wire in the blood

[stan1]

any tips on looms would be appreciated. i.e. im thinking of removing all the old wires, the car runs and most of the wiring is in situ but not connected up.ideally i would like to re-wire the lot (the present wiring is a mess) but am an idiot when it comes to leccie.is it possible to order looms for idiots . i do have a mate who would do the job but i would like to do as much as poss. are looms made simple ,are they made to a specific car ? or tailored to your needs? any help or piss takes welcome.

[BORNXenon]

Originally Posted by stan1

any tips on looms would be appreciated. i.e. im thinking of removing all the old wires, the car runs and most of the wiring is in situ but not connected up.ideally i would like to re-wire the lot (the present wiring is a mess) but am an idiot when it comes to leccie.is it possible to order looms for idiots . i do have a mate who would do the job but i would like to do as much as poss. are looms made simple ,are they made to a specific car ? or tailored to your needs? any help or piss takes welcome.

I believe you can get a custom loom.
I'm currently stripping a Vectra and using it as practice for when I get my donor, so I have removed the wiring loom but only after I have labelled the function of every connector using masking tape and a marker pen.
Wasn't as arduous as I thought however I continue to be amazed at the amount of wiring in a modern production car.

[davedew]

I used a Premier wiring loom in mine in the end. It is very simple, but very good and has everything you could need. Alan is a top bloke who will make tailor the loom to your switch gear if you tell him what you are using. Worth a call in my opinion.

[minicountryman1961]

Originally Posted by stan1

any tips on looms would be appreciated. i.e. im thinking of removing all the old wires, the car runs and most of the wiring is in situ but not connected up.ideally i would like to re-wire the lot (the present wiring is a mess) but am an idiot when it comes to leccie.is it possible to order looms for idiots . i do have a mate who would do the job but i would like to do as much as poss. are looms made simple ,are they made to a specific car ? or tailored to your needs? any help or piss takes welcome.

I am using gauges, steering column(with switches), and wiper motor from a 1969 MG Midget. I am using the wiring loom from the MG because it plugs into all the switches and gauges and has almost no extra wires to confuse me.

[flyerncle]

Keep it simple,stripping the car loom will be a labour of love that really is not worth while in my opinion as it will be a nightmare to make tidy as I found out when trying to use the loom from the Ginetta G20 we are using for a donor.

After spending two days fitting it and trying to make it tidy I launched it out the door and went to simple wiring for starter,fuel and ignition/injection system.

7 core was used for the rear wiring and being a race car only,we only need brake and a rain/fog light and feed to the fuel pump.

Premier is probably the best bet and having seen the work they produce I would use them.

[monsterob]

depends what you want ... in the past ive mated a honda engine loom to a mini lighting and other bits loom via a single modified fuse box / relay box worked fantastically and cost me best part of £20

im planning the same for this vehicle using the same basics ie chopping the engine loom from the donor ( got the whole loom just tidying to do ) and making ends meet as it were its not that hard aslong as you can see what youve got the labeling at the begining helps understanding what your loom has is the easy bit tracing however can be a bit of a minefield but persevere and you can get a nice rewarding result bit of theory first check 3 times check again then cut (solder if need be) and always remember a soldering iron will fix anything if it goes wron aslong as you are thorough and record what you do

take time to prepare and take time doing you will not go far wrong

[flyerncle]

I agree with you Rob,but factor in the abillity of some builders who have little or no knowledge of mechanics or the dreaded elctrickery simple and pre-faricated would make life simple.

Its all down to abillity and please do not take offence anybody as we all differ in abillity and some are lucky (depends on your outlook) to be in the trade as I am myself to be able to sort it out.

One builder has posted an execellent wiring diagram and I am ashamed I cant remember who .

[monsterob]

fair play i was faced with the situation i described and thought what the hell have a go and if all else fails then buy a custom loom / commision one

had a go and was sucessful if it costs nothing but time and you have the time why not have a go first you will learn a new skill or blow something up

[flyerncle]

Well done Rob,even though I have worked in the trade from 1972 till now I am not really willing to tackle electrics as it was never needed,we just farmed it out to a sparky.

Problem now is that every mortal thing on cars goes through some ecu or controller so you need a laptop to talk to the car and the brain of Einstien just to turn off service lights,VAG in their wisdom have added a new protocol to their systems and even the dealers tell the customer "the light may come back on ". So I have had to learn the hard way,and £3500 lighter in the pocket for the hardware.

All credit to you for even trying, Need is the master of invention.

Would be good if the more electrically wise amongst the forum could maybe sort a beginners guide to electrickery

[monsterob]

had to give honda their credit they had a little light on the ecu that blinked the fault code at you and nice lists avail from all over the net

no doubt my vauxhall will mess me around

had to have the alfa on the computer today to find out which abs sensors failed simple on anything past 95 if you ask me !