how not to do an install

the following images are from a 2003 Ford Custom van,primarily for hunting and very,very rough terrain. As we dug deeper to check and troubleshoot wiring we discovered the pictured offenses,some of these fitting fell off in our hands,this was originally done by an alleged "pro" at his own behest who talked the owner,a very cool guy who trusted and felt he did not need to micro-manage this fool..the pix show otherwise..this vehicle is for use on property and will be driven to Texas in the near future.We can only imagine how and when a catastrophic problem would have eared it's ugly head due to the sub-par and even embarrasing connections(all well hidden by the way ) by this pro who claimed to own a custom install shop in south florida......Don,you know what you didphaseplasma

the 10 gauge direct splice is my favorite. a valiant effort trying to solder the ring terminals but they used too high heat so it burned the wire. i have tons of pictures just like those from over the years. my personal favorite was someone who tried to tap a 4 gauge wire directly to the ignition harness with nothing but duct tape holding it together. another favorite is one recently who decided it was a good idea to use aluminum tape to tape up his speaker wire connections. brilliant

i forgot to mention,these are NEW fittings,only a few months old,wire colors were changed midstream hidden within shrink tubing and flex braid...several inline fuses were taped ,covered and hidden,i can only imagine if one of these blew,and not even knowing it was there..the worst offense was wiring a high voltage electric fan to replace the factory crank -style and it was wired DIRECTLY to the battery ..no fuse...the deeper we dig the more impossible it gets..this is without a doubt one of the poorest attempts i have seen,and to ad insult to injury it was all mostly hidden with shrink tubing and electrical tape,suffice to say it is being redone right,will post some after pix when it's completed. The part that gets me is that the "installer"knew this vehicle was going to be experiencing alot of jostling and rough terrain,and connections were literally falling off in our hands from a simple 12v crimp to unheated shrink tubing covering wires just wrapped around each other,no solder,crimp,nothing,this is a ford van with moster Mickey Thompsons,military spec suspension and solar panels,built in multiple battery system,alarm,cameras dozens of lights and LEDs,instant karma's gonna get you,get you right in the face...i always say,please feel free to comment on this nightmare,we felt compelled to show people just how irresponsible people can be when being paid top dollar for their "expertise"phaseplasma

phaseplasma wrote: ...wire colors were changed midstream hidden within shrink tubing and flex braid...

I call that an undocumented security feature. Either he has the documentation so he can fix it easily later, or not so that he can charge by the hour, or day. Then there is the inbuilt safety - like downstream fuses with heat shielding... And all the other things you pointed out and pictured.

phaseplasma wrote: ...originally done by an alleged "pro" at his own behest...

Yeah, say no more... I'm glad I live in Australia!

I'm taking notes :)

well,it is working,,roadworthy at least...there are still some issues to take care of,checking sensors on system connection of cameras etc,but it was pulled out of the shop and test drove friday.....GADDS WHAT A MONSTER!!!!!! will be putting up some of the images,wanted to say thank you to the forum it's admins and all of you gurus who gave input on this...watch for photos in the next day or so..it will be on it's way to Texas next week to wreak havoc and mayhem on all varmints within it's imposing circle of death......phaseplasmaphaseplasma