74' Excella, to remove wiring or not to remove?

[BaltiHimal]

I'm in the middle of a full on restoration of a 74' Excella, and was wondering about the pros and cons of removing the wiring "harness" . The reason I'm thinking of removing it is so I can give the interior of the shell a through cleaning (there is a bunch of mouse droppings and I want to be able to see where I might need to replace any sealant), clean up the wires, and check for any faulty or damaged wires. If I do remove it I intend to mark all the wires and keep a detailed record that includes pictures.

My concern is that if I remove it I would cause some damage to the wiring that could potentially lead to a bunch of extra work. Any input or suggestions would be appreciated, thank you for your time.

Will

[mello mike]

I would remove the inner wall skins and inspect the 12v and 110v wiring. If it looks faulty or worn, replace it.

While you have the skins off, I would inspect the insulation and do some cleaning.

[Minno]

We removed the wiring harness, and everything else for that matter, in our refurb project. I was a bit concerned about the age of the wires, and potential critter damage, plus the cleaning of the inside was a lot more thorough without the wires in way. The final deciding factor was we're going to move the location of the converter, and I wanted to add more 110 VAC circuits and outlets, as well as some additional 12 volt circuits. If you're going to re-do it all as original, then keep good notes on what you remove. If you're going to add circuits and stuff like us, then make a good wiring diagram before you beginning to re-wire her.

btw - the amount of and cost of replacement wire may surprise you. We're at over $250 and counting, just for wire. Which reminds me, I need toupdate our refurb thread.

Chris

[Wabbiteer]

No worries, the wiring will survive a cleaning as long as power is off a couple of weeks for it to dry out. A thorough foot-by-foot inspection looking for rodent chews and abrasion damage before it gets wet is wise!