteed way to add nothing but problems from your electrical sysem.

    BTW my shop has had to go behind "wire tucks" and fix the bullshit stuff that people have done. I had to go into the driver's fender well and pull apart all of the "tucked" wire extensions on a customer's otherwise STOCK (but only lowered) 1998 Civic coupe because of a damn secondary o2 sensor code he got after trying to tuck the wires. The customer didn't bother at all to tell us that he'd attempted a wire tuck, and for some retarded reason he only attempted to tuck that section of wiring alone that usually comes through the driver's side of the firewall right near the clutch master cylinder reservoir. It would have saved us a LOT of time.

    If you EVER plan on a shop or mechanic working on your car professionally you might want to reconsider the wire tuck idea too. After what my shop went through with that situation I won't work on another tucked car, because it introduces so many other "x factors" that you cannot account for when trying to run a factory manual diagnostic flow chart on a seemingly simple problem.

    Anyways I think I've made my point, albeit probably the unpopular, not wanted to be heard point.

    :)
  • michaelhinkle1michaelhinkle1 Senior Wagonist
    how about this, i'll bring my car to your shop and pay you guys to do it. :lol:
  • adamEFwagonadamEFwagon Senior Wagonist
    that actually makes me think twice on wire tucking since it is gonna be my daily....
  • B18C5-EH2B18C5-EH2 Moderator
    how about this, i'll bring my car to your shop and pay you guys to do it. :lol:

    Thanks, but no thanks.

    We got duped into fixing two customers' wire tuck-fuck-ups, but we don't do tucks. We've had to fix some crazy wiring stuff before such as fender liners ripping an entire section of harness on RLs and Legends, so it's not like we can't do the tucks. We just won't do the tucks.

    So I take it you're keepeing the wagon then?

    :)
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    that actually makes me think twice on wire tucking since it is gonna be my daily....

    me too...

    if soldering, etc. sucks... then WTF can you use to extend wires??
  • ragenasianragenasian Moderator
    Soldering is the ONLY thing you want to use in conjuction with a nice wire wrap. I would guess the shrink wrap kind. Other connectors can be prone to not work all the time and can sometimes be pulled out of their housings very easily. Moisture can also be introduced into some connections causing corrosion. I have seen some very nasty connections with some of the radio installs or repairs I have done. The copper corrodes inside the connectors which it wouldn't do if you solder and wrap.

    Just my .02 :wink:
  • B18C5-EH2B18C5-EH2 Moderator
    wagodizzle wrote:
    that actually makes me think twice on wire tucking since it is gonna be my daily....

    me too...

    if soldering, etc. sucks... then WTF can you use to extend wires??

    Soldering itself doesn't suck. The soldering job just needs to really nice, and it needs to be heat shrink wrapped perfectly to avoid corrosion over time.
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    well in that case, i'll be fine. im good at soldering and i always individually wrap the solder jobs in heatshrink and then electrical tape, then a wire loom...etc.
  • HandofBoBHandofBoB New Wagonist
    Had to bring this to the top. If you know what you are doing a tuck is possible. Take your time and label EVERYTHING!!! Mine took me about 12 hours total and a total pain in the ass. My wagon was a test subject and afterwards I will never do it again. It will make you go insane and cross-eyed. I had no problems afterwards as far as electrical. Just had to warn you.
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