Technical Archives
Technical Archives
This page was last updated on $Date: 1999/01/07 01:55:35 $.
My car (1967 BJ8) is on its way to the paint shop in a couple of weeks and I'm now spending a lot of time under it with wire brush, cleaner and roll of paper towels trying to remove 30 years accumulation of grease/oil/dirt from the frame and underside. With enough time and effort, I can make an appreciable difference, but there is one area (so far) I don't know how to handle.
How can I clean up the wiring harness that runs along the frame on the drivers side? It's caked with the same grime as all the other areas and I'm afraid anything I do will just grind it in and/or tear up the woven covering. Gary, you mentioned in another note cleaning the harness with textile cleaner. Is there a specific kind and how would I use it?
Are there other suggestions? I'd rather not replace the harness because it is perfectly functional, just dirty.
Thanks for any suggestions.
Try paint thinner (mineral spirits), especially if there is a lot of oil mixed with the grime. Thinner it is a de-greaser, I have found it to work very well. Try on a small area first. You might also consider a power washer.
I have found that DAWN liquid dishwasher soap will clean the grease off engines, and wiring!! You put it on with a spray and let it sir for 10 minutes (or less if it is not filthy), and then sue a SOFT toothbrush to go over the wiring. Rinse with clear water. If there is still a little grease, do the entire thing again. The dawn will not remove decals on the air cleaners etc.. so I think it is GREAT for detailing.
Just a little caution with such dish soaps - they contain salt, almost = all of them do. Be sure to use LOTS of clear water afterwards, and even = consider using other non-salt car soaps as stage two, followed by = another rinse.
(p.s. I use dish soap sometimes myself).
Just use an upholstery cleaner. No guarantees -- the material could be rotted under that grease -- but at least it is worth a try. When/if that doesn't work, there's always the tried-and-true electricians tape. Be sure to check carefully under each of the harness clips for frays and potential shorts.
I'd try using Goo Gone. It is made from citrus juice and really cuts grease, but seems to leave pretty much everything else unscathed.
Someone told me that SIMPLY GREEN (I think that's the name..you can get it almost anywhere including Kmart and Pep Boys) is good and safe to clean the engine area with. However, I do not know specifically if it's good or bad for the wiring harness. The bottle has various directions for full strength and various degrees of watered down..so you might try a diluted version.
I haven't tried it on my car yet, but plan to within a couple of weeks....don't want to mislead you, so for what it's worth..
Gayle--pull the harness off, lay it on newspapers and clean it with electrical parts cleaner. I use Lectro-Motive. It comes in a spray can. Do it outside. Wipe the crud off with paper towels. I use Bounty (white). Latex gloves recommended. Once you have the harness clean, check it for any cracks in the wire insulation anywhere that teh harness cover has been worn off, tape up any spots where there's no covering, and then be sure to wrap the harness completely in plastic tape. I use 3M black it's expensive but it is good. Wrap the harness from the from connectors all teh weay to the point where the harness enters the trunk. No need to wrap the fuel pump and coil cut out, not the lines leading up to the firewall--just the part that lies along the frame.
Happy harnessing.
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