Help! Mystery wire on a Supersprint

[pacoryan]

Evening all - a slightly odd request but I have been asked to identify (from 1000 miles away) a mystery green wire with additional black outer insulation that terminates somewhere near the gear selector with a riveted circular thing that appears to have an insulated disc in it. pics below hopefully.

We'd like to work out what it is for, and what should it be attached to.

Long story short the car is in rural northern Spain, belongs to ailing parent who doesn't use tech, brother currently there has emailed pics and plea for help! Local garage mainly fixes donkeys. Help needed from the interweb font of knowledge!

Car is a 1989 Supersprint 1700, all help and humour gratefully received!


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[mic]

Reverse light switch wire.

[pacoryan]

That's what I guessed but I was expecting a more conventional connector, thanks! Makes sense too, because one thing that is preventing him getting a Spanish MOT is.... no reversing light.

Can you tell me in idiot speak how to locate the switch and by what means this is normally attached? Apologies if it's stating the obvious but I'm flying blind!

I had thought/dreamt the switch was on the selector housing?

[Canuck7]

According to one source, the ford Type 9 reverse light switch, is the black one right under the gear shift platform. They all show as having two pins that accept bullet connectors, even for rocket 4 speed boxes. Caterham may have created some funky switch or wiring trick to suit the tighter spaces, or that may be why there is a wide insulating disc, so it won't short out... either way, it's a bit odd compared to stock. So there might be a chance it is for another system, but on a caterham there isn't anything else used on a gearbox that I can think of. Maybe it's the ejection seat wire? :-)

Oh, edited to say that maybe there are two wires in the mysterious circle, and the disc does negative and the centre does positive...

[GreigM]

pacoryan said:

That's what I guessed but I was expecting a more conventional connector, thanks! Makes sense too, because one thing that is preventing him getting a Spanish MOT is.... no reversing light.

Would you be allowed to just hook up the reverse light to a switch on the dash - might be a quick way to get the car legal?

[mic]

Early cars had the single press stud connector.

[pacoryan]

Brilliant, thanks all, the person who has the car is telling me that the gearbox doesn't look like a type 9 but it does in the pics they sent!

a remote swtich is a possibility.

Thanks again!