Went to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson and saw a wiring harness that made me stop.

It was in the cockpit of an old F-4 Phantom, and the bundle was routed with these perfect, tight loops before each connector. I've always just run things straight, but this looked like it was done to handle vibration way better. Do you guys ever plan slack into your runs like that on purpose?

3 comments

3 Comments

james6612mo ago

Yeah, that slack is totally planned. Worked on some old farm equipment that shook like crazy. Learned real quick that a straight wire pulls itself apart at the terminals after a while. Started leaving a small service loop near any plug, just a gentle bend like you saw. It soaks up the movement so the connection doesn't take the stress. Makes things last way longer. Ever tried adding loops like that yourself?

gray5572mo ago

Farm equipment shook that bad?

nora5351mo ago

Oh wow, that makes a lot more sense now... I never thought about the vibration thing like that. So the slack isn't just some sloppy wiring quirk, it's actually a deliberate fix for a real problem. @james661, does the loop size matter much? Like, do you just wing it with a gentle curve or is there a specific amount of wire you leave? I've seen some people leave big messy coils and it always looked wrong to me.