[V8] Re: Major Eletrical Problems

[Kent McLean]

Iowa Tom (Tdehoff at aol.com) wrote:
> At the last report, My 1990 V8 was at a garage due to a serious Electrical 
> fire i.e. there was smoking and the smell of electrical components burning, 
> various electrical circuits operating on there own etc.  

Tough one.  Assuming you don't do the work yourself, it could
get expensive.  If the mechanic has to pull the dash apart, as
when replacing a heater core, it could take up to 10 hours.
At $75/hour, that's $750.  But that's assuming a) he can get
the replacement harness(es), b) or he can salvage and reuse
the connectors, c) and he doesn't have to chase wires through
the firewall, and d) the damage is localized to a handful of
wires.

Some other questions that will affect the price:  if he can't
get a new harness, is he going to solder or crimp the joints?
Is he going to match the gauge of the wires (easy)?  Color
match them (not so easy)?  Will he fix what caused the fire,
or will the problem resurface after the repair?

If it was my car, I'd tackle the job myself, as the job is
mostly labor.  Take your time, pull things apart, replace the
damage that you find.  A good ratcheting crimper will do an
acceptable job to splice new wire into the harness.  Just make
sure you find what caused the short/fire and fix that, too.

My '94 Avant had a damaged ECU and connector due to a water
leak.  The dealer wanted over $1000 to fix it.  I bought the
car as is, and spent two hours splicing in a new/used
connector to the good portion of the harness.  Cost about
$20 for the expensive (not Radio Shack) butt connectors.

Even if it costs you $1000 to fix the car, where else are
you going to get such an automobile for that kind of money?

HTH,
Kent
'94 100 S Avant
'89 200 TQ, "Bad Puppy" needs a new home