Attaching exposed wiring to fibreglass

John Lind · 03-02-03, 09:55 PM

I'm not sure if this is a body or an electrical question but:

I have a couple of situations where I need to attach electrical wiring to the inside of the clips. For registration in Aus we have to have side indicators which are located just in front of the doors so I will have to run wires on the inside of the clip, probably around the inside of the wheel arch from the indicator to the headlight box.

I am not sure how best to hold these wires in place. I can't bolt P clips through the clip because the bolts would be visible from outside the car.

If the answer is a glue, it will need to bond to fibreglass and the plastic on the wires.

Anyone have any ideas on how to do this.

Thanks

John

Robert Logan · 03-03-03, 02:32 AM

John,

Glass a small tube (6mm. dia) to the inside of the wheel arch and then slide the wire through.

We have tried most glues etc and it all works for varing lengths of time but I think the best way is as above.

Best wishes, mate

Robert

ChrisL · 03-03-03, 03:58 AM

Bunnings Hardwares have fairy-light clips that seem to do the job quite well. They are a small flexible peg type device that has a flat backing designed to attach to velcro (the spiked backing can be used to improve the bond to the adhesive) and come in packs of 20 (I think). I tried using selastic between the clip and the f/glass originally, but that was a disaster. I'm now using small dabs of fibreglass resin, but I'm not making any claims about how long the bond will last.

Once the clips are in place, the wire will slip in quite firmly if you place two side-by-side, one pointing up and the other down.

Paul Bearman · 03-03-03, 05:48 AM

I have used adhesive clips to initially position the loom to the fibreglass panels and then used Sikaflex to permanently adhere it to the panel. This has been applied quite thickly and then smoothed over to give a good asthetic look.
The fibreglass has to be clean and free from grease and it's a good idea to 'rough up' the fibreglass with Emery clothe (abrasive clothe). I have found that using a lint clothe lightly soaked in Acetone and wiped over the Sikaflex gives a nice finish.
I don't know if the Acetone has changed the physical properties of the Sikaflex, but it hasn't fallen off yet!

Regards, Paul.

DC · 03-03-03, 09:26 AM

I fixed some small bore flexible convoluted tubing (which you get here in varying diameters) and used Sikaflex to bond it to the underside of the clip. Then obviously ran the wires through the tubing.

I had bonded some u-shaped troughs to the underside of the clip to form an air vent with the front NACA ducts inside the wheelarch. I ran the tubing between these and the inner wheelarch face then round to the side.

Sikaflex (or similar) is plenty strong enough once it has gone off.

David

Bill Bayard · 03-03-03, 09:39 AM

3M 5200 is suitable for this application. It is VERY strong when spread on an etched surface, comes in small toothpaste size tubes or caulk gun cartridges, is available in black, fast or slow set,and is far less expensive than Sikkaflex. A small tube is about $5,a cartridge is about $11. 5200 is available at any marine hardware dealer. A small tube would be sufficient to attach
wiring retainers. 5200 will get hard in the tube within a few weeks, once opened, so
use it or lose it!

John Lind · 03-04-03, 07:02 AM

Thanks a lot everyone

Its always helpful to know what others have done with things like this. The combined wisdom in this forum is simply awesome.

Regards

John

Peter D · 03-06-03, 08:18 AM

I have used 20mm lengths of 10 x 10 Aly angle extrusion with a slot cut in one flange to take a zip-tie. The other face sits on the (cleaned back) f/glass & is bonded on with resin. I then placed a small section 40 x 30 of glass mat (with a slot cut to go over the vertical tab) & resined it all down. There is no way it will move & you can hardly see it when the under panel is painted. I am using multi-core "trailer wire" for these runs as it looks much neater than anything I could loom up myself. The cable runs past the mount plates on the inside of the angle extrusion & you just run a zip-tie round it & through the slot in the aly tab which is sticking up.

Kind Regards,

Peter D. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

John Lind · 03-07-03, 07:11 AM

Thanks to you too, Peter.

Another neat idea. I couldn't think of one decent way to do this now I have a choice of several.

Regards

John