How to Repair Automotive Wiring
Automotive wiring can become damaged and will need to be repaired over the lifetime of a vehicle. You can repair wiring in multiple ways; however, automotive industry standards dictate the proper way to repair damaged wire is to solder the broken pieces together to create a strong bond that is equal to the strength of new wiring.
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Things You'll Need
- Safety glasses
- Socket and ratchet
- Heat-shrink tubing
- Wire trimmers
- Soldering iron/ gun
- Rosin-core solder
- Heat gun
Instructions
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The battery is often located under the hood near the headlights. Put on the safety glasses. Disconnect the positive and negative battery cables from the vehicle's battery using the socket and ratchet.
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Place a piece of heat-shrink tubing over either side of the broken wire and slide as far away from the break as possible.
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Wire strippers remove the protective coating from wires. Trim back the remaining protective coating with the wire trimmers and provide about an inch of bare wire on each end of the break, then overlap and twist the wire together, creating a strong connection.
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Soldering iron produces high heat at the tip. Heat up the soldering iron and solder over the twisted wire. When done correctly the heat will cause the solder to wick into the wiring, creating a strong joint. Allow to cool and provide a gentle tug to the wire to ensure a good solder.
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A heat gun is similar to a hair dryer. Slide the heat-shrink tubing up and over the bare wire joint and use the heat gun to shrink the tubing, effectively creating an air-tight seal.
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Tips & Warnings
Make sure your heat shrink tubing is approximately 1.5 times longer than the area it is to cover and protect.
Always be conscious of other wiring in the bundle. There may be other damaged wires in the area.
If you need to repair a shorted wire just to get home you can use electrical tape, however this is not a safe repair and will often cause problems down the road.
Some solder is lead based and can be a hazard to your health.
Solder guns reach very high temperatures quickly, and you can be burned easily if you are not careful.
Electricity will travel the path with the least resistance, so even though you have disconnected the positive cable it is still possible to create a short circuit with the power still stored within the vehicle's electrical system.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit ICHIRO/Photodisc/Getty Images automobile engine image by palms from Fotolia.com pliers and wire cutters image by Albert Lozano from Fotolia.com Soldering iron image by Gudellaphoto from Fotolia.com hot gun in hand image by Gintautas Velykis from Fotolia.com
