• The Roadster Factory Recovery Fund - Friends, as you may have heard, The Roadster Factory, a respected British Car Parts business in PA, suffered a total loss in a fire on Christmas Day. Read about it, discuss or ask questions >> HERE. The Triumph Register of America is sponsoring a fund raiser to help TRF get back on their feet. If you can help, vist >> their GoFundMe page.
  • Hey there Guest!
    If you enjoy BCF and find our forum a useful resource, if you appreciate not having ads pop up all over the place and you want to ensure we can stay online - Please consider supporting with an "optional" low-cost annual subscription.
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this UGLY banner)
Tips
Tips

Wiring Harness

Texas_Cicada

Senior Member
Offline
I need to replace the wiring harness in my Bugeye. The PO has taped and spliced the original to the point that he has outdone the Lord of Darkness in the shorts/loose connections department. I am interested in your views on a couple of fronts:
(1) experience with different vendors and manufacturers (Moss, Vicky Brits, etc.) I am particularly interested in who has the better installation instructions.
(2) any advice on how to remove the old wiring. I am not stripping the car down to the frame and I do not want to remove the engine. Any tips or tricks in getting the old wires out and the new ones back in while keeping everything else in place?
(3) anything I should stay away from or be careful of?
 
Country flag
Offline
OP
T

Texas_Cicada

Senior Member
Offline
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gifHA! HA! HA! Actually, I have two observations about the wiring in my car:

First, as the Bugeye was originally designed, there appears to have been only one very long wire that connected everything in series (generator to starter to windshield wiper motor to headlights to heater blower, etc.) This traditional English design was very efficient, as one fault could produce multiple failures (like an old-fashioned string of Christmas tree lights.) I have counted only two (2) fuses in the entire car...and I have the optional dual horns.

English wiring appears to be the opposite of German wiring, where no single electrical circuit contains fewer than four redundant wires and at least one hydraulic servo. Italian wiring, on the other hand, uses multiple wires, each of a sufficiently small gauge, such that each strand is capable of overheating, thereby igniting an individual fire. The French forgo wires altogether and use hand-blown glass tubes filled with mineral oil to carry the electric current.

My second observation is that the previous owner attempted to replace the single wire in my Bugeye piecemeal, by cutting out random sections and splicing in random bits from old appliances, extension cords, coat hangers and paper clips. He insulated these odds and ends with duct tape, electrician's tape, nail polish, paint, and old scraps of cloth. He apparently used the old wiring harness as a guide, because its carcass still runs around the car, supplemented now by the home-made replacement. As I have pointed out before in this forum, while my car is not in very good shape, at least I paid top dollar. Please don't tell my wife. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cryin.gif
 

philman

Jedi Knight
Offline
If it were my car I would convert to a newer style fuse block with more fused circuits (such as one from painless). Probably a more difficult task, but then I wouldn't be worrying about the electricals. I'm putting one in my TR7 piggyback to the original fuse block for additional circuits and switching.
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
C For Sale Center wiring harness for a 1959 Sprite Spridgets Classified 0
N For Sale Wiring harness 64-67 mk lll Spridgets Classified 0
S Wiring Harness Replacement Spridgets 1
B TR4/4A Wiring Harness Triumph 6
Healey Nut Wiring Harness Routing Austin Healey 5
J Wiring Harness Austin Healey 5
nichola TR6 Question on new wiring harness Triumph 6
R TR2/3/3A Replace wiring harness in steering column Triumph 61
Ripper01 For Sale- TR6 Wiring Harness Triumph Classifieds 0
R TR2/3/3A Install new wiring harness in steering column Triumph 16
ckeithjordan TR2/3/3A Wiring Harness Question[s] Triumph 10
nichola TR6 Victoria British wiring harness for TR6 Triumph 6
C For Sale MGA wiring harness MG Classifieds 3
C MGA Wiring harness question MG 7
BoyRacer Need Tips on getting wiring harness through firewall Austin Healey 4
R TR2/3/3A Installing wiring harness in steering column Triumph 59
BoyRacer How to clean a cloth wiring harness Austin Healey 14
S TR2/3/3A installing the wiring harness Triumph 8
A Spitfire BMCNE -Tech Session Custom Wiring Harness Creation -Links to Album Triumph 2
W TR2/3/3A New wiring harness Triumph 8
T TR2/3/3A Wiring harness Triumph 3
D new wiring harness Austin Healey 15
D 62 tri-carb wiring harness Austin Healey 10
Gerald_Gordon TR4/4A Routing of wiring harness to the rear of a 1961 TR4 Triumph 8
SherpaPilot Wiring Harness for XJ6 Jaguar 1
tr3guy TR2/3/3A New Wiring Harness Triumph 7
MisterB How to spin engine sans wiring harness? Austin Healey 3
Rut TR4/4A Wiring harness female bullet connectors Triumph 6
Marvin Gruber BJ8 wiring harness install Austin Healey 6
wkilleffer MGB 1974 MGB- New main wiring harness, but no start MG 11
Rut 73 Midget wiring harness Spridgets 0
K TR2/3/3A Wiring harness "wire gauge" sizes? Triumph 20
G '70 Series II engine bay wiring harness -- Jaguar 7
G '70 Series II engine bay wiring harness -- Jaguar 3
charleyf TR6 Wiring harness/ dash bulbs Triumph 2
K TR2/3/3A Wiring Harness Triumph 9
Got_All_4 TR2/3/3A TR3 A wiring harness Triumph 17
B TR6 Reverse light wiring harness routing Triumph 4
J Protecting new wiring harness under car section-Use clear shrink tubing? Austin Healey 4
mt10flyer TR2/3/3A TR3 wiring harness Triumph 7
Rut Wanted, Bugeye wiring harness Spridgets 0
Griz Rear Wiring Harness Question Austin Healey 6
R TR2/3/3A TR3A Overdrive Wiring Harness Installation Triumph 19
Rut Bugeye wiring harness Spridgets 2
mt10flyer TR2/3/3A Winter Project-Wiring Harness Triumph 4
R New wiring harness Austin Healey 8
MikeAH100M Need New Wiring Harness BN2 Austin Healey 2
P General Tech new wiring harness woes MG 6
D MGB Wiring Harness Installation MG 3
D New custom Bugeye wiring harness Spridgets 39

Similar threads

Top