Re: IML: '60 wiring harness rubber at doors '61 '62 '63 '64 '65?

["john sadowski" <jsadowski@xxxxxxx>]

Gary Goers sells them. I have a set from him.

John
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joe Strickland" <jwstrick426@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Imperial Mail List" <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, June 15, 2007 5:44 PM
Subject: IML: '60 wiring harness rubber at doors '61 '62 '63 '64 '65?


> Richard;
>
> I have seen the methods that Mike mentions too.  It seems that the auto 
> makers have never found a really reliable method of protecting wiring 
> to/from the doors of cars and trucks.  I had a 1985 Dodge Maxi-van which 
> had electric windows and door locks.  The electric door lock for the 
> right rear side door and the back doors used the "button" contact method 
> he describes.  I owned the van from new and kept it for 10 years.  On it 
> the contact buttons were embedded in rather thick firm rubber wafers 
> which would make contact when the doors were closed.  I don't remember 
> having any trouble with them.  The one thing about this approach is that 
> there is considerable pressure that needs to be applied to prevent 
> arcing at the contact points.  The more contacts to make/break a greater 
> pressure is required.  At some point there could be problems with 
> stressing the sheet metal on the front face of the door and/or the body 
> contact point.
> I owned a '73 New Yorker for years and it had all power windows 
> including power vent windows.  It had the "snake skin" sleeve that Mike 
> mentioned.  This car I bought used and it already had problems with the 
> electric windows.  I finally traced individual wires and replaced 
> sections to/from the driver's door.  I used 3-M electrical tape and some 
> heat shrink tubing to make the repairs.  The '70s series of Imperials 
> and Chryslers all used the same window lift switches.  There were many 
> more wires required for these models than the older ones in the '60s and 
> previous.  The '70s models accomplished changing the direction of the 
> motors in the doors by reversing the polarity of the applied voltage. 
> The older cars window lift motors had two windings, one for up and one 
> for down.  That reduced the number of wires needed to only 3 per motor, 
> up lead, down lead and common ground.  I think the older models were 
> more reliable in that respect.
> As long as wire bundles are not rubbing against a surface, it is better 
> to spread any flexing over as wide a length of the bundle as possible. 
> It is similar to taking a solid wire a foot long and flexing it along 
> the entire length many times.  Metal fatigue takes a long time to make 
> it break.  Conversely if you concentrate the bending at a small area, 
> say 1 inch, it will develop metal fatigue much quicker.  It would 
> require experimentation to determine how much wire bundle could be in 
> the area where the door closes and still not rub against something.
> Another make/break contact approach might be to use beryllium copper 
> springs mounted on some hard plastic which would touch when the doors 
> close.  Beryllium copper makes a long lasting spring and has the right 
> electrical conductivity.  It can be bought in flat sheets and formed to 
> shape and then heated to develop the spring properties that it is 
> capable of.  I don't know just how hot the metal has to be or for how 
> long, so a metallurgist would have to be consulted.  Beryllium is a 
> hazardous material (poisonous) so working with it requires precautions 
> to avoid dust etc. and any waste material would need to be disposed of 
> by recycling or other appropriate method.
> I suspect that most of us will go the route of just replacing damaged 
> wires as needed.  It is quicker, cheaper and easier.  It might be 
> possible to get wires of the right AWG and color codes from some of the 
> companies who make replacement wiring harnesses.  You might want to 
> consider some of the plastic sleeving that is available in Radio Shack 
> and electrician supply stores to cover the wire bundles.  It makes a 
> neat way to cover them and flexes with the wires.  Many colors are 
> available including black.  It wouldn't be OEM, though.  Neither are 
> some of these other ideas either.
> Good luck.
>
> Joe S.
>
>
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