|
I successfully removed a full garbage bin full of wire and associated crap (about 30 lbs all up) by taking the following approach:
Start with wires that lead to nowhere because you have removed the thing that used to attach to them ie stereo, heater, airbags, AC, electric locks, windows etc. and simply remove the wrapping off the harness and trace the wire back to its source if you can (usually a switch, a fuse, the immobilizer or the big harness that runs back to the rear). If you can remove it all the way to the point of origin in one go great! If not, simply terminate and wrap the wire wherever you end up (it doesn't matter because you know it doesn't do anything and eventually you'll come back to it). Don't rewrap the harness yet. Instead simply place loose tie wraps around it every foot or so (that way the next wire you deal with can be more easily dealt with). Keep going until you have removed all the wires that terminated at nothing. It will take a lot of effort and a lot of patience but it's amazing how simple you can make the whole system in the end.
The next phase is to study the wiring diagrams and figure out what of the systems that are left you can live without or abbreviate - things like indicators, trip computers, wipers, lights, emmissions crap etc.
The only mistake I made in my process was to cut away a bunch of twisted pair wires that I assumed were speaker cables - turned out the Anti-lock brakes also use twisted pairs so I had to do a little rebuilding.
Not a job for the impatient but lots of fun.
Laurence.
|