pokegama

While doing an intake refresh on my 81 I noticed some wires entering the 14 pin connector were looking a little brittle. Upon closer inspection they were fried. I started cutting back the plastic cover Porsche put on looking for some good insulation. None to be found. See pic. The little chunks are insulation off the wires Anyway I wound up pulling the engine harness out and rewiring the whole thing. I reused the silicone covers on the lower part but the upper cover was toast. (second pic...still need to crimp and solder connectors on) What's the best thing to cover the wires with? That split plastic wrap looks too cheap for a Porsche and I'm concerned about heat since the harness lays across the top of the engine. Looking for suggestions here. Thanks

michael j wright

Boy! That brings back memories for me! Looks just like mine did on the 82' Unfortunatly I couldn't find anything other than that split black plastic crap either! But the flip side is that it has held up very well for the past 3 years without any trouble. I did howerver use zip ties every few inches to help keep everything together, and were it lies you don't really notice it to much.

SharkSkin

You can probably find some silicone sleeves/sheathing at McMaster-Carr or similar.

Alan

Waytek wire has black plastic sheathing rather like Porsche uses...

Alan

jcorenman

I've used this high-temp silicone tape for harness repairs with good results:
High-Temp Self-Fusing Silicone Rubber Tape, McMaster #7643A79

s928s

I used shrink wrap. easy to get on the web. I believe even harbour freight has a set with 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 1" in 4 foot lengths.

Alan

I'd use non-split continuous sheathing - heat shrink is expensive in large sizes and while it seals well it tends to be very rigid and gets more rigid (brittle?) over time under engine bay conditions. Using short lengths of heat shrink at junctions and termination is probably the best way to use it.

Tape can be messy for long lengths due to the adhesive and may not seal well unless you do a really good job... great for repairs and junctions & terminations also...

Here are a couple of options from waytek:

Vinyl Tubing Most like stock

High Temp Fiberglass Likely better over long run for abrasion (maybe not chemical protection)

Alan

pokegama

Thank you all for the great suggestions. I do like the idea of using the non split tube the best so far. Thanks for the links Alan That along with some silicone tape at the ends and junctions to keep out moisture seems like it would work out the best. Should the tubing fit tightly around the wires or should I oversize it a little?

Alan

A tight fit is difficult - if its a little loose and you tape or heat shrink the ends/junctions I think that would be fine... not all Porsche looms are a tight fit (though some are).

Alan

6mil928

My 14 pin was as bad or worse. I had to change the harness. Found a good one at Oklahoma Foreign.

Dave H.

go to a sporting goods store and get a roll of hockey stick tape.

VW, Audi, BMW use it...

Bill51sdr

Just slightly OT here, but wasn't Carl or somebody actually manufacturing wire harnesses for our cars? I seem to recall some years for the S4 with more to come, but haven't read or heard anything for a while.

michael j wright

Well, now I've got another project to do!

blazing928

Techflex
this is the Australian site but I am sure it comes from "Uptop"
http://www.techflex.com.au/thomepage.htm