Advanced Wiring Techniques

Hi Zac

I’m slowly amassing parts and tools to do a semi mil spec wiring loom in my car (hopefully I’ll be ready around the same time that the advanced wiring course is available ;) )

Anyway, I purchased a few second hand Autosport connectors off eBay for cheap to have a play with. One of them was a fully assembled lead with 5 pin mini as connectors on each end, Raychem heatshrink boots and DR-25 over a 4 core shielded cable. Apparently it is from an F1 car so should be correctly done.

One thing I noticed when disassembling one of the ends was that they used what looks like ptfe sealant tape around the bundle of wires where they are looped before entering the connector. This was obviously done just prior to installing the boot on the connector.

Just wanting to know if this is normal practise and what’s the purpose?

Photos attached

They do that (or use Kapton tape) to prevent the adhesive from sticking to the wires. If you're going to service this, it's a major pain to find the wires embedded in the adhesive of the boot.

Yeap, PTFE tape is pretty commonly used for this aswell. Looks like it was a nicely assembled harness originally, should make salvaging the connectors much easier! Have you got the correct size depinning tools for that connector? If not, www.msel.co.nz will have what you need pretty cheap. They're plastic disposable tools made so they'll break before you stuff the expensive connector.

Thanks guys, makes sense.

No I haven't bought the depinning tools yet. Will order them.