While repairing some passenger side front suspension components on a
1997 ford crown victoria police interceptor, I decided to take a look
at the area that police departments often run wiring through to get
from the engine bay to the interior passenger compartment of the car.
The passenger front wheelwell with the tire removed and the fender
apron pulled back some
To allow some extra movement of the fender apron, the battery can be
removed and the bolts that fasten the fender apron to the radiator core
support pulled out.
This is the area below the air conditioning evaporator box on the
passenger's side of the car. That black peice of metal down low is the
torque box area of the front frame rail, above that a couple body
mounts, and then the body of the car.
All of the wiring from the federal us marshalls service has
been removed, but there is some chaffing present on one of the factory
wiring harnesses in the area.
The us marshall's vehicle upfitter cut an extra hole in the floorpan to
run some added wiring through. Somewhere along the line, the wiring was
removed and duct tape applied from inside the car to prevent water from
entering the passenger's compartment.
Access to the wiring harness is somewhat limited from under the car, so
the wiring harness is going to be disconnected under the hood and
pulled into the passenger's compartment of the car
The empty hole in the firewall that the wiring harness used to pass
through
Here's the wiring harness pulled inside the car
Here's the damaged area of the wiring harness with the friction tape
removed
In this case, the fender apron rubbed against the harness and chaffed
the insulation for one of the airbag crash sensors and the hvac blower
motor.
The federal us
marshals service vehicle upfitters drilled an extra hole through
this rubber grommet to pass some wiring through. Here a screwdriver is
placed where the extra wiring used to be.
To repair the damaged section of wiring harness, an adhesive butt
connector and a section of new stranded wire are going to be used
Now it's time to pass the harness back through the firewall
And reconnect the electrical connectors under the hood