handyandy
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| posted on 7/9/09 at 07:11 AM |
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help & advice please
Hi All,
as most of you know my build is being built on a mega tight budget (and i mean tight), and i,m almost at the stage for fitting the electrics so my
question is this......
A fellow forum member has a fuse box with relays still attached to it, tho hasn,t got the Aux fuse box from a scorpio donor car so was wondering if i
could then "make" my own loom for my car from this,
i have the engine loom for the 1.8cvh engine i,m using & i also have the connections with some wires for the sierra steering wheel attached, &
also have a very good Vicky Green wiring diagram,
i,m no auto electrician but can follow a diagram so in your opinion could i make this fuse box work if i built a loom around it?
many thanks in advance.
cheers
andy
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britishtrident
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| posted on 7/9/09 at 08:24 AM |
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Probably best not use the Ford fuse box modern car fuse boxes aren't designed to accept new connections and you will just end up with a
jungle of spliced wires.
The key to wiring up on a budget is buying the right stuff to begin with --- a decent professional quality crimping tool might cost 30 quid but it
save money in the end. The same goes for the the type of crimp connectors you use -- I get my preinsulated connectors from an ebay seller in Ireland
and they are much better quality than you get from suppliers like Halfords or Maplin.
Buying small reels of automotive wire in various different colors can be expensive --- a money saving tip is to buy trailer cable apart from
being a ready made rear loom you can strip the various colored wires from it.
Fuse boxes are very inexpensive.
Relay bases are also cheap and AES sell very handy clip together relay bases that have a built in fuse box for 3 blade fuses for a less than 3
quid.
For just a few more quid you can get modular fuses boxes that accept modules for fuses and banks of relay sockets (I can't remember who sells
these).
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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iank
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| posted on 7/9/09 at 08:43 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
...
For just a few more quid you can get modular fuses boxes that accept modules for fuses and banks of relay sockets (I can't remember who sells
these).
VWP and Polevolt sell those.
e.g. http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/VWP-onlinestore/relays/sockets.php#box
They aren't that cheap when you've added up all the connectors, modules and frames you need.
The relay bases with three fuses are the cheapest way to do things (£1.62 each when you buy 10 from VWP).
oh definitely get the best crimp tool you can afford. The bent steel poundland ones will have you hunting down electrical gremlins for years.
--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous
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handyandy
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| posted on 7/9/09 at 08:50 AM |
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Thanks BT & IanK,
i,m quite happy to "build" a total loom from buying in the components etc but being totally honest i don,t know what i would actually
need,
if someone "gave " me shopping list of what was needed to create a loom then i,d go that route & build it to what i need,
sorry for being thick, i just don,t know what goes with what relay to what fuse etc,
tho if i knew what parts i need i could then work from the wiring diagram
thanks
andy
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kj
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| posted on 7/9/09 at 10:51 AM |
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Hi Andy,
As you have the vicky green diagram it has the componants on there what you need, just make sure you get the rigtht wire or use a trailer loom and go
from there.
You could always stick a post on the robin hood site for a loom wanted.
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BenB
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| posted on 7/9/09 at 11:02 AM |
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Triggerwheels.com sell wiring packs with people DIYing a loom with all the appropriately coloured wires.
You'll need
1) various wires
2) lots of crimp connectors
3) a wiring diagram (with lengths annotated onto it)
4) lots of time
The traditional way to make a loom is with a peg-board. You get a big sheet of MDF (as big as the car) and stick pegs into it to represent the
important bits of the car (engine, N/S front lights, N/S rear lights etc etc...). Then you can lay out the loom on the pegboard, attach all the crimps
etc then wrap it. Job's a good'un.
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mark chandler
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| posted on 7/9/09 at 11:11 AM |
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You need very little indeed, classic mini's had two fuses, you may want to stretch
It is ususal to have relay for lights, low/high beam as it preserves the light stalk switch.
A flasher relay, combined to hazards
Simple switch to test brake fluid light (usually associated with handbrake lever)
Just consider the lights as one system, the injection/sparks as another.
I just wired three fuses;
Perm battery, horn and lights and hazard hang off this.
Switched battery position 1, indicators (incase I leave the stalk down)
Switched battery position 2, Injection/sparks/lambda/fuel pump relay
I ran single wires from each bulb element back to the bulkhead, earthing locally.
Regards Mark
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handyandy
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| posted on 7/9/09 at 07:43 PM |
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Thanks guys, all that info gives me something to work on,
i do appreciate your advice, thanks 
now where did i put that crimping tool???
my build table could become my wiring peg out table, locost & value for money as i still have it .
cheers
andy
[Edited on 7/9/09 by handyandy]
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