Removing Useless Wires - Any Advice?

[AMDenels]

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, I know about 0.1 about electricity and wiring. So, I'm looking for some advice on how to go about cleaning up all the wiring on my bus. I removed the speakers, interior lights, cameras, and alarms running down the sides of the bus. The bus still starts!

Now, can I follow these wires back to the fuse panel and delete them completely?

Any advice/pointers for a newbie are greatly appreciated.

[somewhereinusa]

Any advice/pointers for a newbie are greatly appreciated.

Unless you know EXACTLY what a wire does and where both ends go and what the thing on both ends does. LEAVE IT ALONE.

If you feel you absolutely must remove wires, unhook one at a time then make sure that everything you WANT to work still works. Label everything. Instead of removing wires, label both ends and leave it there for possible future use. It's easier to take a wire out than to put one in.

[ComfortEagle]

Originally Posted by AMDenels

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, I know about 0.1 about electricity and wiring. So, I'm looking for some advice on how to go about cleaning up all the wiring on my bus. I removed the speakers, interior lights, cameras, and alarms running down the sides of the bus. The bus still starts!

Now, can I follow these wires back to the fuse panel and delete them completely?

Any advice/pointers for a newbie are greatly appreciated.

As Bill Clinton would say, "I feel your pain..."


The long front to rear harnesses in my bus had plugs in the fuse box, and were able to simply be unplugged and removed. But IMO and as the SWIUSA said:
1) know where each wire comes from and where it goes
2) label everything on both ends, if you don't already have a label maker you may want to get one.

[o1marc]

I find it best, when cutting individual wires, that the vehicle be running. cut each wire, did something go off or did the sound of the engine running change? No, good. Next wire.

[ComfortEagle]

Originally Posted by o1marc

I find it best, when cutting individual wires, that the vehicle be running. cut each wire, did something go off or did the sound of the engine running change? No, good. Next wire.

Cutting wires with power applied and the vehicle running? Really?

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by ComfortEagle

Cutting wires with power applied and the vehicle running? Really?

Ya, really.

[brokedown]

If you can get a wiring diagram for your bus, I'd start there. My mechanical TC2000 has a very simple wiring diagram and I was able to remove more than half of the wires running back. Lights, speakers, window switches, etc. Much beter than guessing and much easier than tracing!

My diagram: https://wanderlounge.net/1996-tc2000-wiring-diagram/

[Iceni John]

I don't understand why so many skoolie owners want to cut out all the wires they think they won't need. As somewhereinusa says, just leave them in place, because sooner or later you will need wires for something you're installing. At least on my bus, it's a royal PIA to run extra wires along the frame rails, an all day job when I factor in emptying the underfloor luggage bays so I can crawl around in there to pull through and secure the wires. Just tag the unneeded wires, make a note of the change on your wiring schematic, and ensure they can't short out against something.

The only "spare" wires I had were for sanders and an optional center heater, and they're now reused for other things. I've still needed to also run a lot more wires for the docking lights, rear view camera, radiator mister, house feed to the main JB in the front, etc etc, and I've also installed a 50-foot 12AWG extension cable (with the ends cut off) for any future emergency needs.

John

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Iceni John

I don't understand why so many skoolie owners want to cut out all the wires they think they won't need. As somewhereinusa says, just leave them in place, because sooner or later you will need wires for something you're installing. At least on my bus, it's a royal PIA to run extra wires along the frame rails, an all day job when I factor in emptying the underfloor luggage bays so I can crawl around in there to pull through and secure the wires. Just tag the unneeded wires, make a note of the change on your wiring schematic, and ensure they can't short out against something.

The only "spare" wires I had were for sanders and an optional center heater, and they're now reused for other things. I've still needed to also run a lot more wires for the docking lights, rear view camera, radiator mister, house feed to the main JB in the front, etc etc, and I've also installed a 50-foot 12AWG extension cable (with the ends cut off) for any future emergency needs.

John

I agree completely..

[brokedown]

In my case my wiring was not up to the grade I would use, it forked off a bunch of places along the way to places that no loner made sense, and would have wasted too much space in my wire looms. I can see leaving them in place if you are using the stock ceiling and speaker and lighting, but if you're taking the ceiling panels down and windows out you've got a pile of extra that has no value any more.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by brokedown

In my case my wiring was not up to the grade I would use, it forked off a bunch of places along the way to places that no loner made sense, and would have wasted too much space in my wire looms. I can see leaving them in place if you are using the stock ceiling and speaker and lighting, but if you're taking the ceiling panels down and windows out you've got a pile of extra that has no value any more.

It has zero value sitting there. They have the same value after they are removed with the exception of once I start removing them they become worth $55/hr., my shop rate. Having them stay doesn't harm anything. 15 wires in a bundle, diagram says pink wire, find it on one end, find it on the other end. Doesn't matter what the other wires do. In the long run removing them gives you a weight savings, that in the grand scheme of the weight of a bus, will mean nothing. It will make for a neater looking harness that will be completely hidden to human eyes. I'll leave most of mine alone.

What is interesting is when I open the wiring panel outside the drivers window I see all kinds of wires that have eyelets on the end screwed into the panel, but many are cut off. Must have been for all the radios and such they removed.