[T3] FI harness repair

[Jim Adney]

On 25 Nov 2016 at 16:57, Daniel Nohejl wrote:

> So we were changing the spark plugs today and in the process the boot
> came off the number 3 injector plug and I noticed this was happening
> to the wires. Given the location, it was hard to get a great picture
> and in person it looks worse than this 
> 
> http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1579456.jpg
> 
> Not sure why they´re fraying like that, but they are. So my question
> is: what´s the best way to proceed here?

I don't see anything to be concerned about in your photo. The 
insulation is cracked right at the end of the connector, or perhaps 
that's just the end of the insulation, but that's no big deal. You 
say that it looks worse than this, are there broken strands of metal 
conductor?  

If you have a couple broken strands, the only thing to worry about is 
that they not short to the other side of the connector. If you have 
more than half the strands broken, you may need to consider some sort 
of replacement.

IIRC, this is one of those replacement harnesses. IMO, he used too 
heavy a wire. Perhaps this was simply following the "if some is good, 
more is better" philosophy. The down side may be that the wire is 
stiffer, hence less flexible. This is an application where 
flexibility is important.

The other photo you referenced is a standard repair piece for the 
D-jet systems. Yes, you can use these and either use butt splices or 
solder and heat shrink tubing. Whatever you do will probably end up 
looking crude.  

It's also important that you not unnecessarily manipulate your 
harness, especially in cold weather. Unnecessary disconnect / connect 
cycles seem to "age" the female contacts (as in your pressure sensor 
connector) and this also flexes all the harness bits.

I understand the temptation to jump into something like this, but it 
needs to be tempered with the reluctance to do harm.

If you really need to fix something here, get some of the correct 
crimp connectors from Keith, find a suitable crimp tool ($$$) and 
save as much of the old wire as possible. It should be possible to 
lose as little as 1/8" to do this.

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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