How would you fix this?

[casadejohnson]

I have my upper intake off and noticed I have three wires with the insulation cracked on the firewall plugs. All of the actual wires look to be unbroken. I want to do a little preventative maintenance so that they don't break or get corroded. The problem is, I have very little length to work with and I cant heat shrink them without cutting them.

 

[broncnaz]

About the only option is liquid electrical tape

 

[broncodriver99]

Scotch 33+ tape. If you dont want to cut them and cant get heat shrink on them that's about it. It is the best tape on the market. If you follow it up with some black hockey tape it will last at least a century.

 

[casadejohnson]

I have never tried liquid electrical tape before. Maybe Ill try that and wrap it all with tape so the wires won't flex and break Two of the wires are right next to one another so they could possibly short out to one another if I don't get them insulated.

 

[Viperwolf1]

The liquid stuff probably work well enough. Another option is to cut the wires inside the firewall. Then you can pull them out and put some heat shrink on.

 

[Arikilen]

You should probably address why they separated like that in the first place. Is the insulation bad as a result of heat and time? If so, you are only putting a bandaid on the problem and providing yourself a false sense of security. Last place I would want to be chasing an electrical short is on the trail.

Can you carefully move the pin inside the rubber connector to allow you to slide the wire through or out the backside? I had a similar situation about 3 weeks ago. I was able to work the pin out with a very tiny screwdriver and straight pin.

 

[Broncobowsher]

It looks like the insulation is starting to break down. You will probably need to rewire in the next few years. But for now the liquid eletrical tape is a great product for that spot. It will seal the wires and keep the copper from corroding better then any tape will. But expect it to be a bit of an ugly blob when done.

 

[tatersalad]

Liquid tape or a small dab of right stuff

 

[casadejohnson]

It looks like the insulation is starting to break down. You will probably need to rewire in the next few years.

Yea, Not very excited about doing the rewire but its probably a good idea. I actually have a friend who has a Painless Bronco harness new in the box that he is looking to sell. Maybe I need to pull the trigger on that for next winters project. I wish I had done it before the cage went in. It will need to come out to get the dash out. Looks like liquid tape is the short term solution so I can get back on the road for summer wheeling.

 

[DirtDonk]

Don't remove the cage just to do the harness unless you think the extra work is worth the little extra convenience during the re-wire.
I've done it both ways, and have to admit that doing it with the dash out is kind of interesting/fun, but it's not a requirement. Done more with the dash fully installed and has not been an issue at all.

All the switches are likely being changed anyway, but even still, they're simply plug-ins, so reaching up and snapping on a harness plug is not that difficult and you don't have to turn yourself into a pretzel (although it does help!) to do it.
And the instrument cluster should come out for reconditioning/cleaning anyway. So here again, you can do it on a small stand right there within reach of the harness, then lift it up and in.
Easy-peazy... ;D

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

Your wires look suspiciously like someone used some Scotch-Lock connectors on them.
But if not, it just shows that your wires are getting to that too-brittle state that the others mentioned.
It's hit-or-miss of course, with some EB's wires lasting 40+ years in good shape, while others that are newer are old and brittle. Heat and oil contamination take their toll, along with age.

For the chassis side of the firewall, it's usually a tough one as there is so little wire. But your grommet/strain relief looks to have been pulled apart already, so the suggestion of pulling the wires out farther might work in your case.
At the worst, it would be a matter of cutting the grommet off the wires, using what's left in a new connector and utilize some other type of grommet/seal for the firewall. It's more work, but well worth it at this point. No half-way measures needed.
Though I don't consider the sealant suggestions to be half-way measures. They're very workable and will function for years. Let us hope the wires will function as long.

Here's what I did (see below). I had more wire to work with as it was the engine side of the harness that started getting ugly:

For the other connector (the C4 NSS it looks like) I would also simply cut and use a new connector.
It would be great if you could source a stock type, as that would allow you to use all stock NSS' in the future without modifying them. But if it's not available (it probably is though) you could simply use a different type of connector, like a Weatherpack and match it on the switch side too. After all, how often do you have to replace those switches anyway? Replacing the stock end with a matching Weatherpack would be a good thing, and maybe a once or twice in a lifetime thing anyway.

Good luck.
Oh, and you'll love the new harness, even if it is a bit of work to get it in.
No comparison...

Paul