# Re-wiring old wiring



## alkeli (Aug 10, 2005)

Not that my car is too old (1991), but alot of the wiring is falling apart and getting frayed. Has anyone replaced ALL their old wiring with new and done it yourself? How can you determine the gauge to replace, just by guessing? Better to go with bigger to be safe?
Basically, I'm getting an SUV soon and will be putting my car in the garage for a while, so I figure I might as well pull out all those old wires from under the hood and make new ones complete with soldering new ends and heatshrinking it all. I thought of remaking the entire ECU harness and wondering how much of a PITA it can be, and mainly, if I just go with a bigger gauge wire than the original(to be safe), is it possible that the engine will suffer from these slight electrical changes? You know, new-part-but-the-rest-of-the-engine-was-tuned-for-the-old-part type problems?
Just FYI : I'm quite good with wiring, soldering etc, but I've never done something like this. And, I hope this was the right forum to post in as there's no plain "Electrical" forum.
Cheers


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## where_2 (Jul 21, 2003)

*Re: Re-wiring old wiring (alkeli)*

For those who are truly handy with a soldering iron and glue lined heat shrink, it should not be a big problem. If you have a Bentley manual for your car, it tells you the wiring sizes in the schematics. My concern has always been finding enough unique wiring colors in wire with insulation that was designed to survive exposure to grease and oil. You're going to want a minimum of 6 colors, probably several more than that if you do something like the ECU. 
Guessing how much to buy is another challenge. You need several diameters of brown (ground) and Red. 
I'd also look into buying the crimp on AMP pins and the tool to remove the wiring pins from their connectors. that way, you don't have solder joints subject to the vibration associated with the engine. The last grafting of wires I did in the engine bay were near the firewall as far from the engine vibration as I could get. I know wires fatigue at solder joints, no matter how well you splice them.


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## alpinweiss (Aug 10, 2007)

*Re: Re-wiring old wiring (alkeli)*

It is really hard to beat a factory replacement wiring harness (if it is still available for your car). I know this is an expensive solution, but it will be best in the long run.
It is definitely possible to DIY, but the chances for problems are great. It will take many hours to replace one wire at a time.


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## spasticone (May 31, 2004)

*Re: Re-wiring old wiring (alpinweiss)*

For your connections,
http://cableorganizer.com/elel...lices/
I can not recommend these strongly enough. They are so great. 
If not, get the good glue lined heat shrink and manually solder then seal.


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