Am I OCD, bored or genius?

Ranger Mark · Jul 14, 2018

I can't be the only one that has ever thought this, but has anyone ever done it?
I seriously want to color code my engine bay and I wish manufacturers would do this. Using paint, tape, plasti-dip or whatever else I can use.
I mean, as example, all parts that have water will be blue. A/C system parts white. Anything with gas, red. Brake lines and related parts yellow and so on.
Imagine opening the hood of your car, knowing you are working on the brakes and can easily spot all lines and related parts. Oh shit, that was a gas line. Nope, it would be the wrong color and you wouldn't touch it.

To quote a great man.
"I have a dream"

Dirtman · Jul 14, 2018

I always though color coding bolt sizes would be an interesting idea. But if you're mistaking radiator hoses for brake lines you should probably never ever open your hood lol. :icon_rofl:

85_Ranger4x4 · Jul 14, 2018

Dirtman said:
I always though color coding bolt sizes would be an interesting idea. But if you're mistaking radiator hoses for brake lines you should probably never ever open your hood lol.

John Deere color codes their bulk hardware by grade.

Never really thought about color coding hoses, I don’t think there is much need. I have seen clear pipes so you can see the coolant or whatever travel thru them. Not sure how durable they are though.

alwaysFlOoReD · Jul 14, 2018

I recently cut a line I thought was a wire....NOOO, it's a fiber optic line to run light to the PRND1 on the column of a 1980 GMC. FAWCK! Color coding would have really helped. But I don't see the OEM doing this as it would add 1/2 cent to the cost of a vehicle.

ericbphoto · Jul 14, 2018

A lot of piping systems were color coded on the submarine I was on because once insulated, they really looked alike and size wasn't enough to differentiate things. Steam was white, oil was yellow, oxygen was green, etc. they weren't all colored. Heck. That was way back in the 20th century (1980's). I don't remember all the details. In my truck, the only stuff I really want color coded are the wires although it would be cool with having them all one color as long as each end of each wire had a number on it that corresponded to the wiring diagrams. I work on stuff like that every day.

alwaysFlOoReD · Jul 14, 2018

Kind of my point; oem dont give a shit for the repair, just get it sold. A sub is different in that the navy needs to be able to repair and they have a much larger wallet.

adsm08 · Jul 14, 2018

Ranger Mark said:
Imagine opening the hood of your car, knowing you are working on the brakes and can easily spot all lines and related parts.

I don't have to imagine. I can do it already. I don't need any color-coded parts.

alwaysFlOoReD · Jul 14, 2018

Adsm08
Remember when you didnt know everything......?

DRanger024 · Jul 14, 2018

adsm08 said:
I don't have to imagine. I can do it already. I don't need any color-coded parts.

Agreed. Vehicles are broken down into basic components, everything is traceable and otherwise pretty obvious.

Wiring can be a bear but even if they made wires color coded (they kind of are already), they’d still have different color tracers on each of them. You’d still need diagrams.

adsm08 · Jul 14, 2018

alwaysFlOoReD said:
Adsm08
Remember when you didnt know everything......?

Yes I do. I still don't think it would be that helpful, because even when I knew nothing I could tell the difference between wiring, water lines, and brake lines. I might not have known what they were, but colors weren't going to help that, I did know they were different.

Andy D · Jul 15, 2018

Heh heh. When I did an engine swap a Grand Wagoneer, I spent much time tagging stuff as I took it off. Then I learned that wiring and plumbing under hood is idiot proofed just like appliances. Robots don't plug stuff in,people do. Car harnesses are built to a price point. Extra length isn't allowed. Stretch out the harness. The plug can only be so far away. When I did a head R+R on a Honda CRV, I only matched marked the distributor. The wiring and plumbing went together without a hitch. Everything under a Ranger's hood goes only one place and one place only

fastpakr · Jul 15, 2018

Agreed. The only places that connectors are reused are far enough apart that you can't screw it up. For example, Ford uses matching connectors on the fuel pump and transfer case motor in 99, but you couldn't possibly plug one into the other because of their locations.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

85_Ranger4x4 · Jul 15, 2018

Andy D said:
Heh heh. When I did an engine swap a Grand Wagoneer, I spent much time tagging stuff as I took it off. Then I learned that wiring and plumbing under hood is idiot proofed just like appliances. Robots don't plug stuff in,people do. Car harnesses are built to a price point. Extra length isn't allowed. Stretch out the harness. The plug can only be so far away. When I did a head R+R on a Honda CRV, I only matched marked the distributor. The wiring and plumbing went together without a hitch. Everything under a Ranger's hood goes only one place and one place only

Engine swaps are good to tag. Things don't always line up going together when you mix and match things around.

My neutral start wiring was erroneously calculated as bonus parts and I had to fish thru a bunch of wiring to fix it.

fastpakr · Jul 15, 2018

Where it really gets weird is ford reversing connectors. The giant collector on the drivers side fender that feeds power and several other things into the cab is the exact same on the Ranger and Explorer, but they flip the orientation so you have to cut and solder or repin if you do the swap.

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91stranger · Jul 16, 2018

If you color coded everything under the hood it would look like those kids toys at the dentist where you push the wooden blocks around the colored wires like a roller coaster. All the different colors going every which way. Most things don't need color coded because you should know that the line coming off the brake cylinder is a brake line or the hose coming out of the radiator is a coolant hose. If OEMS made it easy to work on then the dealerships would lose money. Its a lose-lose to OEMS.

Am I OCD, bored or genius?

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