I gave blood...thanks Ford!

[GizmoVance]

Well, I'm not happy about it, but I went against my better judgment, and took on a little Birthday project. I decided to get under the dash of my 2012 and connect a couple Upfitter wires, in preparation for my Double 20" Stealths.

I read pretty much every single thread and watched the videos on what a COMPLETE P.I.T.A. it is to solder up the connections because of how tight it is.

Well, thinking..."How bad could it be, I've done a lot worse," I decided to do it myself...the "right" way...solder them! Heck, I think I coulda found a shop to do the whole enchilada for me for a hundie; in under an hour, too.

BAD MISTAKE. I am 110% convinced that the Ford brainiacs had either no intention of anyone ever using those wires, or they figured we'd just use mechanical splices. Had I used one of those, it would have been a 2 minute job, and probably saved a pint of blood!

Seriously folks. I love the idea of a soldered connection, but those wires...along with those glued in place shrink-wraps from the factory...would probably be just as well served with some top-grade blade-style splicers!!!

After all, with the low current of even the biggest LED bars, I doubt we'd use the full capacity of those wires. As it was, I lost a few strands just due to having a hard time stripping the insulation.

Made me feel like a electrical rookie!

Let the flogging begin. I'll feel much better once I blind an on-coming driver.

 

[RaptorSteve]

I have a "I gave blood...**** You Ford" sticker on my shirt, too.

Wasn't fun.

Congrats on completing it though.

 

[svt83]

I hear ya! That's why I didn't solder and just spliced them for my first two lights (rigid fogs). Such a low draw I didn't think there would be an issue, and they are inside. Even that was a PITA though. Hard to get strippers, crimpers in that small ass space!

 

[Maxx2893]

I assume you pulled the wires out of tape correct?

 

[Squid 3]

I'm not looking forward to this. groan

 

[dataustin]

I get the rational that they didn't know what we, the customer, would want to connect to those wires (interior or exterior). But I would guess that a majority of the applications are external, meaning that the factory config would be to run them through the firewall and let people with internal applications cut them.

 

[Dr_Pain]

When in doubt, go bigger and longer!

They could have easily made all the final connections to the uplifters exiting the firewall in their current location and use the largest gauge wire the uplifters are rated for. They could have also made an extra loop of those wires under the dash in case you wanted an uplifter for interior use, long enough so that you can actually splice and solder them in front of you, then tuck them back neatly. I seriously doubt that a few extra pennies worth of wires would have killed their profits.

 

[MagicMtnDan]

It's an adventure working inside the dash on the Upfitter wires. For years Raptor owners have been telling Ford to make the wires longer (and don't worry, you could charge us $1.00 for it) but they didn't listen.

I highly recommend you get an "automatic wire stripper" such as this one (available at all your local big box stores) as it makes the task a bit easier and reduces your chances of giving blood...

 

[Icecobra]

It would have cost almost nothing to just make the f'ing wire 6 inches longer.... Hopefully you made all the connections while in there, nothing pissed me off more than having to go "oh crap I need another one..... Sh....IITTT".....

 

[Big Green Machine]

It would have cost almost nothing to just make the f'ing wire 6 inches longer.... Hopefully you made all the connections while in there, nothing pissed me off more than having to go "oh crap I need another one..... Sh....IITTT".....

Actually, just to play Devil's Advocate here, six inches of additional wire in one vehicle would be a negligible cost... six inches additional in every Raptor produced would add up to roughly 23,000+ feet of wire which does add up to extra cash. Knowing what I know of mass production and the desire to trim every possible unnecessary expense, I can see how that decision could have been tossed out.

Don't really care either way and agree with your sentiment and frustration. Just playing with some numbers while I wait for an e-mail response.

~BGM