My hatch has wires coming out of frame into the hatch - it goes through a rubber conduit - the conduit supposed to go in and out of the hatch as we open and close it. It needs to be easy otherwise the conduit will come out of the position from the hatch - there is a sleeve.
Can I apply any specific grease?
Or any here:
Or another simple tip?
What kind of car is this? I’ve never seen a setup like you describe. I’ve only seen a rubber boot that can compress and expand, so this is new to me. Can you attach a picture to help us visualize what you have?
I’m no expert, but I’d probably pick a silicone grease over a petroleum-based grease here.
Use silicone then borrow a leaf blower to dry it.
Thanks
It does not designed to compress
It is a 87 Acura Integra
All the wires were pinched since the conduit stuck into the body frame. I have connected the wires now.
I’m not sure what you are talking about but for about $10 at the big box electrical aisle you can buy a lifetime supply of wire lube. Its made for waxing wires that you are pulling through conduit and works quite well.
This is very difficult to understand the way it is worded. Is there a conduit that a sleeved wire harness is supposed to slide back and forth inside of when the hatch is opened and closed? The issue you’re having is that the conduit has come loose and is sliding in and out along with the sleeved wire harness? If so, you don’t need grease, you need to secure the conduit to the frame to prevent it from following the wire harness as it goes in/out. It probably had some retention mechanism that has failed. I would just use some adhesive to retain it, like an RTV or similar. In fact, I might be inclined to use something like this gutter sealant I have lying around because it cures so much faster than an RTV and still remains somewhat compliant like RTV does.
A harness should NOT slide in and out at all.
The oe grommet that was there is meant to keep it in place with enough slack to stand the scope of opening and closing.
exactly the same as the harness or wire that spans the screen and keyboard of your laptop, It does not slip in and out. It merely rotates slightly with each movement.
Are you familiar with this particular design? I’m not just going off what was written. However, I would actually prefer a harness that is properly designed to move. Look at all the issues with frame to door harnesses that are restrained by a grommet. The wires eventually break at the restrained point or point of repeated stress…
This sounds like a new product patent just itching for a manufacturer.
I can see a hard plastic grommet around a slightly large hole. The harness would also need a hard plastic ( PVC ? ) or silicone rubber sleeve to withstand some movement. That sleeve would need to be fastened to the harness so as not to move over the harness, just within that grommet.
The reason I vote for hard plastic is that all the flexible conduit I’ve seen does not slide very easily so it would need to be a smooth surface to facilitate the movement.
ok class , off to your shops till the clock times out and see who wins the…Car Talk product development challenge.
Otherwise, it sounds like this particular vehicle need this harness re-positioned some how so as not to bend but merely twist slightly…exactly like your laptop cable.
The geometry of the two points of exit/entry need to be space more so the harness is more sideways…if physically possible on this body.
( I don’t see a lot of this problem in my shop even with all the hatchback gates these days )
Actually if you’ve had to do an outside wiring connector to conduit, you have to use one of those sliding things off of the gooseneck. I don’t know why, but with freezing and thawing, the PVC will crack otherwise. One PVC pipe slides inside another.
Here is the image:
It looks to me it does not need any grease and it never had grease. I just need to push the rubber conduit to the hatch - hope it stays on - other hazzle maybe that since the wires had been repaired its got a bit fat - it may have trouble going inside the rubber?
I think I see the shadow of a grommet on the body sheet metal. Are you sure there isn’t a second grommet pushed into the body cavity?
It looks like the rubber cover is rotated 180 degrees. The end that attached to the hatch should be rolled around half way and then the groove all around it holds on to the sheet metal of the hatch. The other end should have a similar fixture, but right now it’s buried inside the body of the car.
@wentwest - thanks
I pulled it out.
How do I get the top into the sleeve? Also, does the wires need any grease at all - it does not appear that it ever had grease on it.
You might be having trouble due to the patched wires in a previous photo. Push in curse and push in from the outside again till it all is snug. Note fender does not look quire snug yet either.
If you look closely at the end, you’ll see that there is a rubber lip all around that fits inside the hole in the body sheetmetal. The sheetmetal fits into a groove and the larger thicker lip fits outside, where you can see it. Works the same way on both. No need for any grease. If you are confused by this stop by any local car body repair shop and ask them to show you how to do it.
