Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Loom time....

Once the wires are roughly routed to where they need to be, it's time to begin putting them into some loom.  For this, I prefer to use asphalt covered cloth loom.  It has a very good temperature rating, it's readily available and it looks like what would or should have been on it from the factory.

I am a firm believer that it's OK to see the loom and some wires as long as it doesn't stand out....meaning, the wiring shouldn't be what is noticed first when you open the hood.  If there are wires running all over across the engine bay with really no attempt to organize them, then that is going to be the initial focal point.  Everything needs to be nice, orderly and uniform with minimal amount of exposed ends.  The wire and loom should "blend" in.


The loom is made up of a bunch of little pieces that are joined where the wires need to split off.


I like to tape the joint nice and tightly, then slide heat shrink tube over.  The electrical tape will keep the joint together and the heat shrink will give a nice uniform look.


Start at the firewall and continue to progress your way outward. Eventually, I will make a cover that will cover the exit hole and clamp the top part of the loom so as to prevent it from chaffing.


Once the loom is installed, the wires can be cut to length and the ends can be installed.  I prefer to use ends that do not have any insulation on them.  This allows me to first crimp, then solder. Once cooled, I then place a piece of heat shrink over the end for a worry free joint.