Look at the picture. The ignition warning light is on the left. A yellow wire (#8) goes to the main loom and ends at terminal D of the control box. A white wire (#20) goes to the sub-loom, and from there to the main switch.
Gearbox and rear axle oil
Re: Gearbox and rear axle oil
Look at the picture. The ignition warning light is on the left. A yellow wire (#8) goes to the main loom and ends at terminal D of the control box. A white wire (#20) goes to the sub-loom, and from there to the main switch.
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RobHomewood
- Posts: 334
- Joined: Tue Oct 22, 2013 8:04 pm
Re: Gearbox and rear axle oil
David like you I tried to avoid a rewire for some years and as the 80 year old wiring and the bullet connectors etc broke down I replaced individual connections with new wiring which allowed me to keep going. But eventually I found it looked so messy especially under the bonnet that I decided to rewire at least the front half of the car, mainly triggered by the need to rewire the steering column to cure intermittent shorts and the fear of fire. I collected the correct coloured cable (which is when you discover how much the wiring diagram has become out of date over the years) and I made up my own mini looms so that no wire had any in-line conection between source and destination. I know this doesnt allow for any fuses in line but these can be added later if necessary. It looks so much better now. But I have to say the dream of never taking the dash out again hasnt quite happened because there is always something you need to get at (in my case currently the fuel gauge is innacurate)
But good luck
Rob
But good luck
Rob
Re: Gearbox and rear axle oil
David,
Rob is right, in my opinion. The wiring is a bit of a job but worth tackling sooner than later. A loom from Autosparks is a few hundred pounds, which is far better than a fire behind the dash or in the engine bay resulting from the old braided wire disintegrating and shorting out. Plus the engine bay will be far neater and you should have little need to pull the dash out again.
However, before rushing off and buying a loom I’d suggest giving some real thought to modifications you may wish to make such as: alternator (Dynamator), electric fuel pump, flashing indicators and vehicle polarity. Once you have decided on any changes you can buy the necessary parts, including the loom, with the changes taken account of.
I changed my Tourer to negative earth and had the loom modified by Autosparks to accommodate the addition of flasher units plus the neg earth Dynamator and fuel pump. All sensible mods in my view and, in over five years, I’ve never had the dash out nor suffered a flat battery.
The great thing about fitting a Dynamator is that the voltage regulator becomes redundant. The ignition lamp is fed direct from the alternator. The wiring is far simpler, not that it is very complex anyway.
All that said, it may be that your loom is in decent condition or has even been previously changed, allowing you to piece out any bad bits. The workshop manual has the loom diagrams in it for each model. As Luli says there is a sub loom on the rear of the instrument panel. If the wires commoned around are poor but the main loom feeding to it are decent, you could simply replace the sub loom wires and re-attach the main loom connections.
Regarding the wires you seem to have missing to the ignition lamp, the first step is to compare everything against the diagram before pulling anything off. It is highly likely that a previous owner has either connected something in the wrong place or cut back a wire because it is faulty and not replaced it or has replaced it incorrectly and, possibly, with the wrong colour cable. By checking against the diagram and labelling any wires you cannot find in the picture and making a note of anything in the picture you cannot find in the car, you should sort it out. Use masking tape to label anything you disconnect so you know where it came from because you will forget.
I would always recommend using soldiered fittings, as opposed to crimp connectors. Heat shrink sleeve is brilliant for sliding on first and shrinking over the wire and spade/ring connector to make a durable cable end. You will need a test meter but these are very cheap nowadays from Screwfix or Toolstation.
I’m about to refit the loom into my Saloon. It was replaced a few years ago but was standard specification so needs modifying to meet the changes I’ve made to the car. Harder than fitting a new loom but easier than puzzling through an old one where the colours are hard to determine!
Good luck.
Tony.
Rob is right, in my opinion. The wiring is a bit of a job but worth tackling sooner than later. A loom from Autosparks is a few hundred pounds, which is far better than a fire behind the dash or in the engine bay resulting from the old braided wire disintegrating and shorting out. Plus the engine bay will be far neater and you should have little need to pull the dash out again.
However, before rushing off and buying a loom I’d suggest giving some real thought to modifications you may wish to make such as: alternator (Dynamator), electric fuel pump, flashing indicators and vehicle polarity. Once you have decided on any changes you can buy the necessary parts, including the loom, with the changes taken account of.
I changed my Tourer to negative earth and had the loom modified by Autosparks to accommodate the addition of flasher units plus the neg earth Dynamator and fuel pump. All sensible mods in my view and, in over five years, I’ve never had the dash out nor suffered a flat battery.
The great thing about fitting a Dynamator is that the voltage regulator becomes redundant. The ignition lamp is fed direct from the alternator. The wiring is far simpler, not that it is very complex anyway.
All that said, it may be that your loom is in decent condition or has even been previously changed, allowing you to piece out any bad bits. The workshop manual has the loom diagrams in it for each model. As Luli says there is a sub loom on the rear of the instrument panel. If the wires commoned around are poor but the main loom feeding to it are decent, you could simply replace the sub loom wires and re-attach the main loom connections.
Regarding the wires you seem to have missing to the ignition lamp, the first step is to compare everything against the diagram before pulling anything off. It is highly likely that a previous owner has either connected something in the wrong place or cut back a wire because it is faulty and not replaced it or has replaced it incorrectly and, possibly, with the wrong colour cable. By checking against the diagram and labelling any wires you cannot find in the picture and making a note of anything in the picture you cannot find in the car, you should sort it out. Use masking tape to label anything you disconnect so you know where it came from because you will forget.
I would always recommend using soldiered fittings, as opposed to crimp connectors. Heat shrink sleeve is brilliant for sliding on first and shrinking over the wire and spade/ring connector to make a durable cable end. You will need a test meter but these are very cheap nowadays from Screwfix or Toolstation.
I’m about to refit the loom into my Saloon. It was replaced a few years ago but was standard specification so needs modifying to meet the changes I’ve made to the car. Harder than fitting a new loom but easier than puzzling through an old one where the colours are hard to determine!
Good luck.
Tony.
Tony Gilbert
P1 12 Tourer
P2 12 6 Light Saloon
Discovery 3
Discovery Sport
P1 12 Tourer
P2 12 6 Light Saloon
Discovery 3
Discovery Sport
Re: Gearbox and rear axle oil
Tony, Helpful advice. I recently rewired two 20's & an early 30's Austin Sevens. The 20's had "armoured" cables & the 30's on I cheated & used "modern" plastic armoured cable (no risk of shorting against the cover! Soldered joints every time, not crimped. I won't be going down the Dynamotor route nor negative earth although I did both these on my Magnette. I will put flashing LED's in the trafficators as a start (also done on the MG!) My car has an SU pump, so that is one thing less to bother about (but only a the fuel filter in the pump, so I will look at putting in an inline filter.
I will have a look at the sub loom idea. Heat shrink is an absolute boon, and so easy to use, Also tag marking cables ...you always think you will remember how it went, but...! Photos help too!
There is not too much non original wiring behind the dash, but I have blown up the wiring diagram & laminated it so I can try & fathom it out. Not as bad as a TVR I had where EVERY wire was black...just coloured end sleeves in the appropriate colour...except all the sleeves had faded to beige!
When building Rally cars a blob of Araldite was often used as a back up to an electrical joint that was not to be taken apart, and of course Relays to take the load off the switches. On the Magnette relays for the headlights made a significant difference to the light output.
I will have a look at the sub loom idea. Heat shrink is an absolute boon, and so easy to use, Also tag marking cables ...you always think you will remember how it went, but...! Photos help too!
There is not too much non original wiring behind the dash, but I have blown up the wiring diagram & laminated it so I can try & fathom it out. Not as bad as a TVR I had where EVERY wire was black...just coloured end sleeves in the appropriate colour...except all the sleeves had faded to beige!
When building Rally cars a blob of Araldite was often used as a back up to an electrical joint that was not to be taken apart, and of course Relays to take the load off the switches. On the Magnette relays for the headlights made a significant difference to the light output.
Re: Gearbox and rear axle oil
I have owned a 1947 Sixteen Sports saloon since 1969 and use GP50 in the gearbox (any thicker and the Freewheel stops working). I use an 80/90 gear oil in the rear axle, and 10/40 in the engine. The chassis lube reservoir has GP50 in it too. Everything seems fine after many years of regular use, so I'm quite happy to recommend these grades of oil. Best wishes to all.
Re: Gearbox and rear axle oil
Thanks to all who have given advice! The car now has fresh Morris oils in "all the old familiar places!" and engine pressure is healthy. The gearbox works well (I now have to replace the missing upper mounting pad- I now have both new) ….I noticed that the gearbox tail is resting on a couple of ancient looking bits of decomposing rubber, so may have to scrape them away and replace them with what I believe should be a single moulded pad. All available from Meteor, great service.I may even risk the freewheel soon! The back axle is as quiet as before with it's new oil.