eyeteeth wrote:
So Griff...
When you rewired... say... your MH. Did you try and pull a new wire through the old path? (Say... using the current wire) Or, did you reroute a new wire? I know what end result needs to be, but don't have the experience to know the best path to take. (Thanks)
That's a tough question, so I'll start with the short answer -- whatever gets the job done and works for you.
Not very helpful, I realize, but I use both approaches depending on the vehicle, whether there's a better path or the original path is best, how close to OEM I'm trying to keep the vehicle, how difficult it would be to follow the original path versus a new path, and so forth. It boils down to a judgement call with each situation.
One important note: What works best for me might not be what's best for you in otherwise identical situations.
Some of my criteria when I tackle a job, both large and small:
1. I try to make my results look as professional as possible. Something that looks professional is more likely to be durable and reliable.
2. I try to make what I'm doing equal to or better than OEM. Manufacturers often have to use less than ideal (i.e., just "good enough") to keep costs down. I don't have the same limitation but, on the other hand, what they did obviously worked.
3. Even if the fix is intended to only be temporary, I use the same approach I'd use with a permanent fix. ("Temporary has an amazing tendency to become permanent.")
4. In every possible case, I try to remove old wires so they don't add to the confusion when someone's working on it later. (On one computer networking job, I ran across a rat's nest of cables above a suspended ceiling. Figuring which cables belonged to the current system and which were cables disconnected and left over from the four previous networks took days.)
5. I try to keep the wires concealed from everyday view, unless I'm going for an "industrial" appearance. On the other hand, I like to keep the wiring accessible to make future troubleshooting easier. (Junctions, connectors, splices, fuses, and terminals are the most likely trouble spots so I focus on making them easier to get to.)
6. I allow 1/4" to 1/2" extra length per foot to allow for wire expansion and contraction. (A friend ran new wires to his taillights one summer and the next winter one wire contracted enough to pull a connector apart.)
7. I keep wires away from heat sources (e.g., the exhaust system), protect them from abrasions, and keep them away from moving parts.
Multiple wires bundled together into a single cable run causes me the most difficulty in how I want to proceed. Do I want to unwrap and re-wrap the bundles to replace as single wire? Did what went wrong affect other wires in the bundle, in which case it might be better in the long run to make a new bundle with all new wires? Do I want to (as much as I dislike it) trim the ends of the old wire back to where they "disappear" into the bundle and string a new wire, probably taping it to the outside of the bundle?
(I used each of these approaches at various times on different vehicles, all with equally good results.)
To really advise you, I need to know more about your situation. Roughly how long is the bad wire? (A few feet or all the way from the dash to the back?) Where does it go from and to? Where does it "disappear" and "re-appear" again? What does it seem to run through? (Wall, ceiling, chassis frame, behind cabinets, etc.?)
