# Extending MAF Wiring?



## NickWhiteVr6 (Jun 4, 2007)

How's it going everyone? My car is a 03 GTI 24v VR6. I need to extend my MAF Wiring. I have to relocate my MAF and Intake for my turbo setup and my MAF plug doesn't reach the MAF. Has anyone every spliced and extended their MAF? IF so how did ya do it and was it a success? I see online that there are MAF extension harnesses then I see others who cut into the harness and solder/butt connector the wires together. Not sure which way to go. Any advice? 

Thank you in Advanced


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## V-dubbulyuh (Nov 13, 2005)

-Cutting and extending works fine, done so on multiple vrs.
-Pay attention to the gauge of the OEM harness.
-Solder would be my suggestion.
-If you are uncomfortable with cutting the entire harness, make your cut-extensions one wire at a time. I would suggest carefully labeling each of the wires you are using to extend your harness if you can't color code.
-Heat shrink or otherwise chafe protect your extended harness.
-When done you do a wire/continuity check from harness end back to the ECU connector to be certain that nothing was inadvertently crossed.
-Stay clear of any sources of EMI when re-routing the harness.


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## 24vGTiVR6 (Sep 14, 2010)

solder definitely. don't use butt connectors for this.


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## NickWhiteVr6 (Jun 4, 2007)

Thank you guys for the input. I understand how to actually do the wiring, I was just worried that lengthening the wires would mess up the signals or anything. Again I really appreciate it.


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## vr-vagman (May 15, 2010)

I wouldn't solder the wires. OEMs (VAG) wire repair solution is always done with approved butt conectors.


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## NickWhiteVr6 (Jun 4, 2007)

Yea word on the street is solder is not the VW way to repair wires, from the factory. Check this link another vortex guy posted on my post. http://www.rialtainfo.com/vw/vw_images/tech_bulletin_97-98-03.pdf


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## vr-vagman (May 15, 2010)

That's what I mean. It is not just "word on the street"(if I understand correctly). That's how the OEMs do repair and grant warranty. Personally said, it's waste of time and efforts to analyze why, how... Bear in mind the MAF wires are shaked all the time.
BTW check if some of the wires are twisted. If yes, just keep the twisting with the extended wires. That's for RFI suppression.
I'm also not an wiring expert. I'm ex VAG techician.


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## leebro61 (Nov 7, 2001)

NickWhiteVr6 said:


> Yea word on the street is solder is not the VW way to repair wires, from the factory. Check this link another vortex guy posted on my post. http://www.rialtainfo.com/vw/vw_images/tech_bulletin_97-98-03.pdf


The crimp vs. solder thing will be debated until the end of time (similar to air-air vs air-water intercoolers, hot vs. cold side BOV, etc.). :laugh:

I've recently taken apart several modern harnesses from various OEMs and all of the connections are always done with crimp joints. I've built several megasquirt harnesses from scratch and where necessary, I've exclusively used butt splices, without any issues whatsoever. I don't consider myself an electrical expert, so I reached out to friends that build harnesses for race teams and splicing was their suggestion also. Then someone sent me this article, and their advice is pretty similar to my own experiences...

http://www.speedhunters.com/2015/09/knowledge-boost-tackling-your-wiring-nightmare-part-1/

If it were me, I would go to a junkyard and grab as long of a MAF pigtail as possible, clip the new pigtail into your car, cut the connector off your current MAF harness and then match the two up so you only have one junction. Butt splices are nearly fool proof, but less is always better if you have the choice :thumbup:


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## V-dubbulyuh (Nov 13, 2005)

Here's my thought on the matter...

I come from the OEM aircraft world. I hesitate to use VW repair guidance as a gold standard as our car harnesses are questionable to begin with. Yes splices are the preferred method for inter-wire connections in aviation as well and as a design engineer I call-out splices rather than solder. That being said, ALL of the crimp tools are subject to a mandatory calibration routine (monthly if I am not mistaken) and many of the crimp tools are not even manual anymore, pneumatic is the standard. Point being the integrity and consistency of the crimp is guaranteed each time.

Let's move to the typical guy using cheap crimp tools on what I would consider a sensitive harness (DBW). 
Some of my concerns are as follows:

Crimp force being used (too large - conductor damage, too little - insufficient electrical contact)
Splice cross sectional area
Incorrect pull-test technique on wire being crimped
Water intrusion

Failing to address any of the above can significantly increase resistance/create noise. Splices can be used and assuming proper technique there is no issue however the invisible nature (inability to visually inspect) of the splice connection can lead to poor electrical connections. Soldering is not without its own challenges, however you are more apt to determine a poor connection when examining your connection (esp with smaller cables/higher gauge).


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## leebro61 (Nov 7, 2001)

You make a few fair points, but I will still take the average guy with his average crimpers over the average guy with an average soldering iron any day of the week. It's probably a good practice anyway to measure the resistance from the MAF connector back to the ECU before and after the wires are extended just to sanity check your work :thumbup:


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## 24vGTiVR6 (Sep 14, 2010)

Interesting. I originally used butt connectors but they came loose over time. Switched to solder, haven't had an issue in roughly 2x the amount of time as the butt connected joints. 

I understand what the article is saying though - makes sense. Time will tell I guess. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## leebro61 (Nov 7, 2001)

24vGTiVR6 said:


> Interesting. I originally used butt connectors but they came loose over time. Switched to solder, haven't had an issue in roughly 2x the amount of time as the butt connected joints.
> 
> I understand what the article is saying though - makes sense. Time will tell I guess.


I've noticed that the OEMs always put a glue or a goop/paste of sorts over their crimped joints, probably to help hold it together and avoid strain/vibrations. I've been using high quality heat shrink with an internal glue that melts when you hit it with a heat gun. I do this for the individual joints and then when the harness is done I secure (tape/shrink) all of the wires together so they can't move relative to one another, and if one moves the load gets distributed to the entire harness. I'm sure the glue/goop/paste also helps keep the elements out :thumbup:


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## NickWhiteVr6 (Jun 4, 2007)

Thank you for all of your replies. Lots of good info here now. Appreciate it.


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