Currently trying to fit the wiring loom to the car.

I hate it. what goes where and to what etc

I'm stopping and going to open a can of fosters.

Any tips / suggesions?

p.s. merry christmas

I was inspired in my wiring by Carling Export.

HTH

Mike

Open a second can, and then perhaps a third......

Are you working from a prefab loom or are you building your own?

My advice is to start early in the morning and work at it all day and get as much done as possible so you dont forget where the green wire goes etc....

There is nothing worse than doing an hour here and an hour there..!!

Dunc

quote:

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Originally posted by tegwin
My advice is to start early in the morning and work at it all day and get as much done as possible so you dont forget where the green wire goes etc....

There is nothing worse than doing an hour here and an hour there..!!

Dunc

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Try and split it down into as many seperate circuits as possible and then treat them individally, other than the common points such as earths and live feeds etc. Fit plenty of earth points by drilling and adding a bolt and washers for ring terminals where required.I laid the loom out and loosely cable tied it together and in place on the chassis as I went and then untied and wrapped it in loom tape after terminating each circuit and testing etc.Use plenty of heatshrink sleeving over the ends of cables and heatproof sleeving if you can get it for the wiring in the exhaust area.I used 7 core trailer cable for the rear loom it is easy ideal for the wiring to lights and fuel gauge.
It is a good idea to decide on a standard colour code and make lots of notes as you go along, then if you need to modify or fault find in a year or twos time it will be easy, I didnt bother and wished i had of done when i needed to work on the electrics a while ago.
Paul.

I HATE WIRING LOOMS TOO!!!

i have started putting my vicki green loom in on my pinto and i absolutely hate it, in fact i get depressed just thinking about going to the garage and looking at the A1 sheet of paper that looks like a 4 year old has drawn an army of spiders on it, which claims to be the answer to all my wiring problems

god help us all!

Assuming its a bought loom.

Layout the loom on the lounge floor spreading it out fully. From this you will start to see the long and short runs.

If you have the wiring diagram try and identify wires and then lable them using say masking tape. By elimination you will get down to whats what.

Once you know whats what your ready to lay the loom in the car. Doing mine I found that positioning the under dash hole and the handbrake take off point we key to putting the loom in. Its easier to loose wire at the extremities rather than break the loom wrap in the middle to get a good fit. its not good practice to have spare wire in the transmission tunnel.

If your using an electronic manegment system that will almost certainly have its own loom. So when working out routes through the car think which circuits you will be using. Where both looms have common circuits ie fuel pump use the engine management loom.

I managed to merge both looms in many places in a single flexible tube. Hope this helps.

quote:

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Originally posted by omega0684
I HATE WIRING LOOMS TOO!!!

i have started putting my vicki green loom in on my pinto and i absolutely hate it, in fact i get depressed just thinking about going to the garage and looking at the A1 sheet of paper that looks like a 4 year old has drawn an army of spiders on it, which claims to be the answer to all my wiring problems

god help us all!

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just coming up to doing my wiring loom electrics never was my strong point but still going to make my own its not that difficult but at least that way i will have what i need on the loom without any extra and it can go where i want it to go

I stripped the loom meticulously from the Sierra and needed a wheelbarrow to carry it into the shed Eventually I cut it all up, saved the longest bits and made my own. It's handy dismantling the loom because you get to see how they do things like splicing into a power wire for three or four different applications. Memorise what colour wires are used for what and you can see the layout better.

quote:

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Originally posted by Catpuss

quote:

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Originally posted by omega0684
I HATE WIRING LOOMS TOO!!!

i have started putting my vicki green loom in on my pinto and i absolutely hate it, in fact i get depressed just thinking about going to the garage and looking at the A1 sheet of paper that looks like a 4 year old has drawn an army of spiders on it, which claims to be the answer to all my wiring problems

god help us all!

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I've seena few Robin Hood build diaries where they chuck the VG looms away and make their own, which for me says something about them.

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Wiring isn't that bad. Just remember you need a live (switched) feed and an earth return to most things and run 2 wires to them. Most difficult bit for me was the hazard switch circuit - used Manta column so no chance of using Ford bits!

It'll always look daunting to start with. Do the bit's your sure about first and take it from there. Gradually it'll all fall into place.
Good luck and remember you can only eat an elephant one bite at a time (but you can eat one).

i like them,

but i have to admit it consumes time like beer in the pub...

i think everything depends on how clear you have the working of the installation and how skilled you are in electrics.

to my rear i have one flex tube filled up with BlackWires and one UTP cable.

The grounds are already grounded in the back of the car...

sow to know who is who i just connect it to 12volt feed and see who comes up..

what i also have done is with heat schrink.
of 1 colour wich is clearly visible over the normal wire colour cuting of rings and number them.

like a resistance.. also i always start with my mind set that undoing something is 90% because i don't remember wy i did it that way... and not because it is faulty....

i gues its a small art i never builded one pcb in one day...

also the electronics of my car need often some tuning (software) wise and that consumes more time!!

Tks

I found the MK 2 Escort loom pretty easy to understand and best of all - no relays to worry about.

With a bit of jiggery pokery the Escort stalks fit the Sierra column. I took one look at a sierra wiring diagram and nearly had a nose bleed!

I say keep it simple!

Oh and I forgot to mention - I graduated to Stella years ago that way everything looks really good!

Wiring is not that hard.

The worst bit is when you start. 2 best bits of advice already given;

1. Split it down into easy to suss smaller circuits and do each one seperately where possible.
2. Dont spend the odd hour here and there - dedicate large blocks of time.

I ran the rear loom first. This one is quite easy and gets rid of a lump of wires.
Next i ran the front loom. Plan it so nothing passes by the hot exhaust if possible. Running the wires to be neat and professional takes some thought but very possible. Leave some length on before terminating at the ancilliaries. Label up as you go for reminders. Tape up the bits of a bought loom that you dont need.

Dash was probs the trickiest bit on mine as i junked the Sierra switchgear and fitted digidash. For this i mounted all switches to dash first off the car. This allows you to consolidate all the earths and main lives. Then located fuse / relay boxes. Then ran the wires in loosely and clipped up with cable ties.

Take your time, keep it logical. If you dont have full days at it then label up and write notes for next time. After w while its almost done and you wonder what all the fuss is about. Rush it or tackle it adhoc and you will have problems / fault finding to do.