To repair this butchery, we first de-pinned the terminals of the connector body and attempted to slide some shrink tube over the terminal pin, but any shrink tube that could fit over the pin was too big to relieve onto the wire itself. So we cut the wire and spliced it back together. This was actually good since the exposed copper had become brittle and corroded over time, so we could cut out the bad length. We then spliced it back together with an all-in-one splice. This type of splice is a piece of shrink tube with a cylinder of solder and some adhesive at either end for weather proofing. Simply slip it over the wire, shrink it down and you get solder, insulation protection, and weather protection all at once. While not as durable as a proper open barrel crimp splice, in the passenger compartment where vibration, heat cycling, and environmental exposure are low, this type of splice should be fine. Additionally, it’s much easier to install an all-in-one splice when laying upside down with your feet hanging out the roof of the car and your head banging off the clutch pedal.We slipped over a new piece of shrink tube for protection, reinstalled the pins into the connector body, and plugged the connector back into the brake light switch. Sorted!With the radio out, there’s no longer a need for an antenna. It’s a small amount of weight, but mostly we wanted it gone because it makes the Cappuccino look like an R/C car. Fortunately, the antenna in the Cappuccino unscrews and can be stored in the trunk when going through a car wash. Ours is now stored in the garage. We left the mount in place so we didn’t have to plug the hole.Between the radio, all the speakers and tweeters, and all the wiring, we shed a good 15 lbs and greatly cleaned up the interior of the Cappuccino. The big speakers even sold for enough online we could buy a full tank of gas for the Cappuccino and a six pack. Good riddance!We also stripped out the additional cigarette lighter sockets (who the hell needs three chargers in a two seat car?) and the Japanese EZ Pass module (now useless in the US), as well as a bunch of associated wiring. We left the power door locks in place because that would require disassembling the doors to remove the solenoids. We were hoping the radio or the charger were the problem, but despite removing all of this mess, we still had electrical issues. Time to dig deeper.
In the Cappuccino, there is no dimmer for the dash lights. I’m not sure if they are dimmable in other vehicles. But for the Cappuccino the dash lights are so dim to begin with they bring the readability up from “useless” to “regular 90’s car.”
I replaced the cluster lights in my e30 with leds, and they dim perfectly with the standard dimmer.
It really is a great upgrade. And they will practically work forever.
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Hey, look at that! And you didn’t even need to break out a multimeter or janky test light.
Are those LED dash lights dimmable? Bright cluster lights at night and my astigmatism do not get along.
In the Cappuccino, there is no dimmer for the dash lights. I’m not sure if they are dimmable in other vehicles. But for the Cappuccino the dash lights are so dim to begin with they bring the readability up from “useless” to “regular 90’s car.”
I replaced the cluster lights in my e30 with leds, and they dim perfectly with the standard dimmer.
It really is a great upgrade. And they will practically work forever.
Great read! Must have been so satisfying solving all that mess.