Wiring Dilemma

[jamiet]

The live feed to my off-side indicator keeps failing. Sod's law, I've tracd the fault to somewhere in the loom inside the near-side front wing. The feed is fine where it dissapears into the wing from under the dash, but no voltage is reading where it reappears underneath by the radiator. If I go through the inspection hatch in the wheel arch and wiggle the loom it will sometimes work. However, I can't pull enough of the loom through to reach the fault.

There appears to be a lot of chaffing on the loom where it has been dragged through, so i expect that's the cause of the problem.

So, what do i do?

I could try and feed a new wire through if I had a wiring cobra (one of those long flexible bits of metal for routing cables), but I'm not sure if the wing is hollow or if there is a strengening panel where the nose joins half way up the wing. If there is such a panel I'd have to try and get it through the same hole as the existing loom, this would be a nightmare especially if there is a grommet around the hole.

I don't think I could pull the faulty cable back through with some string tied to the end (to pull the new cable back through) becasue the loom is quite tightly wrapped.

Only other option is to route the cable through the engine bay but I don't really want to do that unless I have to.

Any ideas as to best course of action?

[dnb]

I used a length of thin anneeled copper tube as a "python substitute". If you take the glovebox out and the headlamp pod out you can see the hole in the strenghtening panel, and the copper tube will hold its shape well enough to be steered through the hole.

[jamiet]

Ah ha, so there is a panel inside the wing? Just as I feared. Sounds like a good idea but bit of a bummer in having to take the light pod out. Thanks for the idea, sounds like my only option. Getting it through the hole at the top end will be fun too...

(Oh, it's called a python is it, not a cobra - woops).

Edited by jamiet on Friday 24th November 16:48

[dnb]

Havn't a clue what sort of snake it is. I've always known them as a "mouse"!