Interior ratteling sounds crap

[cobrajeff96]

There should be no 'bare wire' anywhere unless it's a terminated ground (-) endpoint and nowhere close to an exposed hot (+) endpoint (which also should technically not exist). Wires always come insulated as you purchase them, so I'm not sure what exactly you're referring to.

Every wire inside the car I had is completely enclosed within the fleece tape (TESA is just one of many manufacturers of this type of interior cloth tape), and certain lengths of wire outside the cabin are completely enclosed in external cloth tape (slightly different material).

 

[ttocs]

yes wires always do have insulation on them, when we want to connect them we have to strip that insulation away and then wrap the wires and then solder/crimp/whatever. If after you connect the bare wires together if you are using tesa tape to "electrically insulate" them that is the time/place for heat shrink or good old vinyl electrical tape. Tesa tape can help to hold moisture along with allowing the connection to short out if the wires get pushed through the material.

You correct that many manufacturers will enclose the wires with that tape but I would advise against it myself because it leaves a SUPER sticky mess after a year or two of heat in the summers. Just a candy cain wrap will hold them together just as easy but allow access to them later.

 

[cobrajeff96]

If you are talking about extending wires with a joint, it really just depends. In the interior of the car, you absolutely can use fleece tape to overbraid the run. It's perfectly fine. Interior cabins should be a moisture-free zone; if not, you have bigger problems that needs addressing first and foremost. However, the same can be done for the outside of the car if you're out of heatshrink or just did the dreaded forgot to put the shrink tube on before adjoining the two segments. In either case, you would use exterior cloth tape. Lots of OEMs do this to protect their wires, whether it's one continuous run or on a splice joint with multiple wires contributing to the joint. Heat shrink is just another way of doing it, albeit a more preferred way but in my opinion only if the heatshrink is glue-lined (in almost every case that is). In fact some of the solder seal joints I make will have one turn of exterior cloth tape wrapped over them if there's a few such joints in a single bundle adjacent to one another due to extreme space constraints (and no other feasible choice) as an added protection.

Ideally, you'd heatshrink everything. But where it's either impossible or otherwise unworkable, certain tapes (other than crap vinyl) will suffice and they will stand the test of time and usage. BLUF: vinyl tape is a dinosaur these days. Almost no OEMs for the last five years use it anymore. All your Audis, BMWs, Bentleys, etc, won't have a single inch of it.

 

[weendoggy]

Better in every possible way.

It has more cut/abrasion resistance, the soft texture makes no noise against other things inside the car, leaves no sticky residue when you have to pull it open for whatever reason, doesn't degrade over years like vinyl tape will, no need to stretch it like vinyl tape.

Agree 100%. Best of all, you can't tear it, you need to cut it with scissors or a blade. There's also some heat shrink tape out there, but haven't tried any yet.

 

[weendoggy]

Oh god! I swear once these cars got to be 6-8yo, all those foam parts disintegrated. The air vents were the first to go, and they’d blow off and get everywhere. You’d try to pick them up and they’d turn to dust. The door cards were the next to go. They were on all the hooks that hang inside the door holes, and the the one on the door pull bezel cups. I covered those with electrical tape, but that’s basically it.

The foam is not lifetime, well maybe it's lifetime. I just got through doing all my dash vents, cleaning out the old foam and resealing around the vents as well as the shutter. No more rattle either. All that fresh air, AC air, heat air and body cabin air can play havoc.

 

[cobrajeff96]

I actually re-sealed all the vents and the lid on the heater core with foam tape (closed cell). No chance of it degrading and disintegrating into dust.

 

[cobrajeff96]

Forgot to add also, there's two other kinds of tape that I'll use outside the cabin that are kind of special.

They're both self-vulcanizing, meaning they only adhere to themselves and not the thing they are covering. One is called F4 tape and it creates this bonded coating that when spiraled on itself over the length of the run it becomes very tough, yet still somewhat flexible. I think it's actually silicone material. I used this on a 1/0 hot (+) cable going from my trunk battery toward the front of the car, but specifically in an area where chaffing was a potential concern through the rear shock towers. I had burred out the passage pretty well to where the surrounding metal pathway was very smooth... but you never know so I added this tape to the wire and it's held up for well over five years now. It should hold up forever being silicone. (pic attached)

The other kind of self-vulcanizing tape is more like a cloth than a silicone material. This stuff is great because it's cheap, plentiful, super easy to manipulate, very flexible, and it waterproofs everything it covers. Only downside is that it's thin but sometimes that's a good thing.

 

[khan.cross]

But dont forget, the topic is interior trim rattle squeky sounds, not wire tape.

What I did today at the passenger door: inside the door seal I pulled a long foam sausage thru the inner of the door seal, which was more as flat and this let the door shut sound like a can. Fill the old seal worked wonder, much better door closing sound. But I have some cuts in the seal, will see if I can glue it with silicone stuff.

 

[cobrajeff96]

If you want a quiet car, you'll use fleece tape on your wires.

 

[Shocker6]

Look into fleece tape. It's the best bet for interior electrical insulation.

I believe I did a poor job of articulating myself. I wasn’t planning on using it for anything electrical. I use it at work a lot and unless there’s something better out there, it’ll be used to line and wrap all the small things that can chatter or become loose. The stuff is like like play dough

 

[maillemaker]

Unfortunately, as I am learning with my 1995 GT many years after owning an original 1995 GT, these cars are basically snap-together cars. In the 1990's they were just learning how to follow the Japanese with "no visible fasteners" in the cabin. Many of the plastic parts have now taken a set or warped in 30 years of heat and no longer stay "stuck" like they should.

 

[ttocs]

When these cars were new they were nice and tight with out any rattles.

 

[Tillerman77]

When these cars were new they were nice and tight with out any rattles.

I was curious about that. No way for me to know when I got mine at 66K.

 

[ttocs]

oh yea they were smooth as silk when they were new. I remember I had a buddy that had a 93 and we were both amazed just how different the doors were. The 94 only needed a slight pull and it felt solid where the 93 seemed a bit clunky I guess for lack of a better term.

 

[khan.cross]

When these cars were new they were nice and tight with out any rattles.

But after the years of using vibration make the poor plastic start squeaking

 

[MyLittlePony]

I honestly never have known my car to be quiet. Even back when it was a v6 with factory exhaust, back when it was 4yo… …car is a convertible, so even with the top up, you hear everything. I’ve driven my cousins 2001 cobra when it was new and a 2000 v6 convertible when it was new. Only noticeable differences was that they were both stiffer.

I know Tesla owners complain a lot about any kind of noise they hear. It’s because the car is so silent, and so well sealed, that with the radio off, you can hear so much more that you normally couldn’t in an ICE vehicle. I think the worst offender is my husband’s seat every time he drives with a slight bend in the road. NEVER happens when I drive the car, only him. I have to cram my hand in between his seat and the center console. It’s not the cars fault because clearly it’s the driver.

If it says anything, only thing keeping my center console in the mustang is the one armrest bolt. The screw tabs in the upper shifter side broke off decades ago. I never hear anything unless I’m actually applying pressure to it. That said, I am keeping an eye out for a mint red center console.