What looms do most people purchase/use? Is a standard loom from a sierra enough to connect up all the usual electrics as well as an alarm, immobiliser and 12V - 240V car inverter?

What's the difference between all the looms, i have no idea where to start here... also where and how are looms fixed in a 7 replica?

Premier wiring. They are the best and not expensive. http://www.premierwiring.co.uk/

2nd Premier Wiring

If ya get real stuck and are a loom freak - Vicki Green is the next stop

Cheers,

Murray

£115 for a bit of wire . What is the difference between one of these looms and the one in an old sierra? Afterall, it is only a piece of wire, right?


... probably wrong .

[Edited on 20/3/06 by EViS]

Vikki Green loom purchased from Lolocost for ~£75. It's designed for a Pinto engined car, but would easily be adapted for others. Well made, easy to work with and not expensive.

I thought Vickie Green looms were not made anymore? Am i wrong?

tiger do one also I,ve just bought one watch this space for info on how easy it went in ,good point is all relays etc are already fitted

hmm I thought Vicky Green still going?

I got mine about 3-4 months ago (or was it longer - via Robin Hood).

Premier were backlogged and I couldn't wait.

It's been a bit of effort to adapt for a Luego and a Zetec - but not that bad

But as everybody else has said - why risk it? £115 is cheap compared to the hours of headache and heartache if you skrimp on a shitty loom!

Sometimes, just sometimes...

You get what ya pays for....

Just my 2 cents

i have a tiger loom in my tiger avon on a pinto it went in very easy it was not marked up as in what wire gose were so i got a friend of a friend to wire it all upall for £20 all done...

That amount of wires scares me haha. How does a loom 'made' to fit a zetec differ to one 'made' to fit a pinto for example? Aren't all the electrics the same anyway...

Also, do loom modifications need to be made often in builds? If so, what sort of modifications are common?

Is any soldering ever needed when wiring everything up? Or is it all just screwdriver and junction boxes?

i think i will go for a premier loom as DAX are charging £323 inc VAT for their loom

Vickey Green loom is still made and sold by RH/LOLOCOST. However there is NO web support now and as has already been said it is specifically for a standard/basic Pinto install.
There are also a few errors on the wiring diag.
although it is the cheepest, by the time you have modified it for your engine and car the cost is probably about the same as a more expensive "custom" loom.

IMHO it's a bad idea to solder a properly crimped joint

A proper crimp made with a decent tool (i.e. the £20+ ones) holds together and connects as well as any soldered joint, and doesn't suffer from failure due to metal fatigue like a soldered joint.

The problems people see with crimping are due to the 'free' crimpers which do an awful job.

quote:

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Originally posted by CaLviNx
I use ratchet crimpers, then solder, then Support the joint with heatshrink

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Hehe - we ALWAYS go off topic

As for the difference between a pinto loom and a zetec loom - I suppose the lights/indicators etc are all standard - but I'm integrating mine with a MegaSquirt - so it needs to hook into the engine loom.

The Vicki Green loom comes un-crimped - so get the £20 crimpers and get going

or hang about for a Premier loom :p

Went with a Premier Loom myself and definately would do so again.

Doing the wiring was actually one of the more enjoyable bits of the build using that.

To make it easy: Lay the loom out on the car, then go through every wire end and label it. Read the supplied documentation over and over again until makes sense.

Then, if you've got any sense you'll make up a proper wiring diagram yourself. I went back to my loom to make a few mods 6-8 weeks later and I'd forgotten what half of it did.
And plan any modifications you need out on paper before plumbing the loom in- it only gets harder if you have to do them later.

Oh, and when finally covering the wires and clipping them all in... add a couple of spare runs of wire. You never know when they'll come in handy for a later addition to the car!

Cheers, hope that helps,
James

quote:

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Originally posted by CaLviNx

quote:

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Originally posted by chockymonster

I do the same when connecting, even stuff crimped with ratchet crimpers can come loose, it may sound more convoluted but it does end up with a better joint.

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On the button that man, the main reason for soldering/heatshrink : belt and braces security

Regards

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Premier loom for me. I also grafted in a DD2, toad immobiliser and savage switches (ie junked the sierra stalks). Made the wiring a tad more tricky but i followed the instructions and it was Ok in the end.

It does sound like a lot of cash for a few bits of wires but saves a lot of headaches in the long run. Ive had a bad experience with wiring before and consider it to be a safety related / reliability item now. Wouldnt hesitate to use another premier loom again.

Premier loom also, top quality.

quote:

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Originally posted by CaLviNx

quote:

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Originally posted by iank
you wouldn't consider using solid core wire in a car would you, so I wouldn't make the last 0.5 inch solid either)

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Dunno about you but I never allow solder to leave the confines of the connector/joint, if the solder is allowed to travel up to 0.5 of an inch up the wire, its being done wrong.

Solder the wire to the connector only, then the wire is just as flexible as it was with just a crimped joint, and the heatshrink helps.

And anyway its bad wiring practise to allow any wire into any situation where its is unsupported and allowed to stress any connector/joint, thats what harness/wire clips are for.

[Edited on 21/3/06 by CaLviNx]

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CaLviNx, what do you mean by 'tin' the wire...?
Also, do you just apply the soldering iron against the crimp? i.e. don't use any soldering wire at all?

Could some of you post some pictures of your connections? Should help me understand the physical process of all this crimp talk .

All understood . And is this the recommended way of doing things by most? Admittedly some have their own opinions on this...

Pics would be great too thanks!

A bit late but i used premier wirings sierra based loom. the sierra bit is related to the wiring for the steering column switches. I then used the OMEX engine loom in addition and bundled everything into neat tubing stuff. plenty of length on the loom and 3 yrs later no Issues at all (touch ~specially conducting~ wood)

The only "hard" bit was the horn, it is a switched earth loom but the horn was earthed by its mounting bolt (long story but its older than me oh well my uncle was bought it back in 196? for a mini, he never used it so i said i would, twin horn, very loud) i didn't use the bakelite relay though!

Chas