IML: '60 wiring harness rubber at doors '61 '62 '63 '64 '65?
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IML: '60 wiring harness rubber at doors '61 '62 '63 '64 '65?



Richard;

I have seen the methods that Mike mentions too. It seems that the auto makers have never found a really reliable method of protecting wiring to/from the doors of cars and trucks. I had a 1985 Dodge Maxi-van which had electric windows and door locks. The electric door lock for the right rear side door and the back doors used the "button" contact method he describes. I owned the van from new and kept it for 10 years. On it the contact buttons were embedded in rather thick firm rubber wafers which would make contact when the doors were closed. I don't remember having any trouble with them. The one thing about this approach is that there is considerable pressure that needs to be applied to prevent arcing at the contact points. The more contacts to make/break a greater pressure is required. At some point there could be problems with stressing the sheet metal on the front face of the door and/or the body contact point.

I owned a '73 New Yorker for years and it had all power windows including power vent windows. It had the "snake skin" sleeve that Mike mentioned. This car I bought used and it already had problems with the electric windows. I finally traced individual wires and replaced sections to/from the driver's door. I used 3-M electrical tape and some heat shrink tubing to make the repairs. The '70s series of Imperials and Chryslers all used the same window lift switches. There were many more wires required for these models than the older ones in the '60s and previous. The '70s models accomplished changing the direction of the motors in the doors by reversing the polarity of the applied voltage. The older cars window lift motors had two windings, one for up and one for down. That reduced the number of wires needed to only 3 per motor, up lead, down lead and common ground. I think the older models were more reliable in that respect.

As long as wire bundles are not rubbing against a surface, it is better to spread any flexing over as wide a length of the bundle as possible. It is similar to taking a solid wire a foot long and flexing it along the entire length many times. Metal fatigue takes a long time to make it break. Conversely if you concentrate the bending at a small area, say 1 inch, it will develop metal fatigue much quicker. It would require experimentation to determine how much wire bundle could be in the area where the door closes and still not rub against something.

Another make/break contact approach might be to use beryllium copper springs mounted on some hard plastic which would touch when the doors close. Beryllium copper makes a long lasting spring and has the right electrical conductivity. It can be bought in flat sheets and formed to shape and then heated to develop the spring properties that it is capable of. I don't know just how hot the metal has to be or for how long, so a metallurgist would have to be consulted. Beryllium is a hazardous material (poisonous) so working with it requires precautions to avoid dust etc. and any waste material would need to be disposed of by recycling or other appropriate method.

I suspect that most of us will go the route of just replacing damaged wires as needed. It is quicker, cheaper and easier. It might be possible to get wires of the right AWG and color codes from some of the companies who make replacement wiring harnesses. You might want to consider some of the plastic sleeving that is available in Radio Shack and electrician supply stores to cover the wire bundles. It makes a neat way to cover them and flexes with the wires. Many colors are available including black. It wouldn't be OEM, though. Neither are some of these other ideas either.

Good luck.

Joe S.


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