What's the right way to fix a damaged wiring harness?

[TerryMason]

Some wires on my TJ's wiring harness got crushed while offroading, and I'm wondering what the "best" way to repair them is. Specifically, these are the harness side wires going to one of my O2 sensors. The wires were crushed, and some of the copper wire was exposed. I've fixed them by cutting the wires and using crimp on butt connectors. The wires are essentially a branch off a larger wiring harness - all wrapped up in the factory wire shielding. Tracing this back and replacing the entire thing would be a huge undertaking.

So, my question is - are crimp on butt connectors good enough for this type of repair? Also, what would a dealership do in this situation?

 

[cougarlasch]

Dealership would use solder less butt connectors with shrink wrap that when you heat the wrap it seals it . I think there is some kind of solder inside of it also that melts when you heat it joining the wires together after you crimp it. That's what a guy I knew told me who went to audi school cuz they said that is the only audi approved repair. I've also seen dodge dealers bypass the connector cuz the connector was corroded.

 

[JPNinPA]

I don't know what a dealer would do. At one time I easily found solder barrel connectors with shrink wrap. You slide the wires through and heat it. The solder would melt and the tubing shrink leaving a solid electrical & water tight connection.

 

[TerryMason]

thanks for the tips guys. I think I've found what you were referring to.

These connectors have a built in solder ring, so when you heat them up, the solder melts and connects the wires:
http://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Solder-Shrink-Connectors-Soldering/dp/B00ESXX74G




And here's a good video that goes over how to use them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQyHFK6zGQA&feature=youtu.be&t=7m22s

I also found the regular heat shrink butt connectors here:
100 Pcs 12 10 16 14 22 18 GA 3M Heat Shrink Butt Wire Crimp Connector Electrical | eBay

 

[JPNinPA]

The ones I used look more like the bottom link and were lead solder as mentioned.


Didn't see the earlier post so I'd ^^^agree^^^