01/02/2023 18:06:54

Single Splice Repair Procedure

Repairing an electrical harness using a single splice.

Procedure

  1. Disconnect all of the necessary electrical connectors to electrically isolate the harness from the vehicle, or disconnect Low Voltage (LV) power.
  2. Use a multimeter to check for the absence of voltage on the circuit being repaired.
  3. Make sure that there is enough room to work comfortably on the circuit being repaired.
    Warning IconA warning icon, calling your attention to a possibly risky situation
    CAUTION
    Protect all surfaces that can be damaged by heat in later steps.
  4. Refer to the circuit diagram to find the correct wire size.
  5. Refer to the Electrical Harness Repair Guidelines section of this document to find the proper crimp barrel and heat shrink tube for the size of the wire.
  6. Send “before” photographs of the repair to Tesla Collision Repair as described in Contacting Tesla Collision Repair.
  7. Cut out the damaged portion of the wire. Make sure that the original wire is preserved as much as possible.
    Warning IconA warning icon, calling your attention to a possibly risky situation
    CAUTION
    If more than 1 wire in the harness needs to be repaired, cut only 1 wire at a time to eliminate the risk of joining the wrong circuits.
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    Note
    If the damaged portion is over 10 mm, refer to the Double Splice Repair Procedure section of this document instead.
  8. Slide the heat shrink tube over one end of the wire.
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    Note
    Do not skip this step. The procedure will have to be repeated if the wire is joined without installing the heat shrink tube.
  9. Hold the wire near the cut area while stripping the ends of the wires so that there is enough exposed conductor to reach the center stop of the crimp barrel.
    Warning IconA warning icon, calling your attention to a possibly risky situation
    CAUTION
    Do not hold the harness by a connector when stripping the wire. This can damage the crimped terminals inside the connector.
  10. Inspect the wire for damaged or missing strands.
    • If strands are damaged and the wire still has sufficient slack, cut the wire again and repeat steps 8 and 9, using a larger setting on the stripping pliers.
    • If strands are damaged and the repair will shorten the wire enough to put strain on the wire where it enters the connector or harness transition, perform the procedure in the Double Splice Repair Procedure section of this document, using a larger setting on the stripping pliers.
  11. Inspect the wire for oxidation and corrosion.
    If brown or blue-green oxidation is present on the copper strands, cut out the entire section of oxidized wire, then perform the procedure in the Double Splice Repair Procedure section of this document.
  12. Confirm that the routing of the wire matches the original configuration.
  13. Insert the crimp barrel into the proper channel of the crimp tool and squeeze the handle lightly to hold the barrel in place. The toothed part of the crimp die should press onto the side of the crimp with the seam.
  14. Insert the exposed copper wire into the barrel. Make sure that the wires are fully inserted, no strands extend from the side of the barrel, and no insulation is present inside the barrel.
  15. Fully squeeze the handle to crimp the barrel. The crimp tool releases only when the barrel is fully crimped.
  16. Repeat steps 13 – 15 on the other side of the barrel.
  17. Apply tension to the wires and make sure that the crimp holds securely.
    Warning IconA warning icon, calling your attention to a possibly risky situation
    Warning
    If the wires come out of the barrel, do not attempt to re-insert them. Cut the wires, remove the barrel, and refer to the Double Splice Repair Procedure section of this document.
  18. Move the heat shrink tube at least 60 mm away from the joint to prevent it from shrinking during soldering.
  19. Put on cut-resistant mechanic’s gloves or other heat-resistant gloves.
  20. Protect all surfaces that can be damaged by heat from the soldering iron.
    Warning IconA warning icon, calling your attention to a possibly risky situation
    Warning
    Always read and understand the soldering iron operator’s manual before using it to solder or shrink heat shrink tubing.
    Warning IconA warning icon, calling your attention to a possibly risky situation
    CAUTION
    Do not use the soldering iron in an area where surrounding surfaces, materials, or components could be damaged by hot air.
  21. Solder the connection:
    1. Make sure that the barrel and wire are free of dirt and grease.
    2. Install the soldering tip on the soldering iron.
    3. Allow the soldering iron to fully warm up.
    4. Clean the tip of the soldering iron on a damp sponge.
    5. Apply a small amount of solder to the tip of the soldering iron.
    6. Use the soldering iron to apply heat to the center of the barrel for a few seconds.
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      Note
      Replace the tip if it does not have a shiny appearance, or if solder does not melt on the tip when it is fully warmed up.
    7. Apply solder into the center window.
    8. Stop applying solder when it fills the inner opening of the center window.
    9. Remove the soldering iron from the barrel before the solder wicks into the wire insulation or the soldering iron overheats the insulation.
  22. Hold the joint still while returning the soldering iron to a safe location.
  23. Turn off the soldering iron and allow it to cool.
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    Note
    Heating the soldering iron unnecessarily degrades the surface of the soldering tip.
  24. Inspect the solder joint.
    If the solder is in a spherical shape, the soldering iron was not hot enough, repeat step 21.
  25. Slide the heat shrink tube over the barrel, aligning the center of the heat shrink tube with the center of the barrel.
  26. Once the soldering tip has cooled, remove it from the soldering iron and install the flame tip and deflector tip.
    Warning IconA warning icon, calling your attention to a possibly risky situation
    Warning
    Make sure that the soldering tip has cooled completely before removing it.
  27. Use the soldering iron to affix the heat shrink tube to the wire.
    Warning IconA warning icon, calling your attention to a possibly risky situation
    CAUTION
    Continuously move the soldering iron to avoid overheating any specific section of the heat shrink tube or wiring. Any discoloration of the wiring insulation indicates overheating.
  28. Turn off the soldering iron and return it to a safe location.
  29. Allow the heat shrink tube and wire to cool.
  30. Inspect the heat shrink tube to make sure that it is fully sealed to the wire and that the adhesive is bonded to the wire insulation.
  31. Hold the repaired area against the rest of the harness, then wrap the harness with the electrical tape that is supplied with the wire harness repair kit. Apply tape to 50 mm of the harness on each side of the splice.
    Warning IconA warning icon, calling your attention to a possibly risky situation
    CAUTION
    Do not apply tape within 50 mm of a connector.
  32. Re-apply any harness coverings, tape, or conduit that was in place prior to the repair (apply new harness tape, if necessary).
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    Note
    If the repaired wire is routed incorrectly, do not leave it as-is. Cut the wire and repeat this procedure to restore the wire to the way it was routed from the factory.
  33. Send “after” photographs of the repair Tesla Collision Repair as described in Contacting Tesla Collision Repair.
  34. If the damage was caused by the harness contacting another part of the vehicle, make sure that the harness is adequately supported or restrained to prevent future damage.