What is the best way to degrease a fuel injection wire harness?

paint thinner
acetone

Thanks for the reply

I’d try naptha first if you have it handy. A little less harsh than acetone, and very effective for removing glue residue eg melted electrical tape

I recently cleaned one with simple green and a hundred rags

Been going through this for the last few days.

At first I was "This stuff smells kinda nice".

15 minutes later I was ready to barf my dinner.

Dunno what it is about Simple Green, starts off pleasant and turns overpowering.

Try Dawn dish washing soap, it will rinse easily with water and easy on things, your body included.

Trying to avoid using anything water soluble that will seep into the wiring causing corrosion.

I use 3M electrical contact cleaner. Basically a citrus based chemical solvent. Not a bad smell. Not water based.

I agree regular Simple Green reeks, but they make a clear uncolored unscented version called Crystal (available at Uline). The Crystal Simple Green smells like the soak spray at DIY car washes. Chemical smell yes but not revolting like the Green coloured stuff.
I use it in the engine bay of cars.


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These solvents will melt what you're trying to clean. Try WD-40.

Is that the harness I bought? yehey! I don’t need to clean them anymore.

I used Goof Off, since I had to remove both grease and #$%^*&^ PO undercoating spray. That meant separating all the wires for cleaning access, and then re-taping the harness.

In my experience, Goof Off is a strong solvent that is safe on most paint and other finishes--just watch it on some plastics.

How about gasoline? As long as the harness is not in the car and your outside. Use an oil drain pain and a cheap paint brush

[quote name='windforfun' date='Mar 15 2022, 06:09 PM' post='2988496']
[quote name='JeffBowlsby' post='2988370' date='Mar 15 2022, 10:47 AM']
[quote name='Geezer914' post='2988360' date='Mar 15 2022, 11:12 AM']
What is the best way to degrease a fuel injection wire harness?
[quote]

paint thinner
acetone
[/quote]

These solvents will melt what you're trying to clean. Try WD-40.
[/quote]

I regularly use citrus degreasers, simple green, paint thinner, acetone depedning on the situation, and have for at least 20 years to clean up harnesses. Acetone will remove the color striping and printed numbering on wire insulation so be cautious. No harness damage whatsoever. The military uses acetone for this exact purpose, but the caution is to wear latex gloves and work in a well ventilated area. The solvents work the best against grease residues, the water based degreasers less so, but all are effective with enough effort. There may be other cleaners that could be effective but I have not tried everything. Harness casing is chemical resistant and quite durable.

Yes sir

I stretched it out on the floor and spent a few hours cleaning it
It was the best way to examine all of the terminals and condition

Nice and thank you again sir!
Now just need to open the box from shipping and test all the connections!

This is a timely topic. I thought somebody here had recommended waterless hand cleaner. The gel type without the pumice.

I haven't tried it yet, but it certainly seems like everybody has their favorite!

You would be amazed at what magic erasers can do. I just wiped all the brake dust off these calipers with a magic eraser and water. No solvents. Best thing was I could do it in the house and my wife didn’t complain about any smell.

If my wife is ever going to divorce me, it will be because I made the house smell bad with a solvent. She is very sensitive to that.

I just cleaned the harness by placing it in an oversized Ziploc bag and adding 1/3 can of paint thinner. I dumped it out and repeated the process. I then cleaned everything with a parts brush. Rinsed again with paint thinner. Wiped off the excess with paper towels, then sprayed the harness and plugs with CRC contact cleaner and left it outside to dry.