I've tried the black plastic "crinkle-style" with a slit wire bundling stuff...

works ok to help initially route wires around the engine compartment, but plastic does melt when hot and now that its been on there a while, I wonder if there is a neater way to bundle/hide/route the wiring about that someone wouldn't mind sharing with the rest of us??

thanks in advance for any fresh ideas!

Mark

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

Has yours melted? Many factory cars use that type of stuff, sometimes laying on engine components - my 88 Firebird being one of those factory cars and it hasn't melted yet. Like metals, plastics are available in many types and grades. The stuff you get at the local auto parts store may not be the best choice.

There are two types of the stuff I'll be using when I rewire my truck. One is a polyethelene tubing rated for -40 to 200 degrees and flame-retardent, grey in color. For anything that will have to go directly across the engine, I will use nylon tubing rated for -40 to 300 degrees, black in color. There is also a shiny nylon with an aluminum surface rated for -40 to 257 degrees. I don't like shiny stuff so this one doesn't have much of a chance.


Lawrenceville, GA

I made a bit of "wiring harness" to replace the ugly stuff I got with my car - and incorporate the electronic ignition, replace the headlight wiring with heavy conductors, etc.

I got the proper kind of "underhood" rated wire in the right colors from these guys: http://www.kayjayco.com/  but I think you can also get it from Jegs or Summit. Read the tech information at the KayJayCo site - it takes 125° C wire to have an SAE underhood rating and there are several grades according to the thickness of the insulating jacket.

Once I had the wiring run to the various components and locations, I used el cheapo tywraps to create bundled runs of multiple conductors and keep them together (temporarily). Then I fully wrapped the bundles of wire - cutting off the junk tywraps as I went - in the black "no-adhesive" tape Ford used on the later edition (60's) cars.  Makes a good looking package - and in areas where the heat load is reduced, the convoluted tubing can be used as a protective cover over the taped harness.

Eastwood has the "no adhesive" black wrapping tape for a reasonable expense.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

I use Power Braid from Painless Wiring, kind off a woven material that covers the wiring.

http://www.painlessperformance.com/assets/08Catalog/page62.pdf








Johnson Rod



Southern California

I use regular electrical tape for all my wires - nothing neater. Takes a fair amount of time to do, but always looks good. No problems with heat.

54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

Not fresh ideas, but many years of experience, Mark.  Believe it or not, regular friction tape works very well in high heat or extreme weather applications because it is made of linen, not vinyl or plastic.  Vinyl tape (Scotch 33+) works to seal out water, etc., but it melts.  A top cigarette-wrap of friction tape insulates vinyl from heat and makes it last.  If I use vinyl around heat, I usually wrap it upside down, so the goo doesn't get all over the wires.

All wire is rated by three factors:
AWG (copper size),
insulation type,
and temperature capacity (which directly affects current carrying capacity).

Typically, Home Depot typically carries single conductor copper wire, Ex: #12AWG THHN 90*C wire (in solid or 19-strand, and in different colors).  Translated for a car (not a house) it means, fuse at 30 amps, it has a double thermal-plastic insulation which will melt at 194*F, whether heat comes from overloading the wire or ambient temperature-rise doesn't matter.

We have wire that will take MUCH higher temperatures, usually used in steel mills, foundries, blast furnaces, and coke ovens.  SA wire is coated with silicone rubber and has a rating of 200*C (392*F). Types FEP, FEPB, and PFA do too.  Here's the difference; #12 FEP safely carries 45-amps (#14 carries 36-amps)!  Using high temp wire allows us to safely downsize our wire sizes.  A small bundle wrapped in friction looks neat and bends quite easily.  Fiberglas tape works well, too (but it's harder to work with).

Royal Oak, Michigan (Four miles north of Detroit, and 12 miles NORTH of Windsor, Canada).  That's right, we're north of Canada.

Ford 292 Y-Block major overhaul by simplyconnected