# Melted Wiring Harness



## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Melted a few wires in my plows harness. Not sure exactly where they came in contact. I’m going to fix the wires but I need a tape to wrap them that can withstand or resist heat. I’ve heard glass cloth tape works well. Any recommendations?


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## thelettuceman (Nov 23, 2010)

Are you sure that rats / mice did not chew through insulation? and/or Are you sure that the wire is thick enough for the current going passing through?


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

thelettuceman said:


> Are you sure that rats / mice did not chew through insulation? and/or Are you sure that the wire is thick enough for the current going passing through?


Yea definitely heat. It was check before driving with the plow on and after the ride was over it was melted. Wire was the original Curtis plow harness so I would assume they used wire gauged properly.


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

Small wires or the battery cables? Section them out and run new, heat shrink connections, move away from the heat source.


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Randall Ave said:


> Small wires or the battery cables? Section them out and run new, heat shrink connections, move away from the heat source.


The small wires. It's just odd because it was a part of the wiring that was farthest from the engine, basically right before it goes out under the hood to the plow side connection. I have a manifold exhaust leak which is common in these older GM trucks so I was thinking maybe extra heat escaping where it shouldn't be. I just ordered a glass cloth tape rated for upwards of 300 degrees. I'm going to rewire and do my best to wrap it properly


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Where are these wires that they come in contact with heat?

With pics plz


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

dieselss said:


> Where are these wires that they come in contact with heat?
> 
> With pics plz


I can grab some pics in the morning and post them


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

dieselss said:


> Where are these wires that they come in contact with heat?
> 
> With pics plz


Didn't get home til after sundown tonight. Best I could get for right now. Any way to tell if it was the wire itself or heat from the engine bay?


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

Do you no the circuit, or what that wire feeds? And what color is it? Did it possibly rub on something, get bare and short out?


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Randall Ave said:


> Do you no the circuit, or what that wire feeds? And what color is it? Did it possibly rub on something, get bare and short out?


It is an orange wire. Don't know what it feeds because plow controls and lights are still working. I'm really unsure though of what happened. Due to my neglect a part of the harness, I'm sure , rubbed on something hot on the engine. I repaired that though. I used a bit bigger gauge wire to do it. Put caps on and then wrapped in electrical tape. I want to add that the portions of the wire that burned are before the fix I did. I have to get in there this weekend and strip everything. What's the best method to go about fixing all this?


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

From what I could see, that's not from heat caused by engine heat.
Looks like a positive wire touched ground and started smoking.
All the other wires would be charred as well not just 3.
Look where the harness was run, and then look for burn marks or charred marks in that area.


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

Per what I could find, that orange wire is a ground. Were you operating the plow at the time?


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Randall Ave said:


> Per what I could find, that orange wire is a ground. Were you operating the plow at the time?


I drove about a half hour with the plow connected, using the headlamps, to pick up the used controller. Upon seeing the controller worked, I tested a few of the plow functions and then headed home. All the while the plow was connected to the truck side connection. 
I haven't had time with work together under the hood and really dissect what wires were burned exactly. Tomorrow is supposed to rain all day so I'll be out there. I'll post up pictures


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Randall Ave said:


> Per what I could find, that orange wire is a ground. Were you operating the plow at the time?


If the ground melted, would I have lost power to the control and plow functions?


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Njevergreen said:


> If the ground melted, would I have lost power to the control and plow functions?


If it was the main ground for the controller then yes


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

dieselss said:


> If it was the main ground for the controller then yes


This is what I found after takin all the burnt wiring apart. This red wire runs from the battery into the harness. This is the only one that burnt up (see pic) . It was attached to an orange wire that looks like the previous owner patched up because they were just braided together (see pic). What's my next move here before I solder all this up? Should I keep this wire separated from the rest?


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

What is this red wire coming from the battery to the harness? I didn’t lose power to anything on the plow, so what’s it powering?


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Heat shrink butt connectors, correct size wire,


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

dieselss said:


> Heat shrink butt connectors, correct size wire,


I've got heat shrink, flux and soldering gun. I going to properly patch up all the wiring that wasn't done right before. I believe it's 12 gauge wire but I'm going to double check at the hardware store, bringing a sample and picking up a new wire snippet because the teeth on this one are chewed up. 
But how do I prevent this from happening again? Where do I run this wire from the battery? There's a reason it burnt up right?


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

dieselss said:


> Heat shrink butt connectors, correct size wire,


Ok I think may have found one issue. The size wire that runs from the battery, is one size bigger that the one it runs into on the harness near the truck side connection. I bought this used so I don't really know what the previous owner had going on here. Came free with the truck. The smaller orange wire runs into the truck side connector so I can't see swapping that out. Can I change the size of the wire running from the battery terminal?


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

I would check to make sure you are connecting the correct wires together.


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Randall Ave said:


> I would check to make sure you are connecting the correct wires together.


I'm certain this is where these wires were connected. Here's some better pics.
That first pic is the whole length of wiring that was burnt up. Second pic is the thicker red wire straight from the battery that someone connected poorly to a small gauge wire, and then that smaller gauge red wire was run the a same size gauge orange wire that runs into the truck side connection (last pic)


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Randall Ave said:


> I would check to make sure you are connecting the correct wires together.


I know this is what the wiring diagram shows, Orange for ground. It's actually hard to make out what color this wire is because it's badly weathered and covered in crap from the electrical tape. I've looked further down the harness for another connection but nothing. Any idea what this could have been feeding power to? Odd thing is the plow is fully functional without it....


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## mpriester (Oct 2, 2011)

I would open the harness up and replace the entire length with new wire and splice at the connector. This way you will only have one splice and new wire for the entire length. It's a little more work now but a lot less than at 2 in the morning.


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

If you have a DVOM, you can OHM it out and see if its a ground.


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

I soldered everything up nicely. Wrapped the harness in some scotch 33+ and finished it off with some glass cloth tape. I removed that other wire running from the battery and since all the plow functions are operational I'm leaving it off for now. 
Trying to fix the leak in the hydraulic hose now. Got the pump removed. Can anyone tell me how these hoses come off? The fittings seem to be different. Does it unbolt right at the base?


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

Should be a machine thread with an O-Ring. From what I can remember.


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Randall Ave said:


> Should be a machine thread with an O-Ring. From what I can remember.


Sorry but I'm not exactly sure what that means lol


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

Give me a few, I will see what I have, but most of my Curtis parts have hit the dumpster.


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Randall Ave said:


> Give me a few, I will see what I have, but most of my Curtis parts have hit the dumpster.


That would be awesome man. I've got this entire plow apart. I want to give it a good cleaning. I'm actually not even sure which lines were leaking because it was coming from under the pump, and if you know this plow, there's is basically no room to even stick a finger in here let alone be able to see.
I mean I don't think replacing them all could hurt if I could find the lines


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Here's another wire that seemed to start burning up. The casing is all distorted and in some parts bare. Runs from the plow side harness to the pump stud you see there in the picture. Off the top of your head you know what this is for?


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

The stud on the center square block is a ground stud, they have a tendency to come loose, that was probably your problem. Any way, in the picture I am showing you is the end that would go into the center section/valve body. Machine thread means like a bolt, not pipe, or a tapered thread. Look at the bottom of the can, they will rub and wear thru and leak. If you are really brave, if you remove the can, there is a filter in there for the pump. I'm sure it has not been cleaned in a while. I only have one hose and a touch pad controller left. My Curtis plows hit the scrapyard years ago.


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Randall Ave said:


> The stud on the center square block is a ground stud, they have a tendency to come loose, that was probably your problem. Any way, in the picture I am showing you is the end that would go into the center section/valve body. Machine thread means like a bolt, not pipe, or a tapered thread. Look at the bottom of the can, they will rub and wear thru and leak. If you are really brave, if you remove the can, there is a filter in there for the pump. I'm sure it has not been cleaned in a while. I only have one hose and a touch pad controller left. My Curtis plows hit the scrapyard years ago.
> 
> View attachment 197143


Exactly what I needed to see, thank you. I'm guessing getting to the filter is a PITA? Are you familiar with the jack hydraulic hose? That one is definitely leaking, I watched it squirt everywhere from it's connection at the valve body. It runs up towards the moldboard through the A frame but I can't see where it goes too.


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

If memory serves me. You have to remove the a frame from the mole board to get to that. It's a pain.


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Randall Ave said:


> If memory serves me. You have to remove the a frame from the mole board to get to that. It's a pain.


lol, having the jack would be nice, but at the end of the day the plow isn't that difficult to hook up without it. For that trouble I'll just cap that valve off, if I can do that :weightlifter:


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Randall Ave said:


> If memory serves me. You have to remove the a frame from the mole board to get to that. It's a pain.


Lost full power to the controller now. Test light only illuminates on the 12v prong, all 6 others nothing. The backlight on the controller is just barely visible. Any ideas? I cleaned all the grounds and I know I hooked it all back up properly because I labeled it all


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

You have lost a ground, did you re connect that melted orange wire inside the A frame? Look over those wiring diagrams that were posted.


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Randall Ave said:


> You have lost a ground, did you re connect that melted orange wire inside the A frame? Look over those wiring diagrams that were posted.


That was the problem. I checked by using a jumper cable from that orange ground from the car battery to the stud. Fixed the problem. I soldered that wire and used shrink tubing so I'm not sure if it's the wire itself or at the stud. I cleaned all connections so idk. Found the leaking hydraulic hose. It's to the jack. Like I posted before I don't really care much for the Jack. Is there a way to cap off at the valve body?


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

You would have to take the end of the hose to a place that makes hyd hoses, they should have a way to plug it.


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Randall Ave said:


> You would have to take the end of the hose to a place that makes hyd hoses, they should have a way to plug it.


Randall is this the filter you were talking about on the pump?


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Yes, just clean it and reinstall


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

dieselss said:


> Yes, just clean it and reinstall


Thanks. Break cleaner? 
The magnet was caked in sludge. Seems pretty clean internally though


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Yes....and that's typical


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

dieselss said:


> Yes....and that's typical


Any pointers on getting this off? Filter just spins, I don't want to put too much pressure on it. Can't remove the whole fitting either because that metal tube is in the way


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Should just be a press on, least all the ones I have done were.


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

dieselss said:


> Should just be a press on, least all the ones I have done were.


one other thing. The hydraulic hose on this plow is leaking. The way it was designed makes it a huge problem to replace it. I bought this cap off graingier because I really don't feel the Jack is that important to me. Do you see any issue with this?


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

With capping it off....no.
Just make sure iys the same kind and pitch


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

dieselss said:


> With capping it off....no.
> Just make sure iys the same kind and pitch


**** dude lol, for every answer I have a question. I'll leave it at that for now. Part will be here tomorrow, I'll post up an update. Thanks for the quick responses you've been a big help


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

dieselss said:


> With capping it off....no.
> Just make sure iys the same kind and pitch


Plows all hooked up. The cap worked great, no leak. All I have is angle left now. Won't raise or angle right. When I press the controls for up and right solenoid clicks and pump spins. What could be wrong?


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Njevergreen said:


> When I press the controls for up and right solenoid clicks and pump spins. What could be wrong?


Are you getting signal to the coils to operate per the correct function?
You can test this easily( disconnect the main positive wire out of the solenoid....so the pump wont run while your testing your wires) and have someone operate the controller


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

You may still have a ground problem. Every magnet has two wires, one power and one ground, when you were repairing the harness, did you mabey miss some.


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Randall Ave said:


> You may still have a ground problem. Every magnet has two wires, one power and one ground, when you were repairing the harness, did you mabey miss some.


The ground problem I'm having is with the stud between the pump and reservoir. Ever since I soldered a new piece of wire to replace the old burnt one, it doesn't seem to make a connection. I tested with a jumper cable and with that hooked up it works fine. This weekend I'm going to strip and re solder.


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

dieselss said:


> Are you getting signal to the coils to operate per the correct function?
> You can test this easily( disconnect the main positive wire out of the solenoid....so the pump wont run while your testing your wires) and have someone operate the controller


I'm going to give this a shot. I attached the plow to the truck. No leaks. All functions work, but the right angle function works intermittently. When I jiggle the harness at the truck side it will work, but once it moves a bit it stops. So it's either a coil or the wire has a bad/pinched connection somewhere? 
If that's the case I'm guessing I have to go back into the harness and find out where.


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## Powerstoke97 (Oct 13, 2019)

Njevergreen said:


> Ok I think may have found one issue. The size wire that runs from the battery, is one size bigger that the one it runs into on the harness near the truck side connection. I bought this used so I don't really know what the previous owner had going on here. Came free with the truck. The smaller orange wire runs into the truck side connector so I can't see swapping that out. Can I change the size of the wire running from the battery terminal?
> 
> View attachment 197071


The only wire coming from the battery should be a 4 gage going to the solinoid. Your 12volt power for the controller should be connected to a 12 volt supply from your in dash fuse block With a 25 amp inline fuse. The brown wire feeds power to the pump when the controll is activated. Orange is the ground for all valve functions. Red wire is the 12 volt supply for the lift valve.


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## Njevergreen (Oct 21, 2019)

Powerstoke97 said:


> The only wire coming from the battery should be a 4 gage going to the solinoid. Your 12volt power for the controller should be connected to a 12 volt supply from your in dash fuse block With a 25 amp inline fuse. The brown wire feeds power to the pump when the controll is activated. Orange is the ground for all valve functions. Red wire is the 12 volt supply for the lift valve.


Thanks. Since this post, thanks to all the help on this forum, I've gotten the plow operating. I'm not sure what type of retro fitted hack job the previous owner had accomplished. Still don't even know what that wire running to the battery was, and I may never know, but all plow functions are working without it lol.

Thanks again guys for all the help


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