Central locking issue, opens all but does not lock all....

[BongoBongo123]

Bingo white wire when I reconnect sorts the central locking !

[BongoBongo123]

Soldered link wire...of note was green corroded copper of the original wire so I had to trim it back as it sure seems water got in after the wires insulation was breached/broken. Of course these bare solder connections have been insulated with insulating tape before being wrapped around with the other wires.



And post repair... I have not gone too mad with the taping up this time , just enough to ensure water cannot get into wires. I put the original plastic concertina conduit back round the cables first, that is quite stiff and protective. (getting my first set of self amalgamating tape and layers of insulating tape off was the trickiest bit of the job and could well have lead to a complete snap of the intermittent wire) If all is well in a few months I will boister that up. The tricky plastic/nylon clip had to come off in the end. I found some side ways pressure helped get it to un-catch easier.

[g8dhe]

Don't go too mad, all the wires get similar twisting so best to leave it accessible for the future!

[BongoBongo123]

Good advice. Glad all is working again now and fairly quick to find out what was going on from the forum helpers etc. I uttered a few blue words when it stopped working after I initially thought just a dry out had done the job. Oh well sometimes you have to dig a little deeper. (It did not really ring true that moisture alone would cause an intermittent connection failure)

[mikeonb4c]

Don't go too mad, all the wires get similar twisting so best to leave it accessible for the future!

2nd that Geoff. Also, I'd recommend heatshrink tubing over repairs like that as being neater and more reliable than insulating tape, but I guess it's down to personal choice. I'm afraid (since I have so little spare time) that I ducked all this at the first sign of trouble and got a new harness fitted, for neatness and peace of mind. Didn't want to be guessing when the next wire might go

[BongoBongo123]

Don't go too mad, all the wires get similar twisting so best to leave it accessible for the future!

2nd that Geoff. Also, I'd recommend heat shrink tubing over repairs like that as being neater and more reliable than insulating tape, but I guess it's down to personal choice. I'm afraid (since I have so little spare time) that I ducked all this at the first sign of trouble and got a new harness fitted, for neatness and peace of mind. Didn't want to be guessing when the next wire might go

Right now more time than spare cash so thought I would give it a go. It fell into the few things I can actually do as well (bit of easy soldering). No doubt I will be coughing up for something else over the forthcoming years ! Your insightful input always welcome.

[mikeonb4c]

Don't go too mad, all the wires get similar twisting so best to leave it accessible for the future!

2nd that Geoff. Also, I'd recommend heat shrink tubing over repairs like that as being neater and more reliable than insulating tape, but I guess it's down to personal choice. I'm afraid (since I have so little spare time) that I ducked all this at the first sign of trouble and got a new harness fitted, for neatness and peace of mind. Didn't want to be guessing when the next wire might go

Right now more time than spare cash so thought I would give it a go. It fell into the few things I can actually do as well (bit of easy soldering). No doubt I will be coughing up for something else over the forthcoming years ! Your insightful input always welcome.

Totally understand and if I was retired and had time I reckon I might do as you have done. Heatshrink tubing is a blessing though - takes all the hassle out of insulating the individual wires, even if you opt for insulating tape for binding the main bundle/harness (which I think might be the best route given you might need to unbundle and treat another wire at some point - you can always end the binding by trapping it in the harness clip so it can't easily unravel).

I've kept my old harness and may restore it 'on the bench' once I retire, as it could be useful (or saleable )

[BongoBongo123]

The only downside to heat shrink is that you would need to cut the heat shrink tube open first in order to get it round the wiring (and it is not exactly straight being essentially a U shape and not thin like an audio cable or some such) as you cannot access either end of the loom whilst it is in place. This might not allow the heat shrink to grip the loom properly and even if it did it may leave a gap which will let water in.

Given what I saw today I am not sure heat shrink would work. It is a very tight and fiddley work space as well. At least not the type that I have used which looks like this:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/c/cables-and-co ... d-sleeving

edit: Ok I see you meant the individual wires. Either is fine I think, I think insulating tape is perfectly good and exactly what it is designed for. Heat shrink would also be fine of course. I do use good quality insulating tape, it is not all made the same. Some of it is indeed thin and has low quality adhesion properties. Use the thicker flexible and well bonding variety and it will be fine and dandy.

[teenmal]

Personally I use Duct Tape or QUACK QUACK Tape.

[BongoBongo123]

Ahh gaffer tape.. I guess that could work on the outside, the cloth being fairly strong. Not so good for the inner wires covering the solder joints I guess.

[g8dhe]

There are a variety of ways of doing this, depending on time you have, number of broken wires etc.
I quite like these for when your out and about and need a quick fix;
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keyw ... e03m50t6_b

But when you have the time or have more than one or two wires to repair then normal heat shrink tubing around each wire is the best solution;
http://cpc.farnell.com/pro-power/hskitb ... dp/CB17815

When finished restore the split convoluted sheathing around them all and either tape up with normal electrical tape (3p/metre) or you can use self amalgamating (45p/metre) but compare the costs!