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+--- Thread: Discovered Rat's Nest (/showthread.php?tid=6034)
Discovered Rat's Nest - aphaynes - 01-01-2015
I was having an issue where start position on the ignition switch was not working. I put in a new one, only to briefly see a spark fly the first time i went to the start position. So i pulled the center console to get a better look behind the dash. I found this array of loose wires and oddly spliced wires. It's going to be fun chasing this down. LOL.
![[Image: 16133160346_9e3e154f3c.jpg]](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8573/16133160346_9e3e154f3c.jpg)
RE: Discovered Rat's Nest - mrmach1 - 01-01-2015
Yuck it's just a guess but I bet somebody's been in there before. Have fun.
RE: Discovered Rat's Nest - aphaynes - 01-01-2015
(01-01-2015, 08:41 AM)mrmach1 Wrote: Yuck it's just a guess but I bet somebody's been in there before. Have fun.
Definitely, LOL!
I guess black goo was a hi-tech way to hold the bulb in the center console gauges.
![[Image: 15974014987_186f0ee1d8.jpg]](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7499/15974014987_186f0ee1d8.jpg)
RE: Discovered Rat's Nest - JTS71 Mach1 - 01-01-2015
Why people think they have to mess with wiring I can't tell you. Usually unless something has happened to damage the wires? They don't have issues. The issue is with the idiots that go messing with them, that cause the problem! If you don't know what you are doing. Leave Shit the Hell Alone, especially wiring!
JTS 71 Mach1
RE: Discovered Rat's Nest - aphaynes - 01-01-2015
(01-01-2015, 09:44 AM)JTS71 Mach1 Wrote: Why people think they have to mess with wiring I can't tell you. Usually unless something has happened to damage the wires? They don't have issues. The issue is with the idiots that go messing with them, that cause the problem! If you don't know what you are doing. Leave Shit the Hell Alone, especially wiring!
LOL! I try to stay out of it, but this one has left me no choice
I was even considering starting fresh with one of those painless harnesses, but did not realize they were out of my current budget.
RE: Discovered Rat's Nest - Mach1FatherFigure - 01-01-2015
Constructive suggestion:
Go to a wrecker and get the part of the loom you need from either a Mustang or a Ford of the same year. Give yourself about 10-12 inches of cables.
Solder in your 'new' part using shrink sleeving and stagger the joints so you don't get a 'fat' part in the finished loom.
Also 'tease and straighten' the wires. you will find they are longer than they first appear AND make the repair process easier.
+1 on numb-skulls that 'think' they 'know' how to work on auto electrics.
RE: Discovered Rat's Nest - JTS71 Mach1 - 01-06-2015
The worst wiring night mare I found, was a bunch of mice had chewed up several inches of the main harness on a 86 Grand Am. About 2/3 of the wires were chewed in to. There were roughly sixty five wires, in the bundle with three or four splices, where the factory adds a wire of the same color to go to another part in the system. FUN FUN!! It took several days to repair that mess. JTS 71 Mach1
RE: Discovered Rat's Nest - aphaynes - 01-07-2015
(01-06-2015, 01:48 PM)JTS71 Mach1 Wrote: The worst wiring night mare I found, was a bunch of mice had chewed up several inches of the main harness on a 86 Grand Am. About 2/3 of the wires were chewed in to. There were roughly sixty five wires, in the bundle with three or four splices, where the factory adds a wire of the same color to go to another part in the system. FUN FUN!! It took several days to repair that mess. JTS 71 Mach1
Oh my!
It sounds like you have a good supply of patience. 
With the radio removed (original 8 track is in the trunk) and AC system removed by someone in the past, I assume some of the mess went to those systems. It would be nice to get the AC back in living here in the Southeast. I guess the first step, if I don't go with a replacement option is to get the years of dust off so I can match up colors to the schematics.
RE: Discovered Rat's Nest - Mach1FatherFigure - 01-07-2015
+1 on that. Get it clean; Get it straight; Asses.