I have been working on the wiring. This is in 2 parts. There is a loom
for the general car electrics such as lights, horn, fan etc and one for
the engine management system. I originally intended to get a loom made for
the engine management but the quote of around £800 was too much. I
want the loom to be 100% reliable so it will have crimped connections and
be sealed to IP67. A good crimped connection is better than a soldered connection
but a poor crimped one isn`t. Unfortunately I can not get a crimped connection
to the standard required with reasonable priced tools.
IP67 means the wiring is water and dust proof.
So I now intend to make my own engine management loom but just get the connections crimped. More on the design and manufacture of this next time.
The main work this time has been on the general car electrics. I planned each particular circuit and worked out the wire runs so I new what length of wire was required. I could then order the correct length of wire in many different colours. I also planned the position of items such as switches, fuses and relays to minimise wire length and to keep weight low.
Another view of the car.
Detailed side view.
Panels at the rear of the car behind the seats. Mounted here
are the ECU (not shown but would be on the left),
3 switches (for engine management ignition retard and fuel pump), master switch
and relays (fuel pump and horn).
The 2 middle panels are welded into position and will have wires passing through
them.
These are all the plans for the wiring. On each one is a small
wiring diagram wire lengths, sizes
and colours of wire required, plus details of any other items such as connectors,
terminals etc.
All the general car wiring is done with a traditional soldering iron heated on a blow torch.
To identify each wire I bought a book of stick on figures.
These are stuck to the wire and
then covered with clear heat shrink tube.
This shows the method of fitting a terminal / connector. The
wire is first crimped
(only using pointed pliers and bending the tabs over). This does not give
a good mechanical joint,
the wire can still be pulled out quite easily. The wire is then soldered to
the terminal, the clear
sleeve slipped over and finally the adhesive lined heat shrink seals the cable
and clear sleeve.
You can see here finished connectors. Heat shrink (non adhesive)
is also used
to pair up wires.
This is the "dash". The display unit has a tach
and an LCD underneath.
On the LCD is displayed various temperatures, pressures, fuel level, speed
and
mileage. It also has programmable warnings so if the water temp gets too high
it will
flash up a "High Water" warning. Either side of the unit are switches
to control
important often used items, such as horn, indicators, washers and change display
on
the LCD. These are normal toggle switches with extensions bonded on.
On the steering wheel I will have main / dip headlight and wipers. The switch
panel has
switches for all the other requirements.
Rear view of the dash display. The starter button is also visible.
There are also a few warning lights for legal requirements.
The back of the switch panel. I have allowed extra wire so
the panel
will come out easily.
The fuse box. All the wires on the right are live feeds.
Below the fuse box is a connector block. This has a main live
in
(the big cable) and then various terminals to attach wires for lives to the
relays
and fuse box. A Cover will fit over the block.
Wires everywhere!
The air temperature sensor for the engine management positioned on the
inlet pipe into the air box. The sensor has a thread for which I do not have
a tap
or nuts so I will bond it onto a small plate which bolts to the inlet.
