So I've been working at getting the wiring harnesses out of the engine bay, and cleaning it up.. I've been having wierd problems with my electrical system inlcuding (but not limited to) my car randomly shutting off, and spotty power to my in car electronics (radar detector, CD player, etc). These problems, paired with the completion of my MegaSquirt meant that I didn't want to deal with spotty wiring on my new computer, as well as I'm not running a lot of the components that came with the car.

So I've been stripping the wires of their electrical tape, and man, is this thing a hack job! Every 3 to 6 inches there's a splice where it splits a wire to two or three. These splices are simply the wires set next to each other with a small clamp-like crimped setting. no solder, nothing.. The side of the wiring in the engine bay was completely coated in oil, and the side on the inside of the car had completely dried electrical tape. The glue had long since crystalized and turned into some sort of powder that seems to have completely infiltrated the connectors..

It just seems like they built the car, put a lot of awesome engineering into the engine and drivetrain, and then, the day before the first 2nd gen shipped said "Oh! ****! We forgot to wire it!"

I'm Glad that the original wiring won't be running anything mission critcal anymore.

 

obvousily posted by someone that has never had an english car

 

yeah, after 15+ years, electrical tape dries up. Oil, dirt, and other types of debris found in and around cars tends to also collect on the wires. It happens to all vehicles that are this old. There's nothing we can do about it except repair/ replaces the wires.

 

actually these cars hold up remarkably well considering the amount of wiring they have, the ground point engineering is the weak point though but no electrical system is really made to keep oil from penetrating it for 15+ years.


i am always amazed how well my car sits in it's condition for its age and mileage(170k) and has very few problems, but maintenance is the key to a long living car.

 

You hit the nail on the head, Karack- the physical design of our ground terminations had me wondering what the hell the electrical engineer was thinking when he was drawing it all out...

 

LUCAS....The Prince of Darkness.

If you don't understand the above, you've never owned an English/British car.

 

positive ground system, HAH!



anyways, yeah... they really did not add enough grounding to the chassis and engine on the FC.

 

or you are under the age of 25.. .

great column in this months Road& Track on that.

 

ha lucas parts, boo hiss, my neighbors 70s jag was in the shop more often than it was on the road.

 

Whew, try flying a plane with a Lucas electrical system

Actually, it works great...just don't want to work on it...just fly it!

James

 

Awwww....British cars are not that bad. As long as you always park at the top of a hill, don't drive it at night, or in the rain, or need a radio, or can't figure out why the positive is/might be the ground, or why you have to put oil in the carburetors. And if you go out in the garage at night, when it's really quiet, you can actually hear them rusting. Try any of those things with a Japanese car, and you'll get nothing.

 

yeah british cars are a wiring nightmare! i used to have a 88 jaguar xj6 than would start when you turned the headlights on!!

 

yeah, lucas=****.

i have a 48 ferguson tractor with a lucas electrical system, have to fix something literally every time i start it up.

pat

 

I liked that (above). What did you do? Go to the dictionary and look up the definition of British cars and cut and past it? Yeah, put that oil in the SU.

 

Nope. It's just that I've owned an MG Midget since 1993!

 

No, the physical locations of the grounds aren't bad- and you really only need one ground (or bonding strap) between the engine and chassis, just as you only need one power wire for each circuit. That rear rotor housing ground is actually a pretty good place to put it, considering the alt's running the show 99% of the time...

It's the WAY they grounded things, sitting a ring terminal on top of paint, then expecting the bolt threads to maintain electrical contact throughout years of galvanic corrosion- THAT'S what had me scratching my head...

 

So, why is brittish beer served at room temprature?

Lucas Refrigerators!

 

You know what everyone forgets is that the RX-7 was designed to last 10 years and 120K miles. No more.

The fact that we all drive a 15+ year old car that some exceed 200K miles are all just pluses.

 

Yeah, I'm in the process of replacing my stereo wiring harness right now and it is a mess. But, a slightly damp rag and some patience can do wonders. My wires are now gunk free and everything appears to be running/lighting up. (Still have to bolt the dash back and everything, though.)

iSP33D-for-J3SUS

 

The three position Lucas switch: Dim, Flicker, Off. I had to jump in with that one, I'm building a Bugeye right now that will have a Megasquirt ll.

 

so true, I couldnt help but chuckle.

 

hmmmmm

my tII is running fine not been garged for the past five years, not had an electrical problem yet !

my location as you can see is U.K. so I guess I am just lucky

but I have to agree generally our cars are crap thats why I got Jap

we put too much god damn salt on the roads and we get too much rain

But I also have alot of fun when its wet whether its the Rx or the miata

 

It is true that I've never owned a british car Although I have looked into picking up a MGB or a Midget to play with.. the first thing to go is the wiring!

I do understand that cars are only made to last 10 years, and that mine really has been through a lot (230k miles on the chassis).. it's just that it astounded me that they'd crimp (important?) wires together like that with no solder, anticorrosive gel, or anything other than electrical tape. Also, the ground thing like Wayne mentioned also had me wondering.. I'm putting all my wires through a solution of Simple Green and some water, since it's a nice sunny day out, they'll dry quickly, and all of the oil/dirt/grime will be gone.

 

Funny, the last time I tore apart a Mazda harness, I had just worked on a Dodge Daytona. I was struck by the HIGH QUALITY of the Mazda harness compared to the Dodge harness. Hell, even my own engine harness was crispy on the outside, yet minty fresh on the inside after almsot 20 years in an engine bay.

Though I must agree that solderless crimps are a bad idea in any engine bay, even though almost all manufacturers use them.

 

Luckily, I have never had the displeasure of doing an american car's (or anything other than this ones') wiring harness. ALthough, I did think to myself about 30 times while I was pulling it out and strippping it "I'm glad this isn't a ford!"

The wires themselves are fine, the ones in the engine bay were protected in a nice cocoon of oil I think most of my problems were because of the crimps (some seemed almost loose), and the grounds.. Not a problem anymore, though!