What Happens when You Drill a Hole in Your JCB Telehandler?

This JCB 520 telehandler is down for the count. We patch the damaged wiring harness and get it back to work.

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P.O. Box 106
Fulton, IL 61252

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[EmilyChuu]

Literally just hanging out with a buddy while he tells you life stories and repairs a wire harness, what more could you ask for

[danielgore]

As a former JCB technician, I can tell you for a fact. What you did for this customer was cheaper than replacing the harness. The harness alone would be around 3500 to 4000. That's not even counting the 32 hours of labor that it calls for. Good job my friend, been there and done that myself.

[blackdogexcavator]

The owner initially made a big mistake by drilling without looking, but he definitely made the right decision by letting you fix it.

[humbleservices]

Glad you like the wire spoon Wes! I used them in aircraft and found that they made a great tool when working in tight spaces to open up a harness. I about spit my coffee this morning when you showed the tool on the video! Made my day to have it featured, thanks!

A couple of tips from experience with using it: Dull the tip so you don't accidentally pierce a wire. Also when possible cut tip to handle so you don't overshoot the end and get into the wires. Allows you to get more aggressive with the cuts. I use mine with a flip open razor knife that has a thicker blade for more stability when cutting. All that said, thanks for another great video!

[bchdsailor]

"Let me just wipe off these tears"
Nice fix, looking forward to the next video

[karencary]

I'm sure most people would wonder why a retired Nursing professor would love your videos. I've narrowed it down to 2 of your special gifts--your humor and your problem solving ability. You rock man.

[StreuB]

I guarantee when the owner cut out that panel to see the carnage that he caused. It was one of those "Come to Jesus" moments. There were no tears, no anger, no happiness, no emotion at all. Just the quietness of his current existence. Living in the moment....as time slowed to a crawl and his life became but a blip in time, where he questioned his path through life, and the events that got him to where he currently was. LOL

Nice fix Wes. You were literally his savior. I can't think of anyone who would have taken that job on. Most all would have noped right the eff out.

[billh]

I remember vividly when I worked for a limo manufacturer. Since I was fluent in hotrod and restoration electricals, I was assigned to all the hearses, armored cars, and specialty limos. Mercedes S500 and 600 was without a doubt the most difficult. Imagine stretching a built harness 30-50 inches, up to a couple hundred wires a side. To keep the splices from being one massive ball, I would clip 10 or so, twist, solder, shrink wrap. Move 2-3 inches down the harness, another 10 clipped. Incorporate all the equipment we installed (dual divider, rear A/C, TV, stereo and so on) and I could be on a 30" stretch 600 for a week.

[pootthatbak]

Im calling it! JCB is awesone! Wire is super expensive, so, when JCB decided to spend the extra money to label each circuit, it shows they really care about helping out the end user keeping the machine working and profitable

[macgvrs]

Great job. I learned three new things. That there is a tool for cutting the wrap off a loom, damage free. That machinists points can be used to hold a cab up and, I especially like the trick with the socket and tape. I never would have thought of that. I usually just cut the length of tape that I think I need and then try to wind it around the wire without getting it twisted or stuck to something I don't want it to. All that and story time too. What a deal!

[HansFormerlyTraffer]

I wonder if you customers know what an incredible resource they have in you...I have never seen a better all around mechanic. You save your customers tens of thousands of dollars and do stuff the factory wouldn't do.

[TyphoonVstrom]

This brought back many traumatic memories for me Wes. Once, I had to install a new aftermarket third seat in the front of a brand new MB Sprinter van, it came with no fitting instructions.
It was a matter of aligning it with the existing seats and going from there. These vans have a huge, one piece moulded rubber mat that goes under the front seats, under the dash and side heel plates, so not a trivial task to remove. These aftermarket seats bolt through the floor pan and have large backing plates that fit up from underneath to sandwich the floor panel. Typical process is to dril your clearance hole through the floor mat or carpet/ insulation with a hole saw (a hole saw run backwards cuts through carpet really well and doesn't wad up the carpet) and then enlarge the hole saw pilot hole in the floor pan to through bolt size.
I called the local MB dealer and asked if there was anything under the thick, one piece rubber and insulation floor mats in that area I should be aware of and they emphatically said nothing to worry about.
So, off I go with the 25mm holesaw to punch some holes through the rubber floor mat and insulation for the bolts and spacers (to allow for the thickness of floor mat and insulation). No problems there, all good. Then I go to drill the 14mm diameter holes through the floor for the mounting bolts. Get through what I thought was the floor panel, then a huge sizzle pop. I knew what I'd done just from the sound. Turns out, there was a huge depressed channel stamped into the floor pan of the van, with a thick sheet metal cover that screws over it to provide a wiring loom run and the thick plate covers that and provides a nice flat floor for the cab.
Anyway, I spent the next day doing exactly what you have done here, except with a multitude of wire sizes. Fortunately, the MB loom was colour coded, unlike your harness here.
If I'd had the seat positiooned 25mm further forward, I would've missed the harness completely.
We started carrying a stock of those large amperage fusible links like the ones on the JCB after that event....

[greavous]

that harness repair went exceptionally well Id say. Having numbers to match up was a bonus but getting it neat and manageable to where it would go back in its space is a whole other project in itself! Another job well done Sir!

[williamlindsey]

I have a long history with JCB and I have to say that they usually try to think ahead when they design their machines. They are not the worst machines to repair. Thanks for the video.

[gutsngorrrr]

What was great, was seeing someone actually use the proper harness fabric tape and split loom to do a fix like this, so often people just use electrical tape, which is terrible stuff and degrades to a slimy mess especially around oils.

[gordowgwg]

Reminds me of a strory from way back.
In Australia, in the eighties, GM supplied the Police cars and the tech's drilled the normal mounting holes for the radios in a large number of cars (IIRC, it was 500) at the same time in the passenger footwell area. Unfortunately, they were the first batch of cars with electronic engine management, these ECUs' needed to be installed in a cool, dry area that was out of the way - like on the other side of the panels being drilled for the radios... Even more unfortunately, they were being done as batches and by the time they realised why the cars wouldn't start they'd gone through a number of ECUs.

[willbesquared]

Awesome job man..love the socket/tape trick that’s definitely a keeper!

[gwharton]

A great fix. It reminds me of the time I drilled a hole in the floor of a Dodge van to mount a plywood floor. Drilled right into the gas tank. The tip about wrapping tape around a socket was worth its weight in gold. Thanks for a great video.

[spenmac]

Wiping off those tears, that was classic. I feel for the guy, been there done that. Good job Wes.

[AndrewSpencer]

Oh wow, this one struck a chord with me. I'm currently halfway through repairing a fire damaged mini telehandler with many more electrical options installed than this JCB. I'm onto my 2nd 250' spool of wire, cutting out burnt sections and splicing them back in. I'm loving the the little clear heat shrink butt splices with the adhesive and solder preinstalled. Just twist, hit it with the heat gun, and watch the solder flow out. I'm on my 3rd 100 pack of those...
Great vid Wes, and I can sure commiserate with you on this 3 years later!