wires have been cut

[Yas]

First of all, hi
I just bought a 2002 Clio sport 172 yesterday, what a fantastic car!
I checked over the engine bay today and notice some wires have been cut or frayed. Have no idea what they are for, there are no issues when driving. Want to get engine steam cleaned but now i'm thinking it wouldn't be a good idea with exposed wiring.

Any info would be greatly appreciated

 

[daveski]

Looks a bit odd there. Is there an aftermarket alarm or anything on the car?

I wouldnt steam clean an engine bay anyway, always seems to be stories of people who wreck cars doing that.

 

[Ol’ Tarby]

Looks like its been chewed by a hamster

 

[Yas]

Thanks for your replies.
Everything is standard on the car, unless it had an aftermarket alarm previously. The owner lived on a farm so the engine bay is full of muddy deposits etc thats why i thought steam clean would be easiest.
In the meantime i think its best to cover the wires up with insulation tape just to be on the safe side

 

[.Adam.]

If the owner lived on a farm, then possibly something like rats/mice have been chewing away?

 

[Yas]

I thougt that might be a possibility. Just want to see of anybody knows what they are for, as it doesnt seem to be affecting the drive in any way :S

 

[CuppyDean]

Thanks for your replies.
Everything is standard on the car, unless it had an aftermarket alarm previously. The owner lived on a farm so the engine bay is full of muddy deposits etc thats why i thought steam clean would be easiest.
In the meantime i think its best to cover the wires up with insulation tape just to be on the safe side

Dont steam clean the engine bay!

 

[.Adam.]

No idea what the wires actually are for, sorry.

 

[bennno2005]

I'm pretty sure I don't have those wires on my 182 so it could well be an after market alarm or something like that. If they arent causing any problems i would wrap them up well in insulation tape.

As above dont steam clean / pressure wash it as the water normally finds its way into the sparkplug sockets and causes havoc.

 

[1812lsd]

Its probably the remains of an ICE install, try following the wire into the car & find out where they go to. I'll bet they go to the stereo housing.

 

[Yas]

I'll see if i can follow the wires properly tomorow. There is so little space in the engine bay, my previous car (IS200) had enough space for me to get in and close the bonnet!

 

[1812lsd]

my previous car (IS200) had enough space for me to get in and close the bonnet!

LMAO

 

[1812lsd]

If it is the remains of an ICE install, if they are still connected to the fuse box or battery. It would be wise to remove the wires completely to stop any chance of starting a fire.

 

[montana]

Yeah as already mentioned try and trace them back .... Oh and don't steam clean the bay , I did it ONCE and won't be doing it again

 

[RSsprint]

They look like the remains of an old alarm and id say that as the old owner lived on a farm they have been chewed by a mouse.

 

[Yas]

Just had a closer look and the wires are connecte to the fuses and one to a bonnet release sensor (with a renault badge on it). The red wire is connected to the blue fuse on bottom left, the yellow wire to the fuse above it and black wire to the bonnet sensor. Can't seem to trace them back into the car, they just disappear. as people have mentioned, im guessing it must be an old alarm install as its connected to a bonnet sensor.

Here are the pics anyway..

 

[bennno2005]

Not knowing the finer points of auto-electric installation I'd re-wrap them with some insulation tape and leave them / try and tuck them away.

Your car though.

 

[Cup_Phil]

That's the standard renault alarm

It's an abomination - they were brought into the UK without alarms and renault just hired a company to fit them

The wiring on mine was shocking - and yours looks even worse

The yellow wire should be a switched 12v by the looks of it and the red wire should be permanent live

There's a red LED next to your gear stick which when the car is locked should flash to say the alarm is armed - mine never did.
I ended up buying a new renault alarm cheap off ebay (got lucky) and put a whole new wiring loom in for mine
You can probably get away with buying some cable and crimping a new section into place with some heat shrink connectors - then tape it all to the standard loom to keep it out of harms way
Unless someone has chopped it off on purpose because the alarm is faulty and it keeps going off

If you get really stuck I have 2 renault 172 alarms in my spares box now and one has all the wiring with it so I could probably hunt you out a loom for one if you need it - or a replacement alarm box

The alarm box by the way is under the plastic trim below the windscreen on the passenger side

 

[Yas]

Thanks for the advice cup_phil
The red light by the gearstick only flashes when i operate the central locking, thats it. Will try fix the wiring, if i need a new loom/box will let you know

 

[stevenb]

have the exact same set of wires and have been spending today trying to trace them back as they did look very after market but now ive seen these photos mine is exactly the same. Would it have anything to do with the car not starting or is it just a siren connected to the door lock switch flashing lights internal sensors?

My car is now not starting again and thought it might be something to do with this thinking it was an after market alarm / imoboliser.

 

[mark smith87]

Do not steam clean the engine unless you can get rid of the water left down the spark plug inserts. They always fill up with water after steam clean and are a pig to clean. You could clean the area around the engine but don't get the top of the engine wet or you'll have no end of hassle drying it off