LUCAS Wiring Mess!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[WedgeWorks]

***Warning- Those of you who do not have AC/Electronic Ignitions/Pop-Up Headlamps enjoy what you have!***

Well I thought I could just slap in a new starter, and change out the alternator, hook up the battery and turn the key......not so easy. I started looking at the wiring and what a mess! I am amazed at how someone can do such damage to a harness that is really not that complex! Out went the starter and the alternator that was some funky 2 wire GM/Delco type with some mickey-mouse brackets and stacked washers. I hated that conversion the first time I had seen it! With that removed it become clear that I would need to remove the front ignition/ac fans/starter/alternator harness(s). I have never seen so many red wires running from side to side and front to back. When I thought it was over I found someone added 3 ground wires; from the engine bracket to the frame, alternator bracket to the expansion tank and one for a relay to the shock tower. The relay was for the AC fans that were tapped from the alternator and ignition running over to the original AC relay which were also all mutilated!
This is what I started with.... follow the red wires and the black relay?

Some knuckle head removed the original post/stud firewall/bulkhead connection for the starter lead

The front AC/Ignition harness gone and all that is left is the aftermarket ingintion box and coil.

Alternator gone and all the cut wires ready to be repaired.

The left side on the boot lid is all the wires and junk torn out! On the right is what is going back in!

I guess my outlook on this harness repair is not typical. I have been choping up TR7s and a few TR8s since the early 1990ies. I had a TR8 coupe that rotted away and I kept the complete harness. It had the front AC/ignition harness shortened and with my white coupe not using any of the AC bits and intact I will use it on this blue TR8. The fun is to make a proper splice, use as many connectors as possible and keep coloring as factory! I have a stock Ac alternator and a high torque starter going back in! I got my fingers crossed!
Spare TR8 Harness

 

[tdskip]

Wow Michael - what a mess. Almost sounds like you were itching to use that TR8 harness anyway.... [right?]

Thanks for the pictures. Keep us posted.

 

[WedgeWorks]

I figured someday if I had to do a V8 conversion........this makes more sense!

 

[NutmegCT]

Memories of my TR3: red wire spliced into green wire spliced into brown wire which enter harness on right side inner wing.

red wire feeds to rear of headlamp assembly, where it's spliced into a yellow wire which actually feeds the headlamp.

Repeat ad nauseum at just about every harness "split out" all over the car.

Sure glad I'm not completely color blind (yet).

Tom

 

[WedgeWorks]

Insane isn't it? What do people think? I could see one or two wires maybe as a quickie fix but almost everything in red? They could at least lable them too is they use all the same color! I aslo have to change the whole battery lead from the trunk up to the starter!

 

[TR3driver]

Ah, you guys is wimps! My original harness is faded until every wire is a dull brown and I get along fine with it.

 

[DrEntropy]

If ever ya have a chance to peer under the passenger side footboard of a Porsche 928, you'll see ALL the wiring is brown. Highly confusing.

 

[Tinster]

Insane isn't it? What do people think? I could see one or two wires maybe as a quickie fix but almost everything in red? They could at least lable them too is they use all the same color! I aslo have to change the whole battery lead from the trunk up to the starter!

The DPO of my Triumph used all black wires or stereo speaker wire.
Imagine! Stereo speaker wires to the rear tail lights, etc.

I had to gut every wire in the car and install a Dan Masters
Power Block entire car wire harness.

d

 

[Silverghost]

Sure glad I'm not completely color blind

<-- has a caucasian wife, a Polish gypsy daughter and 2 African-American foster children. I am PROUD to be color blind! :laugh:

 

[Mark Jones]

I feel your pain Michael. I spend two evenings making one good engine bay wiring harness out of two for my TR7 project. I too couldn't believe how someone could just cut and splice a harness and expect everything to be okay. No wonder I couldn't get spark on the parts car when I tried to start then engine.

 

[DrEntropy]

This is exactly how Joe Lucas suffers blame for faulty systems! Folks who "came before" with NO respect for these cars have violated them with everything from twisted together "connections" to ScotchLoks... and no regard for consistency of color or gauge. Sins perpetrated on wiring have been the source of many hours' head bangin' over the last forty years here. Once sorted and put ~back~ to the way things were designed, the systems are reliable as a house brick!

 

[Mickey Richaud]

This is exactly how Joe Lucas suffers blame for faulty systems! Folks who "came before" with NO respect for these cars have violated them with everything from twisted together "connections" to ScotchLoks... and no regard for consistency of color or gauge. Sins perpetrated on wiring have been the source of many hours' head bangin' over the last forty years here. Once sorted and put ~back~ to the way things were designed, the systems are reliable as a house brick!

SO THERE!

 

[DrEntropy]

Hey... the soap box was empty.

 

[philman]

I purchased a bunch of spools of different colored wire and heat shrink and fabricated my own engine bay wiring harness. I ended up with two extra circuits.

 

[TonyPanchot]

yes been there and done with that
thank you

 

[WedgeWorks]

I got some more done to the wiring. I took a starter/alternator harness from my other TR8 that has a plug in style alternator and tabs on the starter and stripped the covering, spliced and replaced the damaged ends with the exception of the main brown which was too much work and tested out fine anyway. Wrapped it with new tape and added the original markings in blue & white stripes and all is better!
Before.......

and after!

I also replaced the distributor and added the orignal ballest and coil as a complete set from my other 8. The AC/Ingition/Fan harness was stripped, tested, ends replaced where needed and retested........slapped it in and hooked it up and I am waiting for the AC relay mounting plate to dry from a fresh coat of black.

 

[DrEntropy]

That's lookin' professional, Michael. Nice work!

 

[WedgeWorks]

ITS ALIVE!!!!!!! No smoke or lights on the dash!!!!!!! It took about 10 minutes of messing around but it seemed the distributor needed some turning to advance the timing then she came to life! Besides a minor fuel leak (tighten the connections dummie!), putting new clips on the main fuel line next to the tank, used fuel pump, new spark plug wires and crossing fingers it work well. The alternator is charging and even the low fuel light works since I dumped about 2 gallons in the tank. The timing needs to be adjusted to 8 to 10 degree BTDC, richen the carbs a bit, adjust the idle, put the air cleaners back on and that should be it!

 

[WedgeWorks]

Just when I thought it could not get any worse and maybe the end was in sight it all falls apart! I took the seats out to put the right carpet in, pulled the dash board and got a good look at the fuse box.

The fuse box is junk plus the white wires behind it going into the main harness. I am really surprised the car did not have a harness fire or a serious cripling melt down.

Now I have to splice in a good fuse box & wires from my now true spare TR8 coupe harmess.

The passenger side floor where the seat frame meets is torn down the inside of the connection point to the floor pan. I thought I was seeing things when I noticed light coming through the floor.

I should have turned this car into a track car and kept my other coupe together in stock form........

 

[IanF]

I pity the poor sod who is the next owner of the g/f's '79 Spit that I installed an Advance Autowire kit in...

Everything works, but behind the dash looks like utter heck... :eeek: