wiring harness breakage between driver's door and frame

My outside mirrors both stopped operating. I found a broken wire in the wiring harness between the driver's door and the frame. I had to cut the wire tie and move the rubber boot to find it. It was the power wire, and I couldn't get to the other end, so I fixed it by soldering wire to the lead and running it to the fuse panel.

Only a couple weeks later my driver's side window stopped working. Again, the problem was in that harness; this time it was a broken wire running from the switch to the computer (I think that is where it was going). It was a red wire, so I doubt it was a ground. I was able to cut most of the boot away to get to the other end of the wire, and soldered a jumper, which fixed the problem. I used zip ties to secure the harness. Now I have to worry about water and dust since there is no boot protecting the harness at that location.

I'd hate to think what a dealer would have charged to fix these problems, possibly having to replace the entire wiring harness - cha ching!!

While this Sport Trac has been extremely reliable over the current mileage of 233,000, I am troubled that the harness had broken wires two times within a month. Are the rest about to go? These are very fine (small diameter) wires, and could easily have been made more sturdy (bigger) by Ford, which would have made them last far longer.