Found a hidden wiring harness behind a bumper from 2011, what a mess

Last Thursday I pulled a rear bumper cover off a 2014 Civic that came in for a minor tap. Someone had spliced into the taillight wiring with electrical tape and no loom, and it was packed full of road grime and moisture. The harness was rubbing against the bumper bracket and had worn through to bare copper in two spots. I had to cut out about a foot of wire and rebuild it with proper butt connectors and shrink tube. Whole job took an extra 3 hours and the customer had no idea it was ever hacked in. Has anyone else found random backyard wiring jobs hiding behind factory panels? How do you usually handle that with the customer when it's not part of the original repair?

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the_logan5d ago

Honestly that tape job sounds like something I pulled out of a Grand Marquis last year, same deal except they used those old school wire nuts and left them hanging in the rain. It took me forever to figure out which wire went where because they had melted together from corrosion. I usually just snap a few photos before I dig in and show the customer when they come back, then tell them straight up it's not my work and they're lucky nothing caught fire. Most folks appreciate the heads up, but I've had a couple who tried to get me to bill the insurance for the extra labor, and I'm not about that.