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Wiring Harness Repair/Wrapping Tape. How to re-tape an old harness using correct non-adhesive tape.

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Lectric Limited

Lectric Limited uses various types of tape in the production of wiring harnesses. These are the same types of tape as used by the original manufacturer.

If you are looking for tape to repair your wiring harness, or just want to "freshenup" the look of your old harness we do sell the same tape we use in manufacturing.

The types of harness wrap tape we sell are:
* NonAdhesive Vinyl Harness Tape
* Cotton Cloth (friction) Harness Tape
* HighTemperature Harness Tape

NONADHESIVE VINYL TAPE, and our most commonly used tape, is used on the majority of the wiring harnesses we manufacture. This is the correct tape that was originally used to wrap automotive wiring harnesses for decades.

If you were to look at an original 50 to 60 yearold wiring harness, it was wrapped with this tape; NOT common electrical tape. As long as the tape isn't cut or gashed, or the tiedoff ends are not compromised, the tape will stay affixed for a very long time and should never unravel.

If you tried to use regular electrical tape to wrap your wiring harness, electrical tape that has an adhesive backing, within a VERY short time the adhesive on that tape will start to breakdown, especially in a hightemperature engine compartment. Then, the tape will start to unravel, dust & dirt will stick to the adhesive, your wires will start to separate from the harness and become a mess. So don't use common electrical tape to wrap your harness.

You might be asking, "If there is no adhesive on the tape, how do you keep the tape from unraveling, and stay put?" This tape is designed to stick, or cling to itself when wrapped snugly around a wiring harness.

NONADHESIVE TAPE WIDTHS: Lectric Limited sells, (3) different nonadhesive tape widths in 100' rolls:
3/4" wide Lectric Limited Part # R58272S
1" wide Lectric Limited Part # R58276S
11/4" wide Lectric Limited Part # R67108S

WHAT TAPE WIDTH SHOULD YOU USE?
Although there is no definitive answer, as a guide, we recommend that you purchase the 3/4″ roll when wrapping a small diameter harness with 5 wires or less, for example. You can use the larger 1" or 11/4" wide rolls when wrapping a larger harness. As far as the number of 100' rolls to buy, as a guide, expect to use 3 to 4 inches of tape for every 1" of section of harness being taped.

COTTON CLOTH ADHESIVE TAPE is used in abrasion areas of the vehicle. During factory installation, sections of the wiring harness that were pulled through areas with sharp edges were protected by the use of this tape. This tape has a marginal adhesive backing. Cotton cloth adhesive tape was commonly used on rear body wiring harnesses. Cotton Cloth tape is available in a 3/4″ x 60′ roll, Lectric Limited Part # PM485004S.

HIGHTEMPERATURE TAPE is commonly used on transistor ignition harnesses, over a portion of the harness with resistance wire, or on parts of a harness that route in areas exposed to high temperatures, such as near exhaust manifolds, nears headers, etc. Available in a 1″ x 100′ roll. Lectric Limited Part # PM674005S

HOW TO APPLY NONADHESIVE VINYL TAPE:
1. If you have a large section of harness to retape, and you want to bunch the wires together in preparation for the final nonadhesive tape wrap, you can "spot tape" that section by using regular electrical tape for this. This is simply to keep the wires tightly together. This adhesive tape will soon be tapedover by nonadhesive harness tape.

2. Using the nonadhesive tape, the starting end of your tapping should begin with about 23 turns of the tape wrapped completely onto itself, this will anchor the tape.

3. Begin wrapping the tape snug enough so the tape lays flat, but do NOT stretch the tape, as this will thin the tape and give it a point of failure. With every turn, overlap about 1/4 of the previously wrapped portion.

4. When you reach the end of your tape wrapping, anchor the tape with your fingers, and leave about a 68" tail.

5. Roll the tail so that it's easy to make a knot, and tieoff the tail with a knot. Pull tightly to make sure the knot does not unravel. For a factorylook, leave a 1 to 11/2" tail.

Lectric Limited, Inc. Automotive Wiring & Electrical Products
https://www.LectricLimited.com

posted by papatkiti