Don't you just love old electrics?

Last time I used 'Jasmine' (just before Xmas) the windscreen wipers packed
up for no apparent reason.
Had a good look yesterday - fuse was blown. Checked for faults, couldn't
find anything wrong, replaced fuse, worked fine.
I just assumed the fuse had 'aged' (the old glass encased wire types can and
do).
I decide to turn the 90 around in my drive to work on the front. The fuse
box cover was still off. As I put her into reverse I saw the fuse blow
again.
Turns out there was a short underneath on the wire from the gearbox reverse
light switch to the light itself! Shared circuitry/fuse - nice

Stew.

--

1990 LR Ninety 2.5D N/A (Jasmine - the off-road toy!)
New Jeep Cherokee Sport CRD
Ex owner of 2002 Freelander Td4 ES (It was really, really bad)
Intersted in facts, not fiction? Look here - http://www.4x4prejudice.org

In article <[email protected]>, 90ninety
<[email protected]> writes
>Last time I used 'Jasmine' (just before Xmas) the windscreen wipers packed
>up for no apparent reason.
>Had a good look yesterday - fuse was blown. Checked for faults, couldn't
>find anything wrong, replaced fuse, worked fine.
>I just assumed the fuse had 'aged' (the old glass encased wire types can and
>do).
>I decide to turn the 90 around in my drive to work on the front. The fuse
>box cover was still off. As I put her into reverse I saw the fuse blow
>again.
>Turns out there was a short underneath on the wire from the gearbox reverse
>light switch to the light itself! Shared circuitry/fuse - nice

There's an argument for replacing wiring looms at regular intervals.

We had a 1990 VW Passat saloon, which was an exceptionally good car save
one respect - the electrics. I never quite got over the £350
'irrepairable' airflow sensor (turned out on dismantling to have a
clip-on carbon track pot inside!), but the killer was the wiring loom.
After about 5 years it went brittle, and shorts/breaks were common. We
had them in the doors, the boot lid and the central locking wiring. In
each case they took ages to find and fix.

I've noticed the same stiffening in Marge's wiring, and she's about the
same age. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet in the summer and
rewire her too. At least the systems are less complex, so the loom ought
to be easier to make. It's a right pain though.

Regards,

Simonm.

--
simonm|at|muircom|dot|demon|.|c|oh|dot|u|kay
SIMON MUIR, UK INDEPENDENCE PARTY, BRISTOL www.ukip.org
EUROPEANS AGAINST THE EU www.members.aol.com/eurofaq
GT250A'76 R80/RT'86 110CSW TD'88 www.kc3ltd.co.uk/profile/eurofollie/

"SpamTrapSeeSig" <[email protected]> schreef in bericht
news:[email protected]

> I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet in the
> summer and rewire her too. At least the systems are less complex, so
> the loom ought to be easier to make. It's a right pain though.

Completely rewired my '82 Ruster quite some time ago now. It's well
worth the effort.

Half the stuff on Jasmine didn't work when I bought her. The weakest link
was the fuse box. Terrible corrosion/deposits on fuse holders. Cleaned them
all and replaced any dodgy looking fuses, then everything worked and has
done for years.

Stew.

--

1990 LR Ninety 2.5D N/A (Jasmine - the off-road toy!)
New Jeep Cherokee Sport CRD
Ex owner of 2002 Freelander Td4 ES (It was really, really bad)
Intersted in facts, not fiction? Look here - http://www.4x4prejudice.org


"aghasee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "SpamTrapSeeSig" <[email protected]> schreef in bericht
> news:[email protected]
>
>> I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet in the
>> summer and rewire her too. At least the systems are less complex, so
>> the loom ought to be easier to make. It's a right pain though.
>
> Completely rewired my '82 Ruster quite some time ago now. It's well
> worth the effort.
>
>

"aghasee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "SpamTrapSeeSig" <[email protected]> schreef in bericht
> news:[email protected]
>
> > I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet in the
> > summer and rewire her too. At least the systems are less complex, so
> > the loom ought to be easier to make. It's a right pain though.
>
> Completely rewired my '82 Ruster quite some time ago now. It's well
> worth the effort.
>

Where did you buy your new loom, or was it had made?
I'll carry on cutting out the bad and soldering in new bits until I find a
replacement loom with a proper fuse box. A brand new SIII loom is just as
likely to self ignite during a bit of careless fiddling or contact failure.

We've built an extra fuse box for stuff like radio, gps, CB and interior
lights. It sits in the dash shelf with lots of fuses and screw terminals
inside. Suppose I could build another for all the electrics, but don't have
time. Can a similar new box and wire kit be purchased?

Failing that, has somebody drawn up their own wiring system with fuses and
proper components.

David

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DavidM djm81NOSPAMatcam.ac.uk

"DavidM" <djm81@(I hate spam)cam.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "aghasee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> "SpamTrapSeeSig" <[email protected]> schreef in bericht
>> news:[email protected]
>>
>> > I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet in the
>> > summer and rewire her too. At least the systems are less complex,
>> > so
>> > the loom ought to be easier to make. It's a right pain though.
>>
>> Completely rewired my '82 Ruster quite some time ago now. It's well
>> worth the effort.
>>
>
> Where did you buy your new loom, or was it had made?

I've not bought a Landrover loom from them, but I've always found
Autosparks (Sandiacre, Nottingham, 10 mins off M1 J25)

http://www.autosparks.co.uk

have been exceptionally good to deal with. They list all variants of
Land Rovers, but will also modify them exactly as you require.

The last 2A I owned had been rewired by the previous owner, but instead
of crimping or soldering all the correct terminals, he'd left a few
inches of the old wiring dangling from every switch and piece of
equipment, and joined them to the new loom with chocolate blocks. Bad.


--
Kevin Poole
**Use current month and year to reply (e.g. [email protected])***
Car Transport by Tiltbed Trailer - based near Derby

"DavidM" <djm81@(I hate spam)cam.ac.uk> schreef in bericht
news:[email protected]
> "aghasee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> "SpamTrapSeeSig" <[email protected]> schreef in bericht
>> news:[email protected]
>>
>>> I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet in the
>>> summer and rewire her too. At least the systems are less complex, so
>>> the loom ought to be easier to make. It's a right pain though.
>>
>> Completely rewired my '82 Ruster quite some time ago now. It's well
>> worth the effort.
>>
>
> Where did you buy your new loom, or was it had made?

Made it myself, to my own custom specs; split charge, all mud/moisture
sensitive components high inside the vehicle, simplified a lot... got
rid of all the multi-contact switches on the steering column with
exception of the turn signal lever. Push button starter, separate
switches for ignition, fuel, lights, etc.

> I'll carry on cutting out the bad and soldering in new bits until I

I found out the original loom in my Ruster was given the same treatment.


> find a replacement loom with a proper fuse box. A brand new SIII loom
> is just as likely to self ignite during a bit of careless fiddling or
> contact failure.

Aren't all Lucas parts prone to self ignite?

> We've built an extra fuse box for stuff like radio, gps, CB and
> interior lights. It sits in the dash shelf with lots of fuses and
> screw terminals inside. Suppose I could build another for all the
> electrics, but don't have time. Can a similar new box and wire kit be
> purchased?

Don't know. Probably not.

> Failing that, has somebody drawn up their own wiring system with
> fuses and proper components.

I have the factory schematics for the RangeRovers from 1978...?

"aghasee" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:4225b1f0$0$44101>
> Failing that, has somebody drawn up their own wiring system with
> > fuses and proper components.
>
> I have the factory schematics for the RangeRovers from 1978...?

Are they the same as in the service manuals?
Have you any recommendations for where to buy lots of good wire in different
colours?
Autosparks sound like an a.f.l favourite.

Cheers
David


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DavidM djm81NOSPAMatcam.ac.uk

"aghasee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> > We've built an extra fuse box for stuff like radio, gps, CB and
> > interior lights. It sits in the dash shelf with lots of fuses and
> > screw terminals inside. Suppose I could build another for all the
> > electrics, but don't have time. Can a similar new box and wire kit be
> > purchased?
>
> Don't know. Probably not.

Just found a replacement wiring set for american cars. You get the fuse box,
looms and connectors for $279. Looks like good value. Anybody seen anything
like it for sale in the UK?
http://www.americanautowire.com/Products/PP12.htm



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DavidM djm81NOSPAMatcam.ac.uk

"DavidM" <djm81@(I hate spam)cam.ac.uk> schreef in bericht
news:[email protected]
> "aghasee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:4225b1f0$0$44101>
>> Failing that, has somebody drawn up their own wiring system with
>>> fuses and proper components.
>>
>> I have the factory schematics for the RangeRovers from 1978...?
>
> Are they the same as in the service manuals?

They're part of the original 1978 RR service manual I have.

> Have you any recommendations for where to buy lots of good wire in
> different colours?

You don't need *lots* of wire, and not that much colours.
If you buy like, five different colours, 100 metres each, 2.5 square mm
gauge supple tinned wire, it'll get the job done. You'll need to build a
little system into it of course.

> Autosparks sound like an a.f.l favourite.

Don't know, I'm an independent electrician from Belgium, I buy my wires
from Alcatel and cables from Draka.

On or around Thu, 3 Mar 2005 08:31:05 +0100, "aghasee"
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>"DavidM" <djm81@(I hate spam)cam.ac.uk> schreef in bericht
>news:[email protected]
>> "aghasee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:4225b1f0$0$44101>
>>> Failing that, has somebody drawn up their own wiring system with
>>>> fuses and proper components.
>>>
>>> I have the factory schematics for the RangeRovers from 1978...?
>>
>> Are they the same as in the service manuals?
>
>They're part of the original 1978 RR service manual I have.
>
>> Have you any recommendations for where to buy lots of good wire in
>> different colours?
>
>You don't need *lots* of wire, and not that much colours.
>If you buy like, five different colours, 100 metres each, 2.5 square mm
>gauge supple tinned wire, it'll get the job done. You'll need to build a
>little system into it of course.

depends if you want to actually remake a standard loom, or just make
something thet works, really.

>> Autosparks sound like an a.f.l favourite.

You can do it like they do on other things, all same colour wire (or
possible 2 or 3 colours for different thickness wires (different loads) and
use labels on the wires at the ends.
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
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In article <[email protected]>, Austin Shackles
<[email protected]> writes
>You can do it like they do on other things, all same colour wire (or
>possible 2 or 3 colours for different thickness wires (different loads) and
>use labels on the wires at the ends.

And you can either use coloured slip-on numbers (from RS components
etc.), or coloured Hellermann sleeves to code the wire ends, or even
sliced-up coloured heat-shrink (prob' best, but expensive). Hellermann
sleeves perish if used in very hot places (IIRC, they're rubber), but
other than actually on the engine they're probably fine, and will go
over Lucar connectors that are already fitted.

Regards,

Simonm.

--
simonm|at|muircom|dot|demon|.|c|oh|dot|u|kay
SIMON MUIR, UK INDEPENDENCE PARTY, BRISTOL www.ukip.org
EUROPEANS AGAINST THE EU www.members.aol.com/eurofaq
GT250A'76 R80/RT'86 110CSW TD'88 www.kc3ltd.co.uk/profile/eurofollie/