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Thread: Critique my wiring delete method

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Louisville, KY
    Posts
    493
    My Cars
    1995 M3

    Critique my wiring delete method

    Decided to strip out my interior and add a half cage. However, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with the wiring delete. I’m not taking out the dash so finding the end of the wires is nearly impossible.

    I managed to completely remove all the radio/amplifier wiring. The amplifier power comes from under the driver side dash and had a harness connector.

    I’ve settled on cutting out the connector and as much wire as I can, trimming each wire in the “bundle” a slightly different length, capping with electrical tape, labeling and pulling the applicable fuse.

    Example photo is the passenger seat wiring including passenger door lock heat, glovebox flashlight, and glovebox light. These get nicely tucked and zip tied under the dash. When I do finally take out the dash one day I will trace these all back even further. Another “bundle” of wires that got cut down below the dash is the sunroof/dome light branch.

    Good enough for now?

    EB55EE13-15B8-495B-A69A-CD2AEDD7CDD6 by D S, on Flickr
    Last edited by bimmerboy318; 12-21-2019 at 10:54 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Oneida, NY
    Posts
    6,370
    My Cars
    1993 318is/who to knows
    I found for myself, the easiest way was to just remove the dash, and air box. Every time i deleted a switch or light or module, i would literally take the clip pull the pin at the other end. Never just clip wires and cover with tape. That always bites your ass later on. Use non permanant ties to hold the wire bundles together until your completely done, then shrink wrap or tube, or whatever you want to do to hold the bundles together. Its a bad idea to just cut wires try to keep the harness as exact to the body as possible. It really sucks installing the box and dash to find out your druver foot trim doeant fit because the harness is too tight.
    Nobody would recertify these machines after somebody screwed with them without any visibility into what they did.

    HONK! HONK! Clown car coming through!

    -Oakdizzle

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    WI
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    154
    My Cars
    01 330Ci
    If you're stripping the interior and adding a half cage already then there's no reason not to pull the dash and doing the harness thinning all the way. If your E36 is like my E46 then the main bundle runs behind the HVAC box as well so you'll have to pull the dash at some point anyway.

    If you choose not to do that and instead leave the dash in, don't just cut and tape the wires. In fact, having been where you're at, I'd just leave the wiring as is until you're ready to commit fully. It's just easier.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Here's a picture of my wiring in progress last winter.
    https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/a...8&d=1548802195
    Last edited by Matt330LS; 12-25-2019 at 11:55 AM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Springfield, IL
    Posts
    2,491
    My Cars
    '95m3(Avus)/996tt/4.8is
    If you are going to cut/tape for the time being, make sure none of the wires are mission critical for driving operation if they short. Also, I would stagger the cut by 3/8" or so on each wire and the wraps them all in GOOD 3M electrical tape so that cant make contact with each other.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    oskaloosa,ia
    Posts
    898
    My Cars
    '01 3.0 ZCoupe
    Quote Originally Posted by Matt330LS View Post
    If you choose not to do that and instead leave the dash in, don't just cut and tape the wires. In fact, having been where you're at, I'd just leave the wiring as is until you're ready to commit fully. It's just easier.

    - - - Updated - - -
    This.

    Also, Your life will be much better if you wait to do this till you really start stripping the car. I took the harness completely out, and did it on the garage floor. It was so much easier to track everything down.
    Last edited by bionicbelly; 01-02-2020 at 08:34 AM.

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