Rewire Ford Focus

If the wiring looms have been damaged enough to need replacement, it may be that most of that amount is labour. The loom(s) are almost the first part installed when the motor is built. Ford won't repair a loom, they'll just replace it completely even if only one wire of several is damaged. I'd have an auto electrician look at it. I'll bet it can be repaired easily and much cheaper. Where are you located?

JB

Call a dealer and ask them, I would suggest.

FYI, there is a dedicated NG for the Focus at alt.autos.ford.focus.

Chris

Get an auto electrician to look it over it

If it really is trashed then shouldn't it be a claim on the insurance?

Tony

Where are you located?

Thank you for your helpful response (sorry conor I have a life that occupies my time when you going to go get one?)

Birmingham is where its located

and Chris also thank you for the information on the other news group, you are correct I did not know one existed.

That'll be the Vtech on-board 'my first ECU' then. Naughty thing, trying to be hotwired!

It depends on what part of the loom(s) are damaged. Most cars have several which plug together. If it is the main one which runs throughout most of the car it could be a deal of work to replace. If a sub assembly which, say, only does the engine it could be relatively simple. You need to identify which it is by the wire colours and then look at a parts catalogue for the car. A loom from a breaker's yard shouldn't be that expensive, although make sure it is for an identical model. However, any loom can be repaired. It would however require a skilled person to do the job correctly. Most mechanics and so called auto electricians bodge such things. The standard red blue and yellow electrical crimp terminals most use are really not up to the job and proper car connectors should be used instead. This is a source of such connectors and the correct wire if needed.

I'm curious, I've had a browse around and they have the standard ranges of red,blue,yellow crimp connectors, scotchloks and choc-strips. Which of those do you call 'proper car connectors'?

As others have said, it'll depend on what's been damaged. If it's just the wiring, a decent auto spark should be able to sort it, but if connectors are damaged, then it's a totally different thing. Ford don't generally supply connectors or repair kits, but some repair kits are available from other sources.

If it does need a new loom, then you're talking about a complete front end strip down, which will most likely involve the complete dash to be stripped and removed, aswell as various bits under the bonnet, and no doubt a few other trim panels. The loom itself will only be a few hundred pound, but it's the labour involved that makes it so expensive. I would advise against trying to swap a complete loom from a breakers, as even seemingly identical cars can have different looms fitted (it only needs a slight spec change, for a connector or two to be different). However, if you need certain connectors, a breakers is as good a source as any, and just cut what you need of the loom.

For repairing the wires, the best repair is done using heat shrink butt connectors. They're quite expensive, but are what most manufacturers supply for patching in repair kits for wiring looms. Just strip the wires back, crimp them on, then heat them up, and they'll shrink on and the glue will bubble out the ends, making a fully sealed repair.

The point is that writing, "ne1" makes you look stupid and lazy, even if you are otherwise not. Moreso given the length of the rest of your post.

Also Conor has a bee under his hood about such things... :p

I'd use their crimp spade connectors of an appropriate size for the cables

- generally the 1/4" ones will do, but you need the correct crimping tool. Those generic pre-insulated types simply don't make a reliable crimp on flex even with the correct tool as you'd find if you remove the insulation and compare the crimp to the correct terminal correctly made. I do realise the crimp tool for automotive spade connectors is expensive but this shouldn't matter to a pro or dedicated amateur.

The difference is the 'pre insulated' tool simply flattens the crimp. This is fine if the cable is a tight fit - which it won't be with standard car cables. The car connector crimp tool sort of makes a heart shaped crimp which makes a far better lasting connection both electrically and mechanically.

I've lost count of the number of pre-insulated types I've replaced on cars where they've been the cause of a poor connection - in many cases just pulling off the cable with no effort.

Most 'mechanics' shouldn't be allowed near car wiring. And include most alarm and audio installers in that too. ;-)

Dave Plowman (News) wrote: [snip]

My choice is to solder and heatshrink on the few wiring repairs I've had to do. Properly done it's better than any crimp, and neater.

It's also a hell of a lot more prone to break due to vibration.

Soldering is better than poor crimping and can be an option if you don't have decent crimping tools. But it's not as reliable as a *good* crimp for this job - check military specs.

However, if there is enough spare cable to allow soldering and you use glue type heat shrink I'd certainly say it suitable for this repair. But it still needs some skill to do properly.

Are you sure that's not soldiering. ;)

Solder is fine so long as you can keep the joint and surrounding wire immobile (say if it runs down the sills), it's not normally the solder that fails but the wire at the end of the solder.

Goto rswww.com and put in part no. 528-9264. That's the ideal type of connector for wiring repairs (they can be found else where far cheaper though), but make sure you use the right size for the wire (red covers most car applications, blue for bigger wires, and if needed, yellow for heavy wires), and use a decent pair of crimping pliers. Crimp it on, and before shrinking it, give the wires a pull to make sure it's crimped right. Then heat it up, and make sure the glue bubbles out each end so it's fully sealed.

Biggest problem with soldering, is getting the wires properly cleaned to get a good solder joint, which in a lot of situations, is near impossible. The above crimps are the preferred method for loom repair.

It comes down to whether it's an insurance claim or not. If it's a claim then the insurance company must pay to put the car back to it's condition before the damage which would require replacing the loom. £2500 sounds about right. Otherwise a competent autoelectrician would be able to do a perfectly adequate job for much less. The only problem I can see is if the connectors are completely thrashed. Even if this is the case you could cut off a section of loom from a scrapped car and reconnect to yours.

John

You've obviously not read my previous post on the subject. These connectors make a poor crimp on flex unless it is *exactly* the right size. They are a bodge and should be avoided. Better no more expensive solutions exist.

Well if they make that bad a connection, then why do the big car manufacturer's recommend them for wiring repairs, and use them when contructing looms?

The main thing is to use the right one for the given wiring size (far too many people just use blue crimps, when they should really be using red ones), and to use a good pair of crimping pliers. They're a far better option than using uninsulated crimps, where you're effectively putting an extra connection into the wiring loom, which is likely to cause far more problems than a fully sealed crimp connection. Plus, they don't take up that much room.

I've fitted hundreds of the above mentioned crimps, and have never had any fail. I'll admit I've not crimped some correctly, that's why I always try pulling them apart before shrinking them to check they're crimped correctly.

In my working life as an electrical technician, I've fitted literally tens of thousands of crimp lugs. (I did a lot of industrial control panel building.) I've never had one fail, and in some situations the environment was more hostile than an automotive one.

The way to do it is to use the same make of crimp and tool, both preferably from A-MP, and to make sure that the lug is the correct size for the cable. A ratchet tool is to be preferred for most uses. It is also undesirable to introduce more than a single cable in to each lug.

I know that VAG will only allow soldered joints for repairs, and the AA make you sign a temporary repair disclaimer if they crimp anything. I'm constantly amazed that the car repair industry has not embraced this way of doing things; after all, crimps have been around for half a century at least!

Chris