twist or tape harnesses

just a bit of an opinion question whats better taping rs harnesses or twisting with drill.
my moneys on taping, i dont see auto manufactures twisting their harnesses. also i believe twisting puts an awful lot of undue stress on the wires and connectors

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Steve Sverdahl
Swerksound Auto Electric
Red Deer Alberta

also i think its a lot easier to take your knife and open a taped harness rather than untwist one if troubleshooting is required

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Steve Sverdahl
Swerksound Auto Electric
Red Deer Alberta

I do both.  I twist up wires going to the same area of the vehicle and then I tape over it.

If I had to choose one, I would go with tape just to cover the colored wires to make the install look more OEM.

I wouldn't worry too much about the stress on the wire, unless you are twisting the wires super tight!

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Kevin Pierson

i say tape if its under the dash.if you are just wiring things in the door, you can ziptie the wire to other factory wire. (i just leave the color exposed since a thief wouldnt take out a door panel)plus, troubleshooting is much easier.

I rarely twist wires.

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Note: You Always Dont Get What You Pay For.

Twist and tape. Manufacture's dont twist them because installers have specific ways they prep their own harnesses for specific cars/trucks.

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"dont ground out!"

i would say that auto makers dont twist because it makes digging wires out difficult.

i have trobleshot numerous installations where an installer twisted harnesses and it interferes with the pins making proper contactwitk the rs, so i believe extra stress is an issue

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Steve Sverdahl
Swerksound Auto Electric
Red Deer Alberta

i do like to twist, and then tape as well. However, it is very important to hold the wires you are twisting atleat 1" from the plug so you dont have to risk damaging or pulling on the pins. Then I tape the wires so that if a thief were to look under the dash, they wouldnt have a "quick hot wire" guide to stealing the car.
Just my .02

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Kenny
Owner / Technician
KKD Garage LLC
Albany, NY 12205

When you twist wires, specially if your cutting and using your own wire, you use more wire. The twisted wire needs more wire to cover the same distance as non-twisted. I know, I know.....it's just a few inches..... x's how many jobs? If you run your own shop, and don't work for someone else! (every inch count's )

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KarTuneMan wrote:

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When you twist wires, specially if your cutting and using your own wire, you use more wire. The twisted wire needs more wire to cover the same distance as non-twisted. I know, I know.....it's just a few inches..... x's how many jobs? If you run your own shop, and don't work for someone else! (every inch count's )

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Yeah but zip ties and tape don't grow on trees either. I do both just depends on the situation.

When you start to do a bunch of mobile electronic installs, you'll have you cut back on efforts and supplies to adjust proficiency. This method of running wires is not a necessity; its just wasting efforts. If you start your own shop and buying supplies for your employers, everything counts, like Kartoonman said.

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Houston,TX
"The two most common elements in the universe are H+ and stupidity" (Ellison).

Thats where charging a reasonable price comes in.  Im pretty sure that having a stealth type of install is what makes a professional.  I totally understand where supply comes in but then again a customer that knows your installs are "stealth",  wouldn't mind the extra charge for supplies.  Then again a good sales rep would sell the cleanliness of an install and show that it just doesnt matter that it works but also the cleaness of it.

True "stealth" is hard to do.... I don't care how good you are, and everyone knows this. enice hit it, if your gonna make the alarm and remote start "disappear" under the dash, you DO need to get a few more dollars. It's the old saying......time is money!

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Don't you guys charge customers shop fees. From what I've seen in 4 years of installing around my area every shop usually charges $4-$5 on every car for "shop fee". And this fee can mean a lot of things but I've always assumed it means materials. I know that on most cars you aren't installing $4 dollars worth of materials.

most shops charge for supplies i dont but i charge enough to cover them

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Steve Sverdahl
Swerksound Auto Electric
Red Deer Alberta

Twisting is silly. Manufacturers only do it on speaker and can wire to cut interferance! Nuff said. What does PITA mean its a new one on me?

I disagree Howie, if I was going to choose one or the other, I would definately go with twisting over taping, simply for the fact that taping takes a minute or two, and twisting takes 10 seconds (and requires no tape, so no added costs).

Having the wires  twisted makes running them easier, and leaves a better looking install, as all the added wires will be grouped.

I've never owned my own shop nor had to worry about added costs, but I always did the best install I could for the customer.  This is one advantage to working for a 'big box' store that pays by the hours, and has basically unlimited resources.

The bottom line, in my book, is that no matter how much the customer paid, they paid for a PROFESSIONAL installation.  Professionals don't cut corners, especially just to save a few pennies per installation.  If a shop's labor rate isn't enough to cover a professional installation then they  need to adjust their rates/fees.

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Kevin Pierson

Uhm, please enlighten me...what's twisting?

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F R A N S
1985 Mercedes-Benz 230E
320 000 km / 199 000 miles
Full MB Service History

Twisting the wires together  with a drill, so they are pretty.

KP is right but we have to "stealth" and conceal everything in UK, ONLY soldered joints except grounds when we often go back to bare metal and water resist sprays, mastic sealent over grommetts etc, convoluted tubing under hood more water resist on hood switches and rear of DEI Sirens, IP65 connectors when possible etc! Alarm CPU gets metal casing and MUST BE screwed or cable tied in place!

The way I do it is twist and tape to make the stealth look.  It does take time but at the end if done right you have a very very clean install.