How many of you are using UNSHIELDED WIRE?

[Nameless EJ6]

Let's face it.. not many people are well informed on shielded wire and how it protects from signal/data interference. You go into a automotive store and purchase the first spool of wire with an appropriate size without looking at the package. I've done it before on accident.

I'm curious how many of you guys have used unshielded wire when building up, extending, blending your harness? (MAF sensors need shielded wire).

How many of you have soldered or used butt plugs? (I mean butt connectors, sorry).

And if you don't remember.. please tell whether you're unsure.

That's all.. just curious!

[krayton]

unshielded. soldered when i have time.

my maf wires were unshielded while i used a maf.

also used the cheap butt connectors, but im slowly replacing cause some are going bad.

yeah...id love to redo all my wiring cause its damn awful

[dekand]

i used shielded wire from the skyline dash and various harnesses when i needed shielded, and i soldered every single connection i made.

[themadscientist]

I have a big bag of Skyline engine harness bits and peices I cannibalize and I only use solder joints.

[Imissmyturbo]

I have done many harness for Honda's and never used sheilded wire. Now If you start running those unsheiled wires near a hgh current wire (Alt/starter or amp wire) then I would consider using them only if there was no way to run them away from the high current wire.

[Andrew85cm]

I used sheilded wire to extend my maf wires. I remember Carl telling me too. I found a shielded wire in my old KA harness and spliced it in. I can't remember but I believe the maf was the only one that needed shielded wire and I used it for it. As far as connections I have all my connections soldered and after soldering together a whole car I am quite good at it and doubt they will break. Many off road people use crimped connections just because they go through a lot of turbulance. Eventually solder can break after years of major vibration. I just dont trust crimps so I solder only and haven't had anything come loose after 2 years. As long as you dont drip solder its the best method and tape up well.~ANDREW~

[gawdzilla]

shielded wire oly works if you ground the "shield" portion of the wire. that's pretty basic and i'm sure you already knew that.

with that said, i extended my MAFs with extra shielded MAF wire from a spare throwaway harness. however, you have to be sure to extend the ground properly in order to insure the shielding isnt lost. What I DID, which probably would be viewed as super ghetto- BUT WORKS, is:

soldered the ground wire together to extended it. this however, messes up that 2" section where you soldered the shielding together, and doesnt nicely wrap the wire anymore. what i did then, was go into the kitchen and grab some aluminum foil. wrapped the soldered portion tightly and wrapped my finished wire (which was already protected from being grounded out). ended up working pretty well IMO

[cvc9216]

soldered the ground wire together to extended it. this however, messes up that 2" section where you soldered the shielding together, and doesnt nicely wrap the wire anymore. what i did then, was go into the kitchen and grab some aluminum foil. wrapped the soldered portion tightly and wrapped my finished wire (which was already protected from being grounded out). ended up working pretty well IMO

that's what I did

[RB20DETodd]

Would a ground wire kit solve the interference problems? This os one of those mods im thinking of but still sceptical about it.

[Nameless EJ6]

Would a ground wire kit solve the interference problems? This os one of those mods im thinking of but still sceptical about it.

It's a GREAT modification IMO.. and cheap, you can construct a grounding kit yourself. I've felt noticeable improvements on Hondas. It's usually better throttle response and a *slight* power gain..

however, it's not gonna solve your interference problems. Using the proper wire is the only surefire way of decreasing potential interference.

[wawazat8402]

i used shielded wire from the skyline dash and various harnesses when i needed shielded, and i soldered every single connection i made.

[KFL]

unshielded. soldered when i have time.

my maf wires were unshielded while i used a maf.

also used the cheap butt connectors, but im slowly replacing cause some are going bad.

yeah...id love to redo all my wiring cause its damn awful

I usually do the same but, I want to solder some connections soon. What percent should I get IE: 60/40 rosin core?

[Nameless EJ6]

I usually do the same but, I want to solder some connections soon. What percent should I get IE: 60/40 rosin core?

That'll work.

[Wulfgang]

Not all butt connections (or other mechanical connections) are cheap. Don't forget that Nissan, most (if not all) other OEMs, the Army, the Navy, your local electrician, etc. all use mechanical connections. Also take a look at arc welders. They have ZERO soldered connections.

The best connection you can make is a mechanical connection using a good butt connector or crimp or whatever. People rave about soldered connections all the time on car forums, but there is no basis for that argument.

Also, shielded wire is only necessary for low current loops such as the MAF and O2 sensor loops. The MAF especially seems very sensitive to shielding (check out how many troublshooting threads end in a poor MAF wiring diagnosis). Other loops such as the CAS may benefit from shielding, but it is probably not necessary, especially with DIS. I only used shielding for extending the O2 and MAF cables and have had no problems.

[Bluefire]

I always use shielded wire when necessary. It is especially important when extending the maf. Like I said in another thread, even though the car seems to run fine without shielded wire, the maf signal might still be getting a bit of interference from the power wire. And this will prevent you from reaching maximum performance.

-Bluefire

[Nameless EJ6]

Not all butt connections (or other mechanical connections) are cheap. Don't forget that Nissan, most (if not all) other OEMs, the Army, the Navy, your local electrician, etc. all use mechanical connections. Also take a look at arc welders. They have ZERO soldered connections.

The best connection you can make is a mechanical connection using a good butt connector or crimp or whatever. People rave about soldered connections all the time on car forums, but there is no basis for that argument.

There's are a LOT of factors that determine what type of connection is necessary. Soldering is used widely. It's popular, more reliable than a butt connector, and saves space. No one likes to use a bunch of butt connections right next to each other. Solder and shrink tubing is the way to go. Plus, you're not risking smashing wires in the butt connector which could lead to problems later on.

In most cases butt connectors are fine. I personally won't use them. It's not professional IMO. And I've seen them fail too many times... but we all do what we want and when it works we always assume that it's the best way to go.

Researching about this stuff will eventually give you a basis for your desire on what type of connections to use.

[eh?]

Not professional and not reliable? I guess you should tell that to the FAA because the Boeing standard practices manual says crimping is the ONLY approved way to repair aircraft wiring. Cheap tools and cheap connectors are why they fail.Soldered connectors do NOT have any advantage over a properly spliced connection.

[Nameless EJ6]

Yea.. I could have told you that.

Do as you wish with your own wiring. Personally, I'll solder. It's not that hard.

[240z4u]

Not shielded, and everything soldered. I dont trust any wiring that could be exposed to moisture to not be soldered and taped with high quality tape. IE 3m super 33+ Yeah its 7 bucks a roll but its a big roll and really nice tape.

However, I never ever solder harnesses on car stereos and have never had a problem except for an occasional defective connector. BTW, this is what I do for a living.

Evan