Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do not know about cars but using electrical tape on aircraft is absolutely not allowed. Unlike in most electronics vehicles deal with vibration, improper wire routing will cause chafing against any surface it touches over time causing exposed wires and shorts in the best case. Zip ties are obviously not allowed because they would cause chafing themselves, electrical tape will likely come come undone after some year…
I know the internet really loves muh aerospace standards but there's reasons vehicles that travel in two dimensions don't need to abide by those standards. It would be prohibitively expensive and overkill most of the time. There's tons of stuff that isn't allowed on aircraft and a lot of it traces back to being able to verify/inspect what was done and allowing a chain of custody so problems can be traced to the sourc…
I don't think purchasing a spool of spot tie costs much more than electrical tape and neither does heat shrink.
> Zip ties are mostly not allowed for QC reasons.
Collateral duty inspectors (and QA) ensure quality work so this is not the case. All work done is always inspected by someone who is an expert and did not participate in the maintenance.
> All but the worst electrical tape will take 20+yr to come apart
I have seen electrical tape come apart in just a few years.
> if things fall apart in the air it's a bigger deal.
If an autopilot system receives incorrect input it could kill someone.
As an aside, I've worked on military aircraft (Avionics), and I have seen what happens when a wire is loose and in contact with a vibrating surface.
That said, again, I have no experience with cars.