Headlight wiring

[dixieflatline]

Does anyone have any close up pictures of the wiring into the connectors for the headlights/front indicators? I'm replacing mine--headlights, indicators and all the connectors ( using these)--but they're not currently wired in and are completely different both sides (one side is a mess of broken bullet connectors, the other a corroded clip connector).

Here are some photos of what I have to work with - I'm curious about the wires which double back from the female clip connector to the indicator connector. Is that how it's meant to be, or is it somebody else's bright idea? Out of the whole lot, this indicator is the only thing that worked!

Nearside:



Offside:

[GreenV8S]

I got rid of those cr@ppy connectors years ago - they were a terrible source of problems and completely unsuitable for such as exposed position. Be prepared to cut back all the wires until you find uncorroded copper.

Those connectors conform to BSAU7 http://www.speedycables.com/greengauges/wiringcolo... as far as I remember. I'm not going to unloom mine to confirm that.

Blue/red and blue/white would be dip and main beam. Red would be the side, green/stripe would be indicators. You might have some fogs/driving lamps in there too.

Given that you have a lot of wires to deal with I recommend that you go for connectors with enough terminals to carry all your wires in a single connector. Otherwise reconnecting will be a PITA as you try to work out which pairs of plugs go together.

If you're in any doubt, it should only take a few minutes with a meter to establish which pairs of wires are connected to a lamp, and then you can apply 12V across them to see which lamp is which. Similarly on the car side if you switch on a light it should be easy to establish which wire is powered.

On mine there was an equally cr@ppy connector nearby which went to the alarm and made that equally unreliable - I guess it was factory fit so you may have similar.

[TVRees]

This might help too ..... I found it on the tvrs3.net webpage.

[dixieflatline]

Brilliant, thank you

[mk1fan]

Change those stty tyres too

[Steve_D]

You will find that there are often two wires into each terminal.
The wiring in your car is prior to the modern thin wall insulation.
The main beam and spotlight are carrying quite high current.

Whilst Superseal connectors are very nice there are issues.
The terminals are not rated high enough for the currents.
The terminals are not large enough to take a single thick wall wire let alone two.

Unfortunately I have not yet found a sealed connector suitable for this job so have had to just replace the pins in existing connectors. Not easy but can be done.

If anyone knows a better connector I'd like to know. I expect there is something available in military ranges but the cost will likely be prohibitive and the cost of the correct crimp tool can run into hundreds of £.

Steve

[GreenV8S]

Steve_D said:

If anyone knows a better connector I'd like to know.

I use the SureSeal connector range from Farnell. They're good for about 15A which is ample for this type of thing, and provide various terminal counts in a very compact package.

[chiefyo]

For the high current stuff what about bullet connectors. Then cover it with heat shrink, if you need to get into at a later date cut the heat shrink off. Cheap and easy

[mk1fan]

I used Superseal plugs. Then again, I'm full LED.

[phillpot]

Some suggestions on this old post......... clicky

[Steve_D]

GreenV8S said:

Steve_D said:

If anyone knows a better connector I'd like to know.

I use the SureSeal connector range from Farnell. They're good for about 15A which is ample for this type of thing, and provide various terminal counts in a very compact package.

Nice but as I said before...Crimp tool £295, Insert tool £161, Extract tool (Pin) £174, Extract tool (Socket) £100.
So a complete non starter unless you are using these all day long.

Steve

[Steve_D]

chiefyo said:

For the high current stuff what about bullet connectors. Then cover it with heat shrink, if you need to get into at a later date cut the heat shrink off. Cheap and easy

The OE Lucas RISTS connectors are almost the same as bullets in terms of pin style so just fit all new pins to the existing connectors.
The correct pins are no longer made but a very similar type is available.

Steve

[GreenV8S]

Steve_D said:

Nice but as I said before...Crimp tool £295, Insert tool £161, Extract tool (Pin) £174, Extract tool (Socket) £100.
So a complete non starter unless you are using these all day long.

Steve

It uses a standard crimp tool. I use a single simple tool to push the terminals in and out of the housing which is essentially a slotted tube with a handle on one end. Don't remember what it cost but nothing like any of those prices - nearer £30 if memory serves. Don't know what those other prices are for - maybe there are more exotic tools that might be worth it if you were using these professionally and time was money.

[Penelope Stopit]

Steve_D said:

You will find that there are often two wires into each terminal.
The wiring in your car is prior to the modern thin wall insulation.
The main beam and spotlight are carrying quite high current.

Whilst Superseal connectors are very nice there are issues.
The terminals are not rated high enough for the currents.
The terminals are not large enough to take a single thick wall wire let alone two.

Unfortunately I have not yet found a sealed connector suitable for this job so have had to just replace the pins in existing connectors. Not easy but can be done.

If anyone knows a better connector I'd like to know. I expect there is something available in military ranges but the cost will likely be prohibitive and the cost of the correct crimp tool can run into hundreds of £.

Steve

I could spend all day attempting to work out why you have posted this misleading information

Headlight bulbs don't carry high current they carry low current, a standard main beam filament rated 65 Watt will draw just over 5 Amps at 12 Volts.
Believe it or not, 5 Amps current draw is low current not quite high current as you have posted above
Standard thin cable size 14/030 will happily conduct above 8 AMPS through it
No offence meant but, there is no way you should be working with vehicle electrics if you don't even know the basics, you could set vehicles on fire very easily

[Penelope Stopit]

This is getting beyond a joke, some of the misleading information being posted could possibly cause someone to make a massive mistake on a simple wiring job
Why don't people think before posting all this garbage?

[Alan Whitaker]

I just use Tyco connectors, easy to use, low cost and you can just use a £20 crimp tool, will take up to a 4mm cable and they are 1 way to 16 way.

[dixieflatline]

mk1fan said:

Change those stty tyres too

Don't worry, those tyres will never see the road again have a lot more work to get through before that becomes a pressing concern though!

[dixieflatline]

Thanks for the help and advice everyone.

I settled on the Superseal connectors after trawling through the forum archives (think they're mentioned in the post Phillpot linked to) but if they're not up to the job then I'll find something else. Will spend some time making sure I understand exactly what I'm dong first though, as this is the first bit of wiring I've attempted on the car and I've been a bit naive about how easy it was going to be.

[Steve_D]

Penelope Stopit said:

Steve_D said:

You will find that there are often two wires into each terminal.
The wiring in your car is prior to the modern thin wall insulation.
The main beam and spotlight are carrying quite high current.

Whilst Superseal connectors are very nice there are issues.
The terminals are not rated high enough for the currents.
The terminals are not large enough to take a single thick wall wire let alone two.

Unfortunately I have not yet found a sealed connector suitable for this job so have had to just replace the pins in existing connectors. Not easy but can be done.

If anyone knows a better connector I'd like to know. I expect there is something available in military ranges but the cost will likely be prohibitive and the cost of the correct crimp tool can run into hundreds of £.

Steve

I could spend all day attempting to work out why you have posted this misleading information

Headlight bulbs don't carry high current they carry low current, a standard main beam filament rated 65 Watt will draw just over 5 Amps at 12 Volts.
Believe it or not, 5 Amps current draw is low current not quite high current as you have posted above
Standard thin cable size 14/030 will happily conduct above 8 AMPS through it
No offence meant but, there is no way you should be working with vehicle electrics if you don't even know the basics, you could set vehicles on fire very easily

Why do you have to be so offensive in pretty much every post you make?

Anyway

• Yes headlights draw about 5 amps but compared to most other circuits in a car it is ‘quite high’.
• Yes a 14/030 wire will take the current. I don’t know why you mentioned it as it is not relevant to the OP’s problem where the high beam wire will be 28/030 (2mm2). I was pointing out that there will be difficulty fitting one in a terminal designed to take a max 1.5mm square wire section let alone 2 wires of that size.


So where am I putting the car at risk of catching fire when I’m advising that mechanically you can’t get those wires in the connector.

Try offering some helpful advise on a cost effective connector that will take the current and the physical size of wires.

Steve

[Penelope Stopit]

Alan Whitaker said:

I just use Tyco connectors, easy to use, low cost and you can just use a £20 crimp tool, will take up to a 4mm cable and they are 1 way to 16 way.

You have broken the PH TVR wiring rules on this job
Why didn't you use those top quality red, blue or yellow crush on terminals?

Tidy, very tidy