insulation to mush?

[lmwatbullrun]

so, having reasonably well retrieved myself from a silly mistake WRT oil gallery holes and bolts, I fire up the machine (1985 740 TD) and.....all of the warning lights are flickering.

Hmmm, sez I, old wiring. I've been mucking around with the alternator, I probably have a chafed wire or two down there; time for some liquid electrical tape!

An hour later, it is clear that the insulation on the old wires has turned to mush. Literally. Have never seen the like. ALL of them leading from the alternator and the sensor to the blower are mush, and naturally, they are conducting themselves in ways the Volvo engineers never envisioned, I'm sure. No decent engineer would do such a thing. Decorum forbids further description, as this is a public forum.

So, humor aside, does anyone sell new wiring harnesses? If I have this much trouble with the alternator wiring I am sure the rest are decomposing, too.