Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: chrismagic on Sunday,January 11, 2015, 02:40:39 PM
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Hi all, I am about to start and fit a new loom into my Lotus Europa, it is a part finish project I have recently purchased.
The car is fitted with a new Z Tec engine (not been run yet) any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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First of all :Welcome:.
When wiring I take my time and pay close attention to detail, grommets in good shape or replaced, harness supported & secured, nothing rubbing or pinching the harness & protected from heat sources. Clean / tight terminals & grounds, dielectric grease on dissimilar metals.
Always follow break in procedures when starting a new engine, I like to prime the oil pump when possible but if it was assembled properly it's not absolutely necessary.
Once again Welcome, any questions feel free to ask, lots of great people here!
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:Welcome:
I'm afraid I was too chicken to attempt that when I rebuilt my car. Besides, the electrics weren't that different from the stock wiring. Certainly not as drastic as adding a Ztec (assuming you're using injection).
One thing I saw someone do was wire his dash separately. In other words, he had a plug screwed to the back of the dash that everything was wired to. The loom behind the dash had the mate that connected everything to the proper wires. I thought that was really nice!
I might also advise that you increase the size of the grounding wires. In fact, you might try to gang them all together wherever possible so you have fewer places where you would need to check for a ground problem.
I met a guy at the LOG last year who ran the power through solenoids and the switches just triggered the solenoids. I think this was mostly for things like window lift switches. This way, the switch had less power through it and the solenoid took all the juice. I thought that was a good idea.
In spite of what you might think, Lucas had a very complete wiring color standard that can be very helpful. I don't know if Ford has the same thing. If not, I would try to keep with the Lucas standard knowing full well that whatever wires you have on your Ztec will not keep up the standard. At least that way you have part of your wiring to a standard that can help you if you don't have a wiring diagram handy.
I don't know if that is helpful at all, but it's the best I can do :P
Good luck and keep us up to date with how it goes!
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Are you doing a "from scratch" rewire job or do you have a replacement harness from Banks?
What BDA mentioned about adding relays is a very good idea. I just added a radiator fan relay to my TCS and thinking of adding relays for the headlight circuit and the power windows. For some reason Lotus did not think that the power windows need to be fused. A pretty scary thought if the switch jammed in one position. Adding a relay to the headlight circuit may save your light switch from eventual meltdown. It happened to my other TCS back in the late 80s. I couldn't locate a stock replacement then, may be impossible to find one now.
I'm wondering how to run the main harness along the center backbone of the chassis. You may have to lift the body a few inches off the frame to do this.
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If you are brave enough, you can follow the documented re-wiring I pulled off in my Zetec running a MegaJolt ignition.
It includes the coolant routing which can be convoluted depending on the source.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/lotuseuropa/files/Zetec%20Megajolt%20S2%20Manual/
Dean
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Adding a relay to the headlight circuit may save your light switch from eventual meltdown. It happened to my other TCS back in the late 80s. I couldn't locate a stock replacement then, may be impossible to find one now.
The headlight switches are no longer available. I think there was a very small run of them for cars with wooden dashes (maybe only Europa?). In any case, there are replacements that you can use if you shave the dash down in the area of the switch so that the switch, which is supposed to be used on cars with sheet metal dashes. A BIG job since it requires taking the dash off, obviously! I got one from Richard at Banks after I broke my original switch. If you need another, I would imagine Richard can get you one. In addition, Holden part no. 31126 is the same part, I believe. The Vintage Motor Spares part no. 306 looks like the same switch but a little cheaper. Both of them are in England. On this side of the pond, Moss Motors part no. 140-500 is supposed to be the the same switch also. I'm getting the one from Moss Motors so if there are any problems, I'll post them. I think I have also heard of two position toggle switches that might also work.
I like the idea of the relays. If you can still remember, did you just add one that is triggered by the switch when the head lights are turned on? Where did you get the power from for the relay? A lot of questions about something you did over twenty years ago! Anything you can remember would be helpful.
Sources:
Richard (http://www.banks-europa.co.uk/index.php)
Holden (http://www.holden.co.uk/displayproductsByMake.asp?carMakeCode=L4&carMake=Lotus&pageno=1)
Vintage Motor Spares (http://www.vintagemotorspares.com/)
Moss Motors (http://www.mossmotors.com/)
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If you fitting a relay(s) in the headlight circuit then go all the way and remove the load from the dip switch as well.
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I'm missing you, John. what is a 'dip' switch. On a Europa, it certainly isn't "Dual Inline Package"! :)
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Adding a relay to the headlight circuit may save your light switch from eventual meltdown. It happened to my other TCS back in the late 80s. I couldn't locate a stock replacement then, may be impossible to find one now.
The headlight switches are no longer available. I think there was a very small run of them for cars with wooden dashes (maybe only Europa?). In any case, there are replacements that you can use if you shave the dash down in the area of the switch so that the switch, which is supposed to be used on cars with sheet metal dashes. A BIG job since it requires taking the dash off, obviously! I got one from Richard at Banks after I broke my original switch. If you need another, I would imagine Richard can get you one. In addition, Holden part no. 31126 is the same part, I believe. The Vintage Motor Spares part no. 306 looks like the same switch but a little cheaper. Both of them are in England. On this side of the pond, Moss Motors part no. 140-500 is supposed to be the the same switch also. I'm getting the one from Moss Motors so if there are any problems, I'll post them. I think I have also heard of two position toggle switches that might also work.
I like the idea of the relays. If you can still remember, did you just add one that is triggered by the switch when the head lights are turned on? Where did you get the power from for the relay? A lot of questions about something you did over twenty years ago! Anything you can remember would be helpful.
Sources:
Richard (http://www.banks-europa.co.uk/index.php)
Holden (http://www.holden.co.uk/displayproductsByMake.asp?carMakeCode=L4&carMake=Lotus&pageno=1)
Vintage Motor Spares (http://www.vintagemotorspares.com/)
Moss Motors (http://www.mossmotors.com/)
Thanks for the links to the replacement switches. I haven't done the headlight relay modification yet. I'm still in the thinking stages on this one but after remembering what happened to my original headlight switch, something that I will do in the near future.
Good point on the dip switch. Since I rarely drive my Europa at night, never thought about it. The dip switch is the momentary headlight flasher, I think.
A correction on my last post. I initially thought that the main harness was run between the body and the back bone. When I pulled my center console off recently, I remember seeing the harness and it appeared to be running along the body.
Joji Tokumoto
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Ahhh... dip switch! That's a good suggestion. I just fret that there is there seems to be so much crammed behind the dash that it will be a royal PITA to do it.
Sorry I didn't say something before, but yes, the wiring harness goes under the carpet inside the body to get to the engine compartment.
I just thought of something. If you set the power for the relay to come from a wire that is hot with the ignition (white, I believe) then you have a system where the head lights cannot be turned on without the car running. A great way to keep from draining your battery if you forget to turn them off. I don't know what the impact would be for applying power to the switch in the relay for extended periods of time. I would think, nothing.
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If you are brave enough, you can follow the documented re-wiring I pulled off in my Zetec running a MegaJolt ignition.
It includes the coolant routing which can be convoluted depending on the source.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/lotuseuropa/files/Zetec%20Megajolt%20S2%20Manual/
Dean
Dean, I'm looking at your wiring diagram for the headlights. Power to the headlight switch comes from #2 position of the ignition switch. Is that the un-switched position? Does anybody know the functions of the Lucas ignition switch in the various positions.
Joji Tokumoto
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I just thought of something. If you set the power for the relay to come from a wire that is hot with the ignition (white, I believe) then you have a system where the head lights cannot be turned on without the car running. A great way to keep from draining your battery if you forget to turn them off. I don't know what the impact would be for applying power to the switch in the relay for extended periods of time. I would think, nothing.
AKAIK, every car that I own has the ability to turn on the headlight with the ignition switch off. I'm assuming that it is mandated by DOT safety requirements. If you forget to turn off the headlights, I think the battery will be exhausted before any wiring damage (if any) occurs.
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Changing the wiring so that the headlights would only work while the ignition was on was something I considered doing when I built my car but didn't want to make as big a change in the wiring as I thought it might take. It has always amazed me that cars were wired that way when so many people have run down their battery over the years because of it - so you may be right that it is some govt. regulation.
I wouldn't think that activating the switch in the relay, but electrics are not my strong suit (among many few).
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Having the headlights go off with the ignition switch might be useful, but, having the park lights also go off, less so. Don't put the relays under the dash, put them near the headlights. Usually the wires go to one headlight first and then head off to the other. The junction at the first headlight is the best place to put relays. Think things through carefully first, especially wire runs, so as to avoid that "backyard bodge" look to your wiring. Use the correct colour of wire to match the existing harness. In early harnesses, unfused battery power is brown, fused battery power is purple, unfused switched power is white and fused switched power is green.
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Thanks for the tips, John. I'll take a look at it to see if if I can find that place to put the relays. Looking at the wiring diagram is only half the story, isn't it?
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UPDATE: I just received my headlight switch from Moss Motors. I'll install it this evening, but from what I can tell, it is much nicer than the one I got from Banks. The shaft movement is not sloppy. Unfortunately, like the one I got from Banks, it is screw terminals. I knew that was going to be the case, but the screws are much nicer and they clamp the wire better than the old one. Other than that, it seems the same in all other respects. As I noted before, the area around the hole will have to be cut down because the switch is for a sheet metal dash (it's actually for old MGs, Triumphs, and Austin Healeys). The Moss Motors part number is 140-500.
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BDA,
Trimming the hole from the back will probably require removing the dash, I think. Is it possible to fit a threaded sleeve into the hole and screw the switch into the sleeve as an extender of some sort? I'm interested to see how this switch works out.
Joji Tokumoto
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Yes, making the dash thinner there will require taking it off at a minimum - a fairly daunting prospect!
I don't think a sleeve would work because you need to get back to the same size as the threads on the switch for the retaining nut and I think you don't have enough length to do that - we're only dealing with about 3/16" or so. You could machine a retaining nut that goes into the hole in the dash. It might require enlarging the hole but that should be doable. If you don't have access to a lathe, even if it costs $100 or even $200 dollars to have one made, it might be worth it! In the past, I've had good luck going to motorcycle shops for small machining projects.
I hooked up the switch and it works really nicely. It feels every bit as good as the one that came with the car. Obviously, you have to convert from screw connectors to spade lugs but that's a small deal.