Safety Warning
DIY auto repair can cause serious injury, fire, or vehicle damage. These guides are for informational purposes only. Always follow OEM torque specs, wear PPE, and consult a certified mechanic if you are unsure. You are solely responsible for your safety.
GMLAN Wire Repair
If a wire is damaged, repair the wire by splicing in a new section of wire of the same gage size (0.5 mm, 0.8 mm, 1.0 mm, etc.). Use the DuraSeal splice sleeves and splice crimping tool from the J-38125Β . See Special Tools . Use the following wiring repair procedures in order to ensure the integrity of the sealed splice.
| Splice Sleeve Color | Crimp Tool Nest Color | Wire Gage mm2 / (AWG) |
|---|---|---|
| Salmon (Yellow-Pink) 12089189 |
Red (1) | 0.035-0.8/(18-20) |
| Blue 12089190 |
Blue (2) | 1.0-2.0/(14-16) |
| Yellow 12089191 |
Yellow (3) | 3.0-5.0/(10-12) |
| Green 88988379 |
Red (1) | 0.22-0.35/(22-26) |
- Open the harness by removing any tape:
- Use a sewing seam ripper, available from sewing supply stores, in order to cut open the harness in order to avoid wire insulation damage.
- Use the DuraSeal splice sleeves on all types of insulation except tefzel and coaxial.
- Do not use the crimp and DuraSeal splice sleeve to form a splice with more than 2 wires coming together.
- Cut as little wire off the harness as possible. You may need the extra length of wire in order to change the location of a splice.
Adjust splice locations so that each splice is at least 40 mm (1.5 in) away from the other splices, harness branches, or connectors.
- Strip the insulation:
- When adding a length of wire to the existing harness, use the same size wire as the original wire.
- Perform one of the following items in order to find the correct wire size:
- Find the wire on the schematic and convert the metric size to the equivalent American wire gage (AWG) size.
- Use an AWG wire gage.
- If you are unsure of the wire size, begin with the largest opening in the wire stripper and work down until achieving a clean strip of the insulation.
- Strip approximately 7.5 mm (0.313 in) of insulation from each wire to be spliced.
- Do not nick or cut any of the strands. Inspect the stripped wire for nicks or cut strands.
- If the wire is damaged, repeat this procedure after removing the damaged section.
- Select the proper DuraSeal splice sleeve according to the wire size. Refer to the above table at the beginning of the repair procedure for the color coding of the DuraSeal splice sleeves and the crimp tool nests.
- Use the Splice Crimp Tool from the J-38125Β in order to position the DuraSeal splice sleeve in the proper color nest of the Splice Crimp Tool. See Special Tools . The crimp tool has three nests, 1 is for the salmon and green splice sleeve, 2 is for the blue splice sleeve, and 3 is for the yellow splice sleeve.
- Place the DuraSeal splice sleeve in the nest. Ensure that the crimp falls midway between the end of the barrel and the stop. The sleeve has a stop (3) in the middle of the barrel (2) in order to prevent the wire (1) from going further. Close the hand crimper handles slightly in order to firmly hold the DuraSeal splice sleeve in the proper nest.
- Insert the wire into the splice sleeve barrel until the wire hits the barrel stop.
- Tightly close the handles of the crimp tool until the crimper handles open when released.
The crimper handles will not open until you apply the proper amount of pressure to the splice sleeve. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the opposite end of the splice.
- Using the heat torch, apply heat to the crimped area of the barrel.
- Start in the middle and gradually move the heat barrel to the open ends of the tubing:
- The tubing will shrink completely as the heat is moved along the insulation.
- A small amount of sealant will come out of the end of the tubing when sufficient shrinkage is achieved.
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When to See a Mechanic
Stop DIY work and contact a certified mechanic immediately if any of the following apply:
- β’ You smell fuel, burning insulation, or see smoke.
- β’ Brakes feel soft, pull hard to one side, or make grinding noises.
- β’ The engine overheats, stalls repeatedly, or misfires under load.
- β’ You are missing required tools, torque specs, or safe lifting equipment.
- β’ You are not confident in the next step or safety outcome.